Marlene Dietrich's Last Dress

Marlene Dietrich, film star, icon and trend setter, imagined wearing a glowing dress almost 60 years ago, but, as so often, she was way ahead of her time. This documentary is about her desire for the ultimate but never-realized show gown and today's fascination with electronic clothing. Marlene Dietrich dreamed of a dress adorned with flowers illuminated by light bulbs. "My Sweethearts," she wrote to designer Jean Louis and his team, "I needed time for technical research on our project. Now I've solved the problem and I won't have to carry batteries with me..." Few women have expressed themselves through their clothes like Marlene Dietrich did. Her creative drive was infinite. She tinkered with increasingly remarkable creations that were intended to mask signs of her advancing age. One previously unknown project she pursued with great ambition toward the end of her career. She functioned as designer, effects specialist and marketing expert. Like an engineer, she obsessed over a design that was too sensational to be realized in her lifetime. Drawings and specifications can be found in the Marlene Dietrich Collection archive at the Deutsche Kinemathek in Berlin. It was meant to be the most magnificent gown of all time.