Theoni V. Aldredge’s costume designs impressed

Costume designer Theoni V. Aldredge, whose career spanned 50 years, never failed to generate a buzz with her dazzling ensembles on stage and screen.

On Broadway, think billowy feathered costumes in “La Cage aux Folles” and the transformation of everyday clothes into sparkling dancing outfits for the finale of “A Chorus Line.” Or in Hollywood, Mia Farrow’s dreamy flapper dresses and Robert Redford’s smart white suits in “The Great Gatsby,” which garnered Aldredge an Academy Award in 1975.

“She was so talented, from doing so much glitzy theater and then ‘The Great Gatsby’ was certainly a wow,” said costume designer Denise Wingate (“Wedding Crashers,” “Melrose Place” and others). “She truly was an inspiration for so many designers and proved that designers can be versatile and design for completely different genres.”

The marquees were dimmed on Broadway on Tuesday as a tribute to the Greek-born Aldredge. She died recently in Stamford, Conn., at age 88, not 78 as some reports suggested.

— Lynne T. Jewell