Dressing Eydie Gormé
Eydie Gormé knew how to turn heads.
Concert goers expected glamour, and her costumes delivered. From light-reflecting sequins to diaphanous scarves, her ensembles were built for the stage. Steve wore his signature tuxedo and what one journalist called “a cocky pompadour.” Eydie’s costumes ranged from well-tailored suits to lace-laden evening gowns. The Toronto Sun reported of their show to 4,000 people: “From the moment they first appeared—with Eydie awash in black chiffon, silver and gold sequins, and trailing ostrich feathers—you had a pretty good idea what was in store.”
Working with her son, composer David Lawrence, the Reid Public History Institute has stewarded a collection of his parents’ costumes. Using evening gowns, shoes, makeup kits, and sewing supplies , we learn “best practice” for storage of historic objects and work with experts in how to properly display them
Here are a few of Eydie’s favorite collaborators.
Antthony
“Eydie and Steve were extraordinary individuals — gifted performers, kind souls, and genuine friends. Their presence in this world was a blessing”
For Eydie’s last tour in 2002, she turned to Savannah-based fashion designer Antthony Mark Hankins to create billowing gowns in sumptuous fabrics with dramatic sleeves and hand-done beadwork. After an apprenticeship with Yves Saint Laurent in the late 1980s, Hankins made a name for himself with clothing lines for JC Penney and the Home Shopping Network (HSN) in the 1990s. His “Antthony Originals” sold at Target in the early 2000s and his ready-to-wear collections were popular at Nordstrom.
He considers his custom design work for the woman he called his “Sassy Mamma” to be among the most meaningful projects of his career.
Ret Turner
Elton John. Diana Ross. Carol Burnett. Barry Manilow. Ret Turner has dressed them all.
Known for his whimsical, colorful costumes, Ret was one of Hollywood’s most celebrated designers, receiving 23 Emmy nominations for his television work on “The Andy Williams Show,” “Mama’s Family,” “Carol & Company” and for award shows and holiday specials. He designed dozens of costumes for Eydie over the course of thirty years.
Beloved by all who knew him, Turner tapped into the creativity of clients and colleagues, including friends and business partners, the renown designers Bob Mackie and Ray Aghayan. Turner’s collaborations with Cher provided some of the most culturally significant costumes of the 20th century.
Nolan Miller
As a sixth grader, Nolan Miller fell in love with cinema and Joan Crawford. A half-Indigenous, half-Dutch kid growing up in the oil fields of Texas, he “adored all those strong women, and I knew I wanted to dress these people.”
Miller’s gowns embodied extravagance, and his work with Eydie included capes, hats, and gowns that celebrated the same shoulder pads and stone-encrusted necklines worn by his 1940s idols. Miller called his time on the 1980s television show “Dynasty” his “heaven.” The budget per show was a whopping $30,000 but “I was always over budget.” His success created tensions with the writers because “the clothes were becoming more important than the scripts.”