Vixen unveils gorgeous Creature from the Black Lagoon collection, Micheline Pitt discusses her inspiration

The iconic Universal Monster known as the Creature, or the "Gillman," has been scaring people away from bodies of water for more than 70 years. Released in 1954, The Creature from the Black Lagoon is considered a classic creature feature and one of the most recognizable among Universal's line-up of classic monsters.

To celebrate the enduring legacy of the Jack Arnold-directed film, fashion house Vixen by Micheline Pitt has launched a special 70th Anniversary collection featuring replica pieces that pay homage to the film's iconic wardrobe.

Despite being released over half a century ago, The Creature from the Black Lagoon and its amphibious star remain touchstones for the horror genre. Modern cinema often refers to the 1954 film or takes inspiration from its groundbreaking underwater sequences.

What about the timelessness of The Creature from the Black Lagoon allows it to endure across seven decades? When asked, Micheline Pitt refers to the Creature's highly influential design.

"The Creature design and execution were incredible for the time period. Decades later you still see that designs influence on other artists in film and tv. I also think that this movie really set the ground work for horror films being about the outcast, the other, and how humanity itself can be the real monster."

The newly unveiled Vixen collection reflects Pitt's thoughts and careful consideration, featuring an alluring array of different clothing items and styles. And, thankfully for many of us, the sizes are diverse, ranging from XS to 4X.

Fusing contemporary design with the vintage style and traditional 1950s silhouettes, Vixen's collection includes an assortment of fun vacation pieces like skirts, dresses, cigarette pants, and a modernized version of the iconic white swimsuit worn by Julia Adams in the original movie. There's also a super cool novelty bag constructed out of a rubber replica of the Creature's head, as seen in the above photo.

Making a modern version of the film's iconic white swimsuit

Given the swimsuit's recognizability, I wanted to know how Pitt went about crafting a new design while maintaining the original's integrity. Movie purists will be pleased to learn that she worked closely in collaboration with Universal and the Universal Monsters team to bring the swimsuit to life.

"I had several meetings with Universal, and Universal Monsters team about doing something special for the 70th Anniversary, they were really keen on someone doing THAT swimsuit, but hadn’t found the right collaborator to do it. I am not going to lie, swimsuits are HARD, and complex, especially vintage style ones. There is a lot of construction and modern materials that want to fight against one another.

The original suit is made of completely different materials that just wouldn’t work for the modern era. So it took a lot of [research and development] to figure out how to bring this to life, while also still capturing the original design as much as possible. Luckily our fabrics now have 4-way stretch, elastic, and water-safe material. I don’t know if I will make a swimsuit again after this one, but it is nice to go back to my roots to create this piece as I did love designing them in the past."

In addition to its fashion and filmmaking, The Creature from the Black Lagoon has endured over time thanks to its beautiful original artwork presented on the film's posters and other marketing materials. I happen to have a big framed version of the original poster in my office, so I appreciated seeing the clothing items in this collection tout digital wet prints with the art from those posters.

Pitt valued creating pieces that could have been worn in the 1950s. She focused on curating styles and silhouettes that showcased those prints while still adhering to a classic cut.

"I wanted these pieces to feel like vacation pieces, all of the styles are inspired from tropical vintage styles from the 1950s. I wanted the items to feel like they could have come out at the time of the film's original release. I also wanted the styles to be able to showcase the prints as beautifully as possible.

For me, those French posters are some of the most stunning posters ever for this film. It’s exciting that people will get to wear that art on their bodies and celebrate their fandom, which I think is pretty special. The fabrics we used for these printed pieces is super special, it is an organic twill material with stretch, so you get the classic cut but with a modern fit, that is very breathable. I love that these items can be worn in so many climates, allowing them to have more wearability."

Shop The Creature from the Black Lagoon collection right here.

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