The exhibition gathers together over 130 of the most iconic costumes designed for unforgettable cinema characters over a century of film-making. It is a three-gallery journey - divided into three sections (Deconstruction, Dialogue and Finale) - from early Charlie Chaplin silent pictures to the motion capture costume design for Avatar.
curated by Hollywood costume designer and senior guest curator Deborah Nadoolman Landis, guest curator Sir Christopher Frayling and V&A assistant curator Keith Lodwick
“On every film, the clothes are half the battle in creating the character. I have a great deal of
opinion about how my people are presented. We show a great deal by what we put on our
bodies.”
Meryl Streep
“I don’t dress movie stars. I dress actors who are playing characters.”
Ann Roth, Academy Award-winning costume designer
Hollywood Costume, the V&A’s major autumn exhibition, gathers together over 130 of the
most iconic costumes designed for unforgettable cinema characters over a century of film-
making. For the first time, Hollywood Costume unites classics from the Golden Age including
Dorothy’s blue and white gingham pinafore dress designed by Adrian for The Wizard of Oz (1939),
Scarlett O’Hara’s green ‘curtain’ dress designed by Walter Plunkett for Gone with the Wind
(1939) and the ‘little black dress’ designed by Hubert De Givenchy for Holly Golightly in
Breakfast at Tiffany’s (1961), with the latest Hollywood releases including Consolata Boyle’s
costumes for Meryl Streep in The Iron Lady (2011) and Jacqueline Durran’s costumes for Anna
Karenina (2012).
Hollywood Costume explores the central role of costume design – from the glamorous to the
very subtle – as an essential tool of cinema storytelling. It illuminates the costume designer’s
creative process from script to screen and reveals the collaborative dialogue that leads to the
invention of authentic people within the story. The exhibition also examines the changing
social and technological context in which costume designers have worked over the last
century.
The exhibition is a three-gallery journey from early Charlie Chaplin silent pictures to the
motion capture costume design for Avatar (Deborah L. Scott, Mayes C. Rubeo, 2010). From Joan
Crawford’s blue gingham waitress uniform in Mildred Pierce, (Milo Anderson, 1945) and the
sensational bugle-beaded ruby gown she wore in The Bride Wore Red, (Adrian, 1937) to the
unforgettable white 3-piece suit worn by John Travolta as Tony Manero in Saturday Night
Fever (Patrizia Von Brandenstein, 1977) these costumes are united by their one purpose of
serving the story. Using montages, film clips and projections, the clothes are placed in their
original context, alongside interviews with key Hollywood costume designers, directors and
actors talking about the role costume plays in creating a character.
Deborah Nadoolman Landis, Hollywood costume designer and senior guest curator, said: “This
landmark exhibition provides a once in a life-time opportunity to explore the most beloved
characters in Hollywood history and gain insight on the role of the costume designer and their
vital contribution to cinema storytelling.”
Sir Christopher Frayling, guest curator, said: “The design of costumes for films is a distinctive
form of design which is often taken for granted or misunderstood. This V&A exhibition presents
the ideal opportunity to set the record straight – and does so in the most spectacular way.”
The exhibition has involved sourcing, identifying and securing objects from all across the
world over the course of five years. The collectors who have loaned to the exhibition range
from major motion picture studios, costume houses, public museums and archives and private
individuals.
Exhibition Structure
The exhibition is divided into three sections to tell the story of costume design.
Act One: Deconstruction introduces the role of the costume designer in cinema. This section
explores the link between clothing and identity and looks at how designers create the unique
individuals in the script whether for modern, period or fantasy films. There are clothes
instantly recognisable as being ‘costumes’ such as the imperial robes designed by James
Acheson for The Last Emperor (1987) alongside others like Brokeback Mountain (2005), where
Marit Allen’s designs for Jack Twist (Jake Gyllenhaal) and Ennis Del Mar (Heath Ledger) may
seem invisible. The steps of the costume designer’s research process are explored in case
studies that include Fight Club (Michael Kaplan, 1999), Addams Family Values (Theoni V. Aldrege,
1993), and Indiana Jones: Raiders of the Lost Ark, (Deborah Nadoolman, 1981). The process is revealed
using designs and sketches, photographs showing costume fittings, budget breakdowns and
script pages to show dialogue that discloses character defining clues. The first act concludes with a
dissection of designer Alexandra Byrne’s Elizabeth: The Golden Age (2007) surrounded by a royal
court of characters that includes the celebrated The Virgin Queen (Charles LeMaire, Mary Wills,
1955) played by Bette Davis.
Act Two: Dialogue examines the intimate creative collaboration among great filmmakers, actors,
and costume designers. Using archival film footage as well as specially-commissioned
interviews, Dialogue explores four key director/designer pairings: Alfred Hitchcock and Edith
Head who worked together on 11 films including The Birds (1963); Tim Burton and Colleen
Atwood whose nine films together have spanned Edward Scissorhands (1990) to Alice in
Wonderland (2010); Martin Scorsese and Sandy Powell who have teamed on films from Gangs
of New York (2002) to the recent Hugo (2011); and Mike Nichols and Ann Roth who have
worked together for almost 30 years from Silkwood (1983) to Closer (2004).
Costume designers have worked within a rapidly changing social and technological landscape
over the last century: from silent to sound, black and white to Technicolor and from the
Golden Age studio system to multi-national corporations and art house ‘indies’. Censorship,
remakes and genre are deconstructed in a section devoted to historic and social context.
Cleopatra (1934) designed by Travis Banton stands alongside the 1963 interpretation by Irene
Sharaff starring Elizabeth Taylor. Thoroughly researched by the designers, the look of each
Cleopatra is ultimately defined by the fashions of its own era. Archetypal cinematic genres are
explored with sword and sandal epics such as Ben Hur (Elizabeth Haffenden, 1959), Westerns
including True Grit (Mary Zophres, 2010), fantasy films such as Star Wars Episode IV: A New
Hope (John Mollo, 1977) and period drama like A Room with a View (John Bright, Jenny Beavan,
1985). It shows how costume designers have embraced the innovations in technology and
animation, such as Joanna Johnston’s design for Jessica Rabbit in Who Framed Roger Rabbit
(1988), computer generated imaging (CGI) and motion-capture (mo-cap), exemplified by
characters from Avatar (Deborah L. Scott, Mayes C. Rubeo 2009).
Dialogue concludes with the ‘Art of Becoming;’ two case-studies on the award-winning actors
Robert De Niro and Meryl Streep. In specially commissioned interviews, both actors, celebrated
for their transformative skills, discuss the importance of costume in developing and playing a
range of their characters. Five costumes from each of their most famous roles are on view.
The final section, Act Three: Finale presents the best known costumes in cinema history in a
spectacle of Hollywood heroes and femme fatales. Some of the most glamorous sirens from
Roxie Hart in Chicago (Colleen Atwood, 2002) to Catherine Tramell in Basic Instinct (Ellen
Mirojnick, 1992) are seen alongside fantasy, sci-fi and superhero characters including Bram
Stoker’s Dracula (Eiko Ishioka, 1992), Twilight: New Moon (Tish Monaghan, 2009) and the latest
high-tech suit for Batman in The Dark Knight Rises (Lindy Hemming, 2012). With costume
designer Judianna Makovsky’s Gryffindor uniform design for Harry Potter to Errol Flynn’s
doublet in The Adventures of Don Juan (Marjorie Best, 1948). Finale will feature the fêted white
ivory cocktail dress worn by Marilyn Monroe as The Girl in The Seven Year Itch (William Travilla,
1955) and designer Jacqueline Durran’s unforgettable green silk charmeuse gown worn by
Keira Knightley as Cecilia Tallis in Atonement (2007). These examples show the most
memorable costumes, characters and stories that continue to inspire generations, fashion
trends and enrich international popular culture.
Exhibition Publication
The exhibition is accompanied by a fully illustrated publication Hollywood Costume, edited by
Deborah Nadoolman Landis. For press information about the book, contact Julie Chan on
020 7942 2701 or j.chan@vam.ac.uk
Exhibition Merchandise
There is a V&A Shop range inspired by Hollywood Costume. For press information on
merchandise accompanying the exhibition, contact Lee Kendall on 020 7942 2681 or
l.kendall@vam.ac.uk
Exhibition Supporters
Support for the V&A is more vital than ever. Please help us by acknowledging the exhibition
lead sponsor Harry Winston
Exhibition Lead Sponsor – Harry Winston
For over seven decades, Harry Winston has been an integral part of Hollywood’s glamorous
history. A true icon of international glamour, it continues to set the standard for the ultimate
in fine jewellery and high end watchmaking, creating infinitely beautiful jewels of
unsurpassable style. Today, Harry Winston operates 22 global retail salons worldwide in
locations including London, Paris, New York, Beverly Hills, Tokyo, Beijing and the Middle East.
For press information, please contact Orla Colgan on +44(0)20 7907 8800 or
ocolgan@harrywinston.com
www.harrywinston.com
With special thanks to Mr David C. Copley
With thanks to the Blavatnik Family Foundation
The Blavatnik Family Foundation is an active supporter of leading educational, scientific,
cultural and charitable institutions in the United States, the United Kingdom and throughout
the world. It is headed by Len Blavatnik, the founder and Chairman of Access Industries, a
privately-held U.S. industrial group.
Travel Partner – American Airlines
American Airlines is a long-term supporter of the arts and culture in the UK and sponsors
theatres, events, and festivals across the globe including Europe, the USA and Asia. They fly
from London Heathrow to seven US gateways – Boston, Chicago, Dallas, Miami, Los Angeles,
New York and Raleigh-Durham and from Manchester to Chicago. AA, American Eagle and the
AmericanConnection® carrier serve 260 airports in more than 50 countries and territories with,
on average, more than 3,300 daily flights.
Technology Partner – Samsung
Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. is a global leader in semiconductor, telecommunication, digital
media and digital convergence technologies.
With additional support from the American Friends of the Victoria and Albert Museum, Inc.
Sponsored by
With special thanks to Mr David C. Copley
With thanks to Blavatnik Family Foundation
Travel partner: American Airlines
Technology partner: Samsung
Image: The Wizard of Oz, 1939. MGM/The Kobal Collection
For further PRESS information about the exhibition please contact the V&A press office on
020 7942 2502 or press.office@vam.ac.uk
The Victoria and Albert Museum
Cromwell Road, London SW7 2RL
daily 10:00 – 17:45 and until 22:00 every Friday
Admission to the V&A is free.