Costume Couture: Sixty Years of Cosprop

‘We entered Cosprop as ourselves and walked out as the person we were playing.’ – Helena Bonham Carter

Founded by Oscar and BAFTA-winning costume designer John Bright in 1965, legendary London based Cosprop specialises in period costume for film, television and theatre. Through his work as a costume designer, a costumier, maker, advisor, collector and historian, Bright’s intelligence and eye for detail is in thousands of film, television and stage productions.

This once-in-a-lifetime exhibition features many costumes never seen in public before. Helena Bonham Carter in A Room with a View, Meryl Streep in Out of Africa, Maggie Smith in Downton Abbey, Colin Firth as Mr Darcy in Pride and Prejudice, and Leslie Manville in Mrs. Harris Goes to Paris. Cosprop is synonymous with dressing iconic characters in award-winning films and television. 

This exhibition is a celebration of sixty years of Cosprop’s creativity and an opportunity to see behind the scenes of this celebrated costume house. Through stunning costumes, accessories and sketches, the visitor will learn the design and making process from script-to screen. Leading costume designers and actors will share their thoughts on favourite costumes, showing how Cosprop brought these magical moments to life.

The exhibition will be accompanied by a beautiful, richly illustrated book celebrating sixty years of Cosprop, written by former V&A film curator Keith Lodwick, and with a foreword by Dame Judi Dench. 

‘Actors walk in with just a script and the name of their character. They walk out with that character fully formed in their mind, having brought him or her to life through the angle of a hat, the fabric of a coat or the feel of a pair of shoes.’ – John Bright

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Image Credits:

Onegin, worn by Liv Tyler © Cosprop - Jon Stokes, Julia Buckmiller

A Room with a View, worn by Helena Bonham Carter © Cosprop - Jon Stokes, Julia Buckmiller

Cosprop © Paul Bulley

Tess, worn by Natassja Kinski © Cosprop - Jon Stokes, Julia Buckmiller

Exhibition organised by the Fashion and Textile Museum, London