Dressing the Stars

When people think of the Brits at the Oscars they think of the stars or maybe the directors, but there are another breed of Oscar and BAFTA winning Brits who deserve as much recognition – the costume designers. This exhibition aims to bring together many award winning costumes and the designers who created them.

On display are costumes from The Duchess, much of which was shot at the Assembly Rooms, Sense and Sensibility, Pirates of the Caribbean, Elizabeth, The French Lieutenant’s Woman, Tess and many more.

The first Brit to win a costume Oscar was Roger Furse for Hamlet in 1948. Since then there have been many nominated and winning British costume designers at the American and British Film Academy Awards, and in the past fifty years the Brits have been sweeping the board in Hollywood.

Not only are costumes themselves on display but also clips from the films and interviews with the designers about the process involved in creating an award winning costume. From the first reading of the script to consultation with actors and directors, the creative process of interpretation is often arduous and fraught, but immensely rewarding.

Photo:

Costumes from Pirates of the Caribbean