Travilla 1971 End of an Era

In late April 1971, the government convicted the Bills of “prohibited trade practices” and "importing, selling, or transporting flammable wear." Certain fabrics used in their collections "did not conform to flammability standards."

The federal government ordered, "do forthwith cease and desist from manufacturing for sale, selling, or offering for sale any product made of fabric or related material which are in theed in the Flammable Fabrics Act."

They also had to inform every customer who purchased or delivered said products of their safety issues and recall said items sold or distributed since April 1970. Any current stock was to be brought up to Federal standards or destroyed. (Using imported fabrics from Switzerland got Travilla in hot water in June 1970 when one of his creations, described as “a long-sleeve, white cotton, dress-length tunic with a diaphanous midriff over medallion-studded sheer pajamas” was found to be “dangerously flammable” by the Federal Trade Commission. With some of the pieces being sold before the test results, a list of stores where available was given to notify consumers. The commission emphasized “that publication of the list and news release does not represent a commission judgment of any violations of the flammable Fabrics Act of the Federal Trade Commission Act.”)

Travilla, like many designers, used fragile fabrics in their designs, expecting adults not to set themselves aflame. Monroe's gold lame gown from Gentlemen Prefer Blondes was made from a highly flammable souffle fabric that ceased production by 1960. Certain chemicals and dyes from the imported French silks, Irish linens, and wools created an issue. Having to recall all of their inventory from stores and destroy it, took a heavy financial toll on the company.

The reaction was swift, with WWD announcing on April 20 that Villa Travilla had stopped production. When pressed, Sarris replied, "Bill is taking a sabbatical, and there are plans in the making to reorganize for spring/summer with a lower price structure but with the same Travilla workmanship and look." Travilla lamented to his Washington D.C. audience a few months earlier, "As a motion picture designer, I'm quite out of work. The kind of pictures they're making today, they don't really need ole dad."

With Julia's cancellation and his dismissal from the Governor and J.J., in the summer of 1971, with no film projects on the horizon, after fifteen years in the fashion industry, Travilla, Inc. quietly closed its doors, and Travilla and Sarris headed to Puerto Rico.

To be continued...

Travilla 1971

 

A drift of white organza with a yoke and hemline banding appliqued in blocks of contrasting color and embroidery.

Peasant style gown with a black chiffon bodice and sleeves with card print chiffon skirt.

A Spring dress in aquamarine crepe with a parasol seamed skirt with a flared hem. Tucking shapes the bodice and dramatizes cuffed sleeves.

Gown with the bodice in white silk satin with the skirt in rose-and-pink floral print. Velvet ribbons in the same shades form the high waistline.

Summer dress in apple green and white sculptured cotton is fitted softly down over the hips. The skirt swings free from round-arched godets, narrowly corded, as are the seams on the skirt.

Daytime dress in oyster-hued fibranne with “Safari” shaping is one piece although it suggests a two-piece look with the hip detailing. A high center slit hints at a bit of “leg-art” while the wide-open revered neckline is accented with a flutter of bow tie scarf in Bianchini’ silk.

Viva Travilla

January of 1971 started with a new division, “Villa Travilla” (which the designer translated as 'My House of Ideas,'" he told WWD, "and they've all been in my head for a long time.") He was branching out into a less-expensive, younger-looking collection. “In couture, you shy away from a woman who doesn’t have to wear a bra. You cover the arms. This woman may need help to make her as attractive as possible. He describes the perfect Villa Travilla customer as "full of muscle tone who's not afraid to trot and run and be free."

Travilla’s regular collection pieces fetch from $265 to $2500 (“The $2500 woman is buying a classic,” states the designer). The forty-piece group,priced at $100 to $200, “takes the customer to lunch, or cocktails, on the street, at home, or a casual evening."

“Villa Travilla is a potpourri of moods and silhouettes. In Couture, when a woman buys, she’s making an investment. My "Travilla woman" cares for her clothes; the V.T. woman will wear something beautifully constructed in a fun fabric, but she’ll tell herself she can replace it next season.”

Fabrics stress polyester ("I love the way it maintains freshness.") crepes, jerseys, little prints with some cotton, pique fibranne. Marigold midriff harem pants of Trevira jersey. Lots of lace trim with a soft front fold on pants riding below the navel. A Spanish Gypsy in flame fibranne flounced lace sleeve and hem with fitted capelet trim in matching white lace.”

The introductory collection has little lean patch stick sweater tops, tiny bodices, lifted waists (or the illusion of one for an elongated look”), and petal, slashed, or square godet skirts. It will have to be only lightly accessorized. There is no need for war paint. The dress, skirt, or blouse can be worn with the right hosiery and shoes.

“So often, I've found myself designing Travilla on the drawing board. In the middle of everything, I've had an inspiration for a midriff pair of pants (or something), even the color rendering, and it used to bug me because I knew my women wouldn't wear it. Villa Travilla allows me a freedom I've never had before in couture -- all the clothes used to feel right in my head, but they belonged on smaller, younger bodies. Now, all those ideas will find life. There will be no tongue-in-cheek like many designers today, just serious fun.”

"High-priced fashion is anything but dead. Once design house after another has gone bankrupt, it isn't just couturiers--lingerie, corset people, children's wear -- they've gone under too." Some designers stick to cocktail or day, but for films, I had to do whatever the script demanded, dress a whore or a queen, so I'm trained to be flexible and many of the directions that wouldn't be right for a couture collection.”

Polyester evening-pajamas in vibrant colors touched with white.

Below-the-calf-length shirtdress in floral printed organza.

A striped and dotted ankle skimmer in polyester surah.