Travis Banton

1894-1958. Born in Waco, Texas, USA. Banton was educated at Columbia University and the Art Students League, New York. His early design career took place in New York with a dress manufacturer and he did not go to Hollywood until 1924. Paramount Pictures employed Banton as a costume designer for the film The Dressmaker from Paris (1925) which starred Leatrice Joy. During the 1920s Banton created costumes for many actresses, including Bebe Daniels, Pola Negri and Clara Bow. In the 1930s he designed for other Paramount stars - Claudette Colbert, Marlene Dietrich, Kay Francis, Greta Garbo, Carole Lombard and Mae West - and set the Paramount hallmark of elegant, sensuous clothes, which were often cut on the bias. Banton joined 20th Century-Fox in 1939 and stayed for several years. He worked for Universal Studios from 1945 to 1948. During his film career, Banton designed costumes for more than two hundred productions. In the 1950s he returned to the retail trade.

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