Iconic Film Costumes To Go On Show

Iconic film costumes spanning a century in cinema are to go on display in London later this year.

The exhibition Hollywood Costume will feature more than 100 clothes worn by such memorable characters as Dorothy Gale, as played by Judy Garland in The Wizard of Oz, and Travis Bickle, portrayed by Robert De Niro in Taxi Driver, both pictured right.

Other outfits at the V&A exhibition will include those of Darth Vader and Indiana Jones, as well as Captain Jack Sparrow, Scarlett O’Hara, and Holly Golightly, while the 2002 film version of Spider-Man, whose costumes were designed by James Acheson, will also be featured.

The three-gallery display will be divided into sections (or Acts), namely Deconstruction, Dialogue, and Finale, starting in the Charlie Chaplin era and finishing with the cutting-edge design of today.

Deconstruction "puts us in the shoes of the costume designer and illuminates the process of designing a character from script to screen", while Dialogue "examines the key collaborative role of the costume designer within the creative team", and Finale "celebrates the most beloved characters in the history of Hollywood and the 'silver screen'".

The promotional material adds:


Billed as a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to see film costumes that have previously never left their private and archival collections in California, the exhibition, which is being curated by Professor Deborah Nadoolman Landis (who is married to the film director John Landis), Professor Sir Christopher Frayling, and Keith Lodwick, runs from 20th October 2012 to 27th January 2013.