Oliver costume design for Oliver Twist

American film and stage director Vincente Minnelli began his career as a costume and set designer, first in Chicago and then at Radio City Music Hall in New York City. About his early years in Chicago, Minnelli recalled, “With singleness of mind, I called on Frank Cambria, the head man [at theatre company Balaban & Katz]. He looked at my portfolio, which included photographs as well as watercolors. ‘What do you have in mind, young man?’ ‘I think you should start your own costume department … and I should be in charge.’” Minnelli was hired as their first in-house designer, creating costumes for live performances that bookended film screenings. Minnelli added, “I designed for very elaborate productions, and I was soon accomplished in the baubles, bangles, braids and spangles used in my craft. It was the hardest work I’d ever done.”