Hollywood costume designer reveals vile name Aretha Franklin used for whites during trip to her filthy mansion, music icon who was too busy having SEX to see him – and A-list singers who were lovely

by

He’s become a favorite with Daily Mail readers by sharing candid and juicy stories about famous actors and performers.

Now, costume designer Jean-Pierre Dorléac, who has been nominated for an Oscar, is focusing on the well-known singers he’s collaborated with.

Fans of Aretha Franklin and Janis Joplin may be stunned at Dorléac’s tales of their bad behavior. 

The musician, originally from France, has also made a point of sharing stories about the kindest people he’s met in the industry.

Gloria Estefan, Eartha Kitt, Edith Piaf and Rosemary Clooney were all showered with praise. 

According to a recent story, author Dorléac was surprised by the conditions of Aretha Franklin’s Detroit home, which he described as very messy. He also claims she playfully but offensively referred to him as ‘cracker’.

I remember when Aretha Franklin called me in 1994! She wanted me to create a gown for her to wear to a very special Christmas concert – at the White House, no less! It was such an honor to be asked to design something for her on that occasion.

The designer, based in Los Angeles, explained that he traveled to the Midwest to visit Franklin, who passed away in 2018 at the age of 78. Franklin was a fan of the designer’s work on the film Somewhere In Time and preferred not to fly.

Dorléac admitted he was reluctant to meet her, having heard rumors about her vanity and arrogance. He’s currently seeking a publisher for his new book, ‘Evocative Observations,’ which is full of revealing Hollywood stories.

So, I went to her place. I got out of the taxi, rang the doorbell, and to my surprise, she opened the door.

I mistook her for the cleaning lady. I didn’t realize who she was at first because she had on a durag, a bright floral shirt with black leggings, and flip-flops, and she was smoking a cigarette.

I saw her and said, “Oh, I’m so sorry, I didn’t realize it was you. It’s a real pleasure to meet you. I’ve been a fan of ‘Respect’ since the first time I heard it, and I always play it whenever I find a jukebox in a new or unfamiliar place.”

‘She says, “Well, it’s too bad those motherf****rs didn’t give me money from that, did they?”

I was stunned as she glared at me and said, with contempt, “Don’t just stand there, get in here and address me as Miss Franklin.” That was the first time I ever encountered her.

Dorléac warned that more surprises awaited him inside the modern, all-white mansion.

‘The place was an entire mess,’ he said 

The place was a mess – newspapers littered the floors, video tapes were piled up in boxes, and dead flowers were scattered around. Every surface, no matter where you looked, was covered in overflowing ashtrays filled with cigarette butts.

Oh my gosh, I can just see her. She just floated over, and then dramatically dropped into this incredible black bunny fur coat – seriously, it was the look. And then, this is the detail that kills me, she didn’t even have an ashtray free, so she just…stabbed out her cigarette on the lid of an empty candy box! It was so effortlessly cool, I swear. Every little thing she does is perfect.

The house had bright turquoise carpeting throughout. As you entered, there was a small set of three steps, and right in the middle of them sat a beautiful, old-fashioned white birdcage filled with white doves.

An eight-inch pile of bird droppings had accumulated under the cage, where it met the carpet, because it hadn’t been cleaned.

It was so hot inside the mansion that Dorléac asked Franklin for a drink. Franklin sent her to the kitchen, but an even more frightening experience awaited her there.

The kitchen was incredibly messy. Old Chinese boxes, containers of spoiled food, and plates covered in mold were everywhere. The floor was littered with overflowing garbage bags and ashtrays full of cigarette butts.

The kitchen sink was piled high with dirty dishes. I needed a clean glass, and I had to wash it several times to get it usable.

Dorléac was finally prepared for his fitting, and Franklin explained that he wanted a white dress inspired by a stunning gown he’d previously created for Jane Seymour in the film Somewhere in Time.

Dorléac described Franklin as having a very solid build, estimating she weighed about 250 pounds when they met.

He attempted to dissuade her from wearing that color, explaining it wouldn’t appear well on TV. He even joked to Franklin that she’d ‘look like the iceberg that sank the Titanic,’ a comparison she found highly unamusing.

According to Dorléac, Franklin specifically requested a white dress and put down a $7,000 deposit, which covered half of the total cost.

After the fitting, she said to him, ‘Okay, your car is waiting, and we’ll get back to you.’

To make matters worse, Franklin never paid Dorleac the remaining $7,000 she owed for the dress, and Franklin later repurposed the fabric into cushions.

Another music icon with serious hygiene and reliability issues was Janis Joplin, Dorléac said. 

In the 1960s, a costume designer moved into an apartment near Janis Joplin in Los Angeles and quickly became a friend.

Dorléac remembered first thinking the woman was unkempt, smelled strongly of alcohol, and had a generally unpleasant odor.

We used to go to foreign films together and were quite close for a while. However, she was deeply unhappy and unfortunately developed a reputation for having many casual relationships.

‘She had straight relationships. She had gay relationships. 

She and her friends would often drink heavily in her bedroom, where they’d argue, fight, and sometimes throw bottles. Their wild behavior often continued as they ran naked through the house and out into the streets.

Dorléac recounted finding Joplin unconscious after a heroin overdose and needing to call emergency services.

On another occasion, she knocked herself out while running a bath and flooded his apartment. 

According to Dorléac, their friendship ended when he traveled from Los Angeles to New York with a dress for her, but she was preoccupied with being intimate with Leonard Cohen and didn’t have time to meet him.

Oh my god, can you believe it? Apparently, when someone tried to get a message to Janis, Dorleac said she was… well, she was with this guy, some Canadian musician named Cohen, upstairs, and just didn’t have a moment to spare before the show! He actually said that’s what her assistant told him! It’s just… everything. I mean, she was with him instead of even acknowledging anyone else. It’s burned into my brain, honestly. Just… Cohen. That’s all I can think about. It’s infuriating and… fascinating, all at once. I can practically see it happening while everyone else was waiting. Ugh.

‘And I thought, you bitch. I got a flight all the way out here to New York.

‘That was kind of the breaking point of our relationship. Janice was just not dependable. 

I always found her captivating, completely lost in her own thoughts. I genuinely cared for her, but it slowly became heartbreaking to watch her struggle. Eventually, honestly, it was just exhausting to constantly feel that sadness for her. It’s a tough thing to admit, but it’s how I felt.

Dorléac admits he remains a fan of Joplin’s music, but wasn’t shocked to learn of her 1970 death from a drug overdose at the young age of 27.

Having worked in Hollywood costume design, she’s met countless celebrities, and while some were difficult, many more were genuinely wonderful.

I’ll never forget learning that Sylvie Dorléac was a huge Gloria Estefan fan! It all makes sense now – she worked with Gloria on the ‘Bad Boy’ video back in ’85, and it was filmed in a pretty rough neighborhood of Los Angeles. She always spoke so fondly of the experience, and I know how much she admired Gloria’s talent.

He described Gloria as exceptionally kind, professional, and organized. She always paid on time and was consistently grateful, making her a pleasure to work with.

I found her at two in the morning, in a dirty alley, still wearing the beautiful beaded gown and dancing shoes I’d made for her.

She was consistently kind and professional, even when she didn’t have to be. I witnessed this firsthand during challenging times, and she never once complained or treated anyone with disrespect. She was always gracious and a genuinely sweet person.

Eartha Kitt was ‘absolutely phenomenal’ too, said Dorléac. 

‘She was the lovely lady to work for,’ he said of the singer and actress, who died in 2008 aged 81. 

She was consistently on time and always had a clear sense of her goals. She was easy to work with, never causing unnecessary trouble, and was remarkably humble.

She was unusually considerate and always paid her bills promptly and completely, which I really appreciated.

French singing icon Edith Piaf were also consistently ‘wonderful’ to work for, Dorléac said.

He thinks a lot of unkind celebrities act that way because they’re secretly insecure and have been made to feel overly important by the entertainment industry.

Read More

2026-04-11 16:39