Lady LUX

Movie buffs and fashionistas alike will relish in everything from the newest costume design exhibition on the West Coast, “CUT! Costume and the Cinema.” Presented by Exhibits Development Group in cooperation with the renowned British company, Cosprop Ltd., London, the exhibit enables visitors to discover the glamour, luxury and artistry of cinematic couture while experiencing five centuries of fashion. Here, visitors will bask in the glamorous ambiance of big-screen cinema and the allure of famous movie stars.

The exhibit made its premiere at the Bowers Museum in Santa Ana, Calif. on December 15 and is set to reside until March 10th. Displaying a lavish collection of 43 costumes from over 20 different movies, “CUT!” celebrates the wonder and beauty of timeless period films and the cinematic fashion of costume design.

Visitors are transported through five separate centuries, representing 500 years of fashion, beginning in fairytale England, to colonial Virginia, to eighteenth-century England and to nineteenth-century Paris. Costume fanatics will also enjoy fashion picks from films set in the early twentieth century during WWI Italy, 1930s Shanghai and WWII Belarus. At “CUT!,” visitors will learn how costumes set the movie scene by providing information about where and when the drama is taking place and introduce characters by adding clues about their age, wealth, class and status, including their role in the story.

The 43 costumes once worn by 30 different actors demonstrate incomparable craftsmanship, creativity and the essential realism that costumes bring to a period film. A portion of the costumes have won Academy awards, BAFTAs and other major accolades.

Costumes displayed throughout the exhibit are from well-known period films including “Ever After,” “The Duchess,” “The Phantom of the Opera,” “Finding Neverland,” “Pirates of the Caribbean” and “Sherlock Holmes.”

Coming from actual film productions, the costumes have been worn by actors such as Johnny Depp, Angelica Houston, Keira Knightly, Kate Winslet, Emmy Rossum, Natalie Portman, Daniel Craig, Heath Ledger, Kate Beckinsale, Robert Downey Jr., Amy Adams and Natasha Richardson.

Many of the costumes pay homage to historical and classic fashion trends and design with masterful embroidery, needlework, pleating, stitching and lacework. The sumptuous fabrics, luscious lace and embroidery details are what make these sensational costumes come to life on the big screen and in person.

A few standout men’s costumes include two worn by Johnny Depp as Captain Jack Sparrow in “Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl,” complete with sashes, belt and boots; a red and gold silk brocade coat worn by Heath Ledger in “Casanova;” and a distressed leather military jacket worn by Daniel Craig in “Defiance.”

A few high-fashion dresses within the exhibit include a green velvet sixteenth-century style dress worn by Angelica Houston in “Ever After,” a cream silk night dress with train worn by Kate Winslet in “Finding Neverland,” a sparkling pink gown from “The Phantom of the Opera” worn by Emmy Rossum and a red taffeta ball gown inspired by Christian Dior worn by Lara Flynn Boyle in the satirical, “Land of the Blind.”

Associate professor of costume design at the University of California, Irvine, Holly Poe Durbin, was a guest scholar for “CUT!” and was very impressed with how the exhibit came about.

“This exhibition illustrates how we can enjoy costumes on three levels: as art forms in themselves made to fit one particular actor with laborious decorations and fine fabrics; as embodiments of the characters they define that show so much information about a specific life and attitude, and as examples of fashions from the past and the role they played in our lives to define status and personal dignity,” she said. “Costume designers must blend costumes from many sources; those made to order like these in the exhibit, along with rentals from costume warehouses and some actual vintage garments. Part of the designers' art, then, is to so artfully mix these items [so] they look like they all belong in the same story, regardless of their origin.”

All 43 costumes are special to the world of cinema and hold true to their beauty even more so when seen in person. Each one is more beautiful and intricate than the next and truly exemplifies centuries of fashion and what real Hollywood costume design work entails.

“CUT!” runs until March 10th at the Bowers Museum in Santa Ana, Calif.

To learn more about “CUT!” and other Bowers Museum exhibits, visit www.Bowers.org.

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