The new exhibition at Dovecot Studios which opens on 18 July includes a wide range of costumes and accessories which are part of the collection founded by costume designer, John Bright.
Bright is a London-based, Oscar and BAFTA-winning designer who founded Cosprop in 1965. This is the go to place for filmmakers to access period costumes, either existing or which have to be made to order.
After 60 years, the company has dressed characters in many films and TV series such as Helena Bonham Carter in A Room With A View, Meryl Streep in Out of Africa and Maggie Smith.
Among the less ornate costumes is the outfit which Colin Firth wore in the opening scene when audiences first caught sight of him as Mr Darcy in Pride and Prejudice.
And on the other end of the scale is the bejewelled dress made for Leslie Manville who was the title character in Mrs Harris Goes to Paris.
There is a book, with a foreword by Dame Judi Dench, to accompany the exhibition written by former V&A film curator, Keith Lodwick. Keith has written the book ‘The Costume House’ which is described as a behind-the-seams look at Cosprop.
He spoke with The Edinburgh Reporter and you can listen to the chat below.
Mr Lodwick said: “John has been a lifelong collector, and he has a museum collection which are some very fragile original pieces that are used for inspiration and then sometimes as a guide to create a new piece of clothing.
“John’s ethos was really about recreating a time and place in as accurate a way as possible and so having something original say from the 18th or 19th century allows a costume designer and a maker to be inspired by this object to create something new.
“In the whole of Cosprop including accessories there’s about one million objects. It is really a testament to him as a collector.”
Cosprop is not open to the public and the exhibition is a real insight into behind the scenes of costume making – where nobody gets to go unless they are an actor or involved in the film.
The very first stop on our tour was outfit number one. It is Miss Havisham’s wedding dress from the 1965 BBC adaptation of Great Expectations. Keith explained that it was made in black and white, and while there are some lovely details on the outfit it had to appear distressed as Miss H was jilted and wore the dress ever since she was left at the altar.
Another outfit appears in two different versions – the dress for Mrs Harris goes to Paris – a pristine version and a slightly bedraggled version which is part of the story of the film, so no spoilers here.
On Friday 17 July Keith will lead a preview curator talk.
