FROM period classics to sword and sandals epics, they have helped create unforgettable visual feasts for film fans for more than half a century.
A collection of sumptuous costumes worn by some of cinema’s biggest names in about 20 hit movies since the late 1940s has gone on show at a leading North East visitor attraction.
The stunning outfits are the originals worn on shoots by box office favourites such as Johnny Depp, Cate Blanchett and Hugh Grant. All of them have been either winners or nominees at the Oscars or Baftas over the decades.
Now they have been brought together in the exhibition which celebrates more than 60 years of the best in British costume design.
Dressing the Stars, which was put together by former film industry wardrobe mistress Yvonne Hellin-Hobbs, opens today at Woodhorn Museum near Ashington.
The 40 costumes were worn by stars such as Keira Knightley in The Duchess, Kate Winslet, Hugh Grant and Emma Thompson in Sense and Sensibility, Johnny Depp and Orlando Bloom in Pirates of the Caribbean, Judi Dench in Shakespeare in Love, and Colin Firth and Helena Bonham Carter in The King’s Speech.
The first Briton to win an Oscar for costume design was Roger Furse, for Hamlet in 1948, and the exhibition includes the outfit worn by Sir Laurence Olivier in the title role.
Other films whose costumes are featured include Death on the Nile, Tess, A Room with a View, Dangerous Liaisons, Henry V, Howard’s End, Gladiator, Troy, The Duchess and Young Victoria.
Ms Hellin-Hobbs, who started off designing miniature costumes and whose first major film as a wardrobe mistress was Batman in 1988, put together the collection for an exhibition in Bath in 2011.
This is only the second time it has gone on show in full, although smaller sections of it have been displayed elsewhere.
Yesterday she said: “Woodhorn has made a fantastic job of the setting, and this is probably the best the exhibition has ever looked. It is very effective and I think it’s going to be a very popular exhibition.
“People love to see the workmanship and sparkle that has gone into these costumes, but they also love the fact that they have been worn by stars like Johnny Depp and Kate Winslet.
“To put together the exhibition I drew up a list of award-winning films and then contacted costume houses and asked which ones they had from these films. Others, such as the Johnny Depp and Hamlet costumes, I got from private ownership.
“My own personal favourite is the costume designed by Anthony Powell for Nastassja Kinski in Tess. It is so delicate and beautiful.”
Paramjit Khaira, events and exhibitions assistant at Woodhorn, said: “It has been fantastic helping to put this exhibition together. It’s not every day you get the chance to iron Hugh Grant’s shirt.”
The exhibition runs until June 9.
