Auburn Urbanite: Hollywood Costumes Exhibition

The V&A is currently paying homage to Hollywood’s most iconic characters by displaying over 100 costumes that have graced the silver screen during the last century. The exhibition is split into 3 sections, the first is Act 1 – Deconstruction. This explores the history and the and character's background and elements that make up the character. Once this has been established then the design process can begin.

Act 2 - Dialogue represents the creative collaboration between the film makers and the costume designers and is followed by Act 3 - Finale. The last section of the exhibition was by far my favorite which housed all the types of hollywood glamour that one might expect to see from an exhibition such as this. This included the beautiful green silk charmeuse gown worn by Keira Knightly in Atonment, Roxie Hart's full length black sequin and beaded dress worn by Renee Zellweger in Chicago, Joan Crawford's exquisite full length beaded dress and matching cape from The Bride Worn Red, Marilyn Monroe's iconic white dress from The 7 Year Itch and also the daring gold and bronze chiffon dress she wore in Some Like it Hot.

Other gowns which caught my eye were Audrey Hepburn's black Givenchy evening gown worn in Breakfast at Tiffany’s, Nichole Kidman's pink showgirl bodice with ostrich feather bustle in Moulin Rouge, Vivine Leigh's green curtain dress and red velvet evening gown both worn in Gone With The Wind and the beautifully structured white and navy stripped suit worn by Kate Winslet in the opening of the Titanic.

Other costumes that were on display included Batman from The Dark Knight Rises worn by Christian Bale, the Spiderman costume worn by Toby Maguire, the Catwoman costume worn by Michelle Pfeiffer in Batman Returns, and the pirate costume worn by Johnny Dept in Pirates of the Caribbean.

The are so many wonderful costumes within this exhibition so if you get the opportunity you really should visit before the exhibition draws to a close on the 27th January 2013. I'm a bit of a magpie when it comes to anything that sparkles so I was in my element getting up close and personal with so many beautiful gowns.