The exhibition showcased over 100 of the most iconic costumes from the past century of movie making, providing a once in a lifetime opportunity to see up close the costumes worn by our favourite characters and actors and actresses. It is set over three galleries, providing an amazing insight into the process of designing and bringing to life the costumes we see on the big screen.
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| From the Royal Court Section |
I was on the underground when I first found out about the exhibition. It is hard not to notice a bright red poster with one of your child's favourite characters staring back at you. That character was Dorothy Gale from The Wizard of Oz, a movie my daughter loves. I was intrigued and researched it the moment I was able to. The moment I knew I was going to be able to see these costumes up close, within touching distance, I knew it was something I could not pass up. The idea, when I booked, was for it to be a birthday surprise for my daughter, but that was ruined when my father in law let slip to Rachael. However, she didn't care as she was going to see the famous blue dress that Judy Garland had worn all those years ago!
We regularly take the children to museums as we feel it is important to engage them with this part of our British culture from an early age, but we had never actually paid to see a temporary exhibition. I only paid £16.50 for me and Rachael went free, so I do feel it was good value for money.
Once we gained entry, we discovered just how busy and popular the exhibition was. It was packed and moving slowly round each area. Rachael was desperate to see the dress from The Wizard of Oz, so walked all the way round to the very end of the exhibition just to see it. I sneakily took a photo of it, despite no photography allowed, but I was not the only person!
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| Johnny Depp: Captain Jack Sparrow |
We then made our way back to the start to begin with Act 1: Deconstruction. This area was broken down into case studies, providing information about how the costumes were designed. Costumes in this area included Harrison Ford's from Indiana Jones: Raiders of the Lost Ark, a selection of costumes, including George Clooney's, from Ocean 11, Beyonce's from Dreamgirls and a whole host of costumes depicting royalty including Helen Mirren as Elizabeth II, Kirsten Dunst as Marie Antoinette and Bette Davis as Elizabeth I. Rachael and I were fascinated by the detail put into each and every costume, even the shoes which are not always seen in the end product.
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| Daniel Radcliffe: Harry Potter |
The next gallery was titled, Act 2: Dialogue. This area provided interviews with costume designers, film makers and actors, specially recorded for the exhibition. One section provided 5 of the most memorable costumes from both Meryl Streep, including her costume from The Iron Lady, and Robert De Niro, including his costume from Taxi Driver. Other costumes included Charlton Heston's from Ben Hur, John Wayne's from Stage Coach, Darth Vader, Viven Leigh's from Gone With The Wind, Elizabeth Taylor's from Cleopatra, Berenice Bejo's from The Artist and even a motion capture outfit, plus many more.
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| Robert Downey Jnr: Sherlock Holmes |
The final gallery of costumes was titled, Act 3: The Finale. This area housed some of the most famous costumes and characters from movie history, including Harry Potter, Captain Jack Sparrow, Superman, Spiderman, Rose Dewitt (Titanic), Santine (Moulin Rouge), Elle Woods (Legally Blonde), Dorothy Gale and the most famous dress Marilyn Monroe ever wore!
We ended only spending about 40 minutes due to how busy it was and how hot it was, meaning we did not read every piece information available to us. However, I did buy the book, which is filled with far more information and costumes than what was available to us in the actual exhibition. Despite that, it was worth every penny for the once in a lifetime opportunity to see all these iconic costumes up close!
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| Judy Garland: Dorothy Gale |
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