Walter Plunkett nasceu na Califórnia e estudou Direito na Universidade da Califórnia, participando do grupo teatral da faculdade. Em 1923 mudou-se para Nova York, pois sonhava em ser ator de teatro. Não deu certo e ele voltou para a Califórnia, onde tentou carreira em Hollywood. Após pequenos papéis ele aceitou um emprego no departamento de guarda roupas da FBO Studios (que mais tarde se tornou a RKO), especializada em westerns. Sem um treinamento formal, logo foi promovido a figurinista e ficou na RKO como designer chefe entre 1926 e 1939. Seu primeiro figurino creditado foi no filme Hard-Boiled Haggerty, de 1927. Na RKO ele teve passe livre e começou a criar trajes que rivalizavam com o trabalho de Travis Banton e Adrian.
O figurinista ficou conhecido em Hollywood como a maior autoridade em trajes de época. Ele disse uma vez que adorava trabalhar em filmes de época porque os diretores eram raramente sabiam algo sobre a moda da época, fato que fazia com que não discutissem com ele.
Foi Katharine Hepburn, que já conhecida o trabalho de Plunkett em mais de sete filmes onde vestiu seus modelos, que recomendou o figurinista para o filme E o Vento Levou. O produtor David Selznick já conhecia o trabalho dele de outras produções e não foi difícil aprová-lo para mais esse projeto. O resultado foram figurinos inesquecíveis como o vestido de veludo verde musgo feito a partir de cortinas da família e o vestido vermelho.
Após se afastar de Hollywood ele continuou a trabalhar em Hollywood como free-lancer, sendo creditado em mais de 260 filmes. Ele foi nomeado ao Oscar dez vezes, e em 1951 finalmente ele foi reconhecido pela Academia, levando o prêmio por Um Americano em Paris. Aposentou-se em 1966 e faleceu aos 79 anos.
Esses são alguns de seus modelos mais famosos:
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