California Apparel News

Nothing could stop the induction ceremony for costume designer Catherine Martin at the 2014 Rodeo Drive Walk of Style on Feb. 28—not the most fierce rainstorm of the year, not a blackout.

The ceremony’s gown- and suit-clad guests were pelted with rain as they made their way to the event, held at the ornate Greystone Mansion in Beverly Hills. However, for Martin and her A-list friends—including Cate Blanchett and Tobey Maguire—the celebrations continued.

At 7:55 p.m., just moments after the ceremony started, the power went out in the ritzy neighborhood around the Greystone. The high-wattage ceremony had to make do with power from battery-operated lights and the estate’s emergency lighting.

All was taken in stride because seemingly nothing could put a damper on the crowd’s admiration for Martin. “You don’t see her work, you experience it. … Catherine Martin influences the zeitgeist itself,” Blanchett said during a toast that would be a start to an auspicious weekend. Blanchett would go on to win the Academy Award on March 2 for best actress in a leading role, and Martin would win two Oscars—for best costume design and best production design—for “The Great Gatsby.”

Martin, who wore a Prada dress to the ceremony, said her love of costume design started as a girl when she saw a screening of “The Wizard of Oz” in her native Australia. The sentiment will be echoed in a quote inscribed on her plaque, which will be laid on Rodeo Drive later this year. “Film has allowed me to follow my dreams down fashion’s yellow brick road all the way to Rodeo Drive,” the inscription reads.

During her acceptance speech, she also thanked her collaborators for the “Gatsby” movie, including her husband, director Baz Luhrmann, as well as fashion houses Prada, Tiffany & Co. and Brooks Bros., all of which run flagship boutiques on Rodeo Drive.

Up-and-coming rock star and Rolling Stone magazine cover girl Lorde, who grew up in New Zealand, also dropped by the event at the 1927 mansion, which featured installations of costumes from “The Great Gatsby” and a band, Dean Mora and the California Poppies, playing hits of the 1920s.

The Rodeo Drive Walk of Style honors a wide array of fashion luminaries, ranging from fashion houses Salvatore Ferragamo and Missoni to Rodeo Drive retailer Fred Hayman, legendary editor Diana Vreeland, and photographers Herb Ritts and Mario Testino.

Martin is the fourth costume designer to be honored at the Walk of Style. In 2006, a trio of costume designers was honored. They were James Acheson, whose credits include the 1987 film “The Last Emperor,” and Milena Canonero, who designed the look for the 1971 tour de force “A Clockwork Orange” and 1975 film “Barry Lyndon,” as well as Edith Head, who was posthumously honored. She won eight Academy Awards for her costume design on films such as 1974’s “The Sting.”