AUGUST GETTY’S HOLLYWOOD GLAMOUR
Inspired by the classic glitz of the silver screen, Angelino native August Getty invents haute-couture creations for his many female friends, all young stars who regularly strut their stuff on the red carpet.
Down by the Eiffel Tower, where the café waiters are quintessentially
rude, haute couture seems not just a Parisian specialty but the exclusive domain of the City of Light, a hegemony it would be indecent to contest. And yet, in January, a young, smiling, tattooed Angelino with an impeccable natural tan had the temerity to venture forth onto the hallowed ground of the Semaine de la couture. His name comes with a certain clout: August Getty is of course a direct descendant of Jean Paul Getty, Sr., who was for many years the world’s richest man. But, first and foremost, August Getty is a warm, positive and talented young designer, who aspires to a very American legacy. “I’m fascinated by the Hollywood glamour of yesteryear, and I’ve no idea where this obsession comes from,” he laughs. “Nobody in my family is as infatuated with it as I am.”
While Hollywood was, of course, inspired by Paris haute- couture
fashions, the studios worked with costume designers who, seconded
by a host of petites mains, invented a larger-than-life glamour specially tailored to the technical demands of the silver screen. In the City of Angels, where myth and reality become one, the current generation of artists and it- girls is writing the next chapter in the saga every time they strut down the red carpet. These free spirits are more or less the same age as Getty – 24 – and are all his best friends. “I’m a West Hollywood kid,” he continues, “and my vision of L. A. is very different to most people’s, because I see the city from a viewpoint that I share with my friends. They’re actors and actresses, singers and writers, and I don’t have the words to describe the very special bond that unites us. I follow the professional blooming of my female friends from day to day, and I’m always very proud to see them wear my creations at the premières of the films they’re starring in.”
After founding August Get ty Atelier in 2012 and working in
demi- couture, this January the designer launched his first fully fledged haute-couture collection – which he’s called “Confetti” – at Paris’s Ritz Hotel. “The lover of theatricality that I am is finally happy, because he can now express himself with no limits,” he chuckles. In order for the L. A. spirit to infuse his creations, Getty located his 25- strong atelier in the west of the city – “It wouldn’t have made any sense to work with ‘ imported’ Europeans,” he explains. Confet ti freely revamps classic American occasion wear with, among others, sculptural garments entirely embroidered with glass pearls and weighing up to 23 kilos, supple pant suits, or ultra-fluid fishtail dresses in silk that enhance and reveal the body, with perfect nude backs and miles and miles of leg. The 14 or so pieces come in light colours, from ivory to champagne, and are realized using traditional corsetry and tailoring techniques, including flou, as well as classic couture ornamentation such as lace (for which the atelier has developed its own variant, christened, naturally, “Getty lace”).
In 2017, Getty, an intimate friend of Katy Perry and Lady Gaga’s, hit
the headlines with his “Million Dollar Dress” – adorned with an astonishing 500,000 Swarovski crystals – when it was worn by Paris Hilton at an awards ceremony. This was no doubt just an early highpoint in what promises to be a long-running Hollywood saga.