On February 6, 2019, André Leon Talley sat down with directors Julia Marchesi and Sally Rosenthal to recount how Mae West used fashion and her sexuality to empower herself. Interview conducted for Mae West: Dirty Blonde (2020).
Chapters:
00:00 Falling in love with the myth of Mae West via television, People magazine, and Helmut Newton
02:51 West’s innovation in the art of the sashay
03:59 The power of West’s humor and sexuality
05:24 Mae West breaks the mold of the flapper era by looking towards the Gilded Age
06:25 Her contributions to the Schiaparelli perfume bottle and the fashion industry at large
07:20 Mae West as a platform for the work of costume designer Edith Head
09:24 West reaches new heights with her legendary shoes
11:53 West’s tastes reconfigure an old European sensibility for a new America
13:27 In the era of Dietrich and Hepburn, West boldly led with her femininity
The American Masters Digital Archive includes over 1,000 hours of never-before-seen, raw interviews: a treasure trove of the movers and shakers of American culture, including Maya Angelou, Patti Smith, Mel Brooks, Carol Burnett, Matthew Broderick, Carl Reiner, Joan Rivers, Dionne Warwick, Lee Grant, Sidney Lumet, Betty White and many others.