Not long ago, it was announced that in October, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences would be joining with the Victoria and Albert Museum to present the final showing of the groundbreaking multimedia exhibition Hollywood Costume in Los Angeles, along with feature screenings, special interviews with costume designers, and more at other locations. The Academy has now released a wealth of information about the exhibit, screenings, special events, and more to take place from October through February 2015.


Organized by the Victoria and Albert Museum, and sponsored by Swarovski, the ticketed exhibition and associated screening series will explore the central role of costume design – from the glamorous to the very subtle – as an essential tool of cinematic storytelling.

The Academy is enhancing the V&A’s existing exhibition and will encompass more than 150 costumes, including the addition of more than 40 costumes, from Jared Leto's costume from Dallas Buyers Club (Kurt and Bart, 2013), to costumes from such recent releases as The Hunger Games (Judianna Makovsky, 2012), Django Unchained  (Sharen Davis, 2012), Lee Daniels' The Butler  (Ruth E. Carter, 2013), The Wolf of Wall Street  (Sandy Powell, 2013), American Hustle  (Michael Wilkinson, 2013), and The Great Gatsby  (Catherine Martin, 2013). In addition, Hollywood Costume will showcase the Academy’s pair of the most famous shoes in the world – the original ruby slippers from The Wizard of Oz (Adrian, 1939) shown with Dorothy’s blue and white gingham pinafore dress.

“We are thrilled to bring this innovative exhibition to Los Angeles,” said Cheryl Boone Isaacs, Academy President. “Hollywood Costume invites visitors to see some of the most well-known costumes from their favorite movies and to explore the impact designers have in creating our most beloved characters.”

With a mission to challenge (or “upend”) the conventions of what is considered a “costume,” Hollywood Costume reminds viewers that films are about people, and that the art of the costume designer helps to create their characters. On view from October 2, 2014, through March 2, 2015, the exhibition will bring together iconic costumes from Hollywood’s Golden Age, including costumes for Marlene Dietrich from Morocco (1930) and Angel (1937) designed by Travis Banton, and from modern classics such as Mary Poppins (Tony Walton, 1964), Raiders of the Lost Ark (Deborah Nadoolman, 1981) and Titanic(Deborah L. Scott, 1997). 

Hollywood Costume is curated by Academy Award-nominated costume designer Deborah Nadoolman Landis, founding director of UCLA’s David C. Copley Center for the Study of Costume Design, whose credits include National Lampoon’s Animal House (1978), Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981), Coming to America (1988) and the music video for Michael Jackson’s “Thriller” (1983); with Sir Christopher Frayling (Professor Emeritus of Cultural History, Royal College of Art), and set and costume designer and V&A Assistant Curator Keith Lodwick.

“Cinematic icons are born when the audience falls deeply in love with the people in the story. And that’s what movies and costume design are all about,” noted Landis.

The exhibition is the culmination of a five-year effort to source, identify and secure objects from all over the world. The collectors who have loaned to the exhibition include major motion picture studios, costume houses, actors, public museums and archives, and private individuals.

Exhibition Structure

The exhibit’s innovative structure helps to take visitors on a non-chronological, four-gallery journey that tells the story of costume design from early Charlie Chaplin (The Tramp, 1912) to Man of Steel (James Acheson and Michael Wilkinson, 2013). 

Hollywood Costume includes montages, animation, film clips, and projections, supported by a specially commissioned score written by British composer Julian Scott. The clothes are exhibited alongside quotes and interviews with costume designers, directors, and actors discussing the role that costume plays in creating the characters onscreen.

Act One: Deconstruction introduces the role of costume design in cinematic storytelling. This section explores the link between clothing and identity and how designers bring characters to life. Deconstruction features contemporary and period costumes from films including The Social Network (Jacqueline West, 2010), Dreamgirls (Sharen Davis, 2006), Fight Club (Michael Kaplan, 1999), The Addams Family (Ruth Myers, 1991), Dangerous Liaisons, (James Acheson, 1988), Barry Lyndon (Ulla-Britt Söderlund, Milena Canonero, 1975), The Virgin Queen (Charles LeMaire, Mary Wills, 1955) and Mildred Pierce (Milo Anderson, 1945). The costume designer’s research process is revealed using designs and sketches, costume fittings, budget breakdowns, and script pages with dialogue containing personality-defining clues.

Act Two: Dialogue examines the creative collaboration among great filmmakers, actors and costume designers. Using archival film footage as well as specially commissioned interviews, Dialogue explores five key director/designer pairings: Alfred Hitchcock and Edith Head, who worked together on 11 films including The Birds (1963); Tim Burton and Colleen Atwood, whose films together have spanned from Edward Scissorhands(1990) to Dark Shadows (2012); Martin Scorsese and Sandy Powell, who have teamed on films from Gangs of New York (2002) to The Wolf of Wall Street (2013); and Mike Nichols and Ann Roth, who have worked together for over 20 years on films from Silkwood (1983) to Closer (2004).

The Academy’s presentation of Hollywood Costume features a new interview with writer-director Quentin Tarantino and costume designer Sharen Davis, who collaborated on Django Unchained (2012). This section also explores how costume designers have worked within the rapidly changing social and technological landscape of the last century: from silent to sound, from black and white to Technicolor, and from the studio system of Hollywood’s Golden Age to multi-national corporations and art house “indies.” Censorship, remakes and genre will be deconstructed in a section devoted to historic and social context. It will also show how costume designers have embraced the innovations in technology and animation, such as Joanna Johnston’s design for the animated character Jessica Rabbit in Who Framed Roger Rabbit (1988), and the designs integrating motion-capture (“mo-cap”), exemplified by characters from Avatar (Mayes C. Rubio, Deborah L. Scott, 2009).

Act Three: Finale presents the most memorable and treasured costumes in cinema history, for Hollywood heroes, leading ladies, and femme fatales alike. They include those for Daniel Craig as James Bond in Casino Royale (Lindy Hemming, 2006) Marilyn Monroe as “The Girl” with the pleated white halter dress in The Seven Year Itch (Travilla, 1955), Barbra Streisand as Fanny Brice in Funny Girl (Irene Sharaff, 1968) and Sharon Stone as Catherine Tramell in Basic Instinct (Ellen Mirojnick, 1992). Iconic fantasy, sci-fi, and superhero costumes will also be on view, from films including Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (Jany Temime, 2009), The Twilight Saga: New Moon (Tish Monaghan, 2009), Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines (April Ferry, 2003) and Bram Stoker’s Dracula (Eiko Ishioka, 1992). Finale explores how beloved characters continue to inspire film lovers, ignite fashion trends, and enrich international popular culture.

Screenings, Lectures and More

A full slate of exhibition-related programs including screenings and lectures will accompany the exhibition.

The Academy announced this week that it will complement the Hollywood Costume exhibition with a series of special screenings and live discussions exploring costume design as an essential tool of cinematic storytelling. The exhibit will also be accompanied by a full slate of exhibition-related programs including screenings, discussions with costume designers, and educational programs. Visitors who purchase tickets to Hollywood Costume will receive free admission to Academy events held on the same day.

Upcoming exhibition-related public programs will include:

The Perfect Match: Hollywood Costume Collaborations
Taking place on Saturdays from October 4 through December 20, 2014, this screening series explores the relationship specific Hollywood costume designers have developed with directors, whether over large bodies of work or in concentrated periods of creative collaboration, spanning the silent era to present day. A diverse range of costume designers will speak about their work with noted directors, including: Mary Zophres on Ethan and Joel Coen, Mark Bridges on Paul-Thomas Anderson, Marilyn Vance on John Hughes, Jeffrey Kurland on Woody Allen, and Deborah Nadoolman Landis on John Landis.

The Costume of Silent Drama: Mary Pickford and Little Annie Rooney

In November 2014 (dates to be announced), the costumes of the silent film era will be celebrated in “The Mary Pickford Celebration of Silent Film,” presented by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and the Mary Pickford Foundation. The event will include the world premiere of a restoration by the Academy Film Archive of the silent classic, starring screen legend and Academy co-founder Mary Pickford.

Defining Character: The Art of the Costume Designer

Moderated by Hollywood Costume curator and costume designer Deborah Nadoolman Landis, November will also include “Defining Character: The Art of the Costume Designer,” in which preeminent costume designers will discuss the art and process of creating on-screen characters through costuming. Topics will include significant moments in film that have inspired their work, as well as the director-costume designer collaboration.

Street Clothes: Contemporary Costuming in New Hollywood

Taking place on Fridays, January 9 through February 6, 2015, “Street Clothes” includes a survey of groundbreaking films from Hollywood’s “Silver Age” as told through costuming. This series examines how costume designers have depicted the dramatic flavors of contemporary urban American life.

Two Sides of a Designer

On Saturdays, January 3 through February 28, 2015, this series pays tribute to the adaptability and eclecticism of costume designers throughout cinema history by contrasting their approaches to different filmmakers, genres, styles and production modes.

Return to Oz: Costuming the Big Adventures of 1985

On Fridays, February 13 through 27, 2015, this series celebrates the outlandish fantasies and screwball adventures that filled summer screens 30 years ago.

Feature-length screenings celebrating “Masters of Hollywood Costume: The Golden Age of Hollywood as seen through the costumes of five iconic designers)” will also feature the designers from October 2014 through February 2015.

Ticket Information

Exhibition tickets for Hollywood Costume are on sale now. Admission: $20 Adults, $15 Seniors (62+) | $10 for students with ID and children under 13. Public program tickets are $5 for the general public, $3 for Academy members, LACMA Film Club members and students with a valid I.D. Doors open one hour prior to each event. All seating is unreserved.

Visitors who purchase tickets to Hollywood Costume will receive free admission to Academy events held on the same day. Visitors must present their Hollywood Costume ticket at the Bing Theater Box Office for free admission.

Tickets are on sale now at www.oscars.org/HollywoodCostume. For more ticket information, contact: 310-247-3049 or HollywoodCostume@oscars.org.