Which Characters?

I have realised that to design in depth for the costumes in "The Importance of Being Earnest" it is better to choose some characters, or some scenes, for this very short project. The time limitation means that to use my time efficiently I believe it would be better to focus on a couple of characters in depth, their change from scene to scene, and really outline their identity within my costume designs.
Male and female character is definitely the direction I would like to go in, otherwise the effectiveness of my all female cast would be lost in translation and the production is not actually being performed. It will also help me illustrate the current androgyny in womenswear.
Personally the characters of Algernon and Cecily, are my favourite couple in the play and there is the opportunity to design with contrast. Algernon the elaborate and mischievous bachelor and Cecily the young innocent country girl. In terms of colour and shape, designing for these two characters would be most enjoyable I think, and allow me to create something the most visually interesting for the audience to enjoy. Lady Bracknell is another character that I would enjoy to design for, however I think the time limitation is too short and therefore would affect in a bad way the quality of my designs for Algernon and Cecily. Consequently, I will only do this couple (A & C ) in depth. However, I could possibly create an entire cast sketch in the set, perhaps the last scene, which would allow me to create a fuller context in which my costume designs would be seen and the chance to design simplistically the other characters.

Personal Tutorial

After speaking to my tutor today, I have some issues to resolve in my project:

1)  We discussed my overall design approach to the brief and I received positive feedback. My all female cast idea was taken well giving me a little more confidence in the idea and consequently I am choosing to stick with this.

2) The idea for the fabric (fragmented Victorian wallpaper pattern, inspired by analytical cubism), we decided was one layer too many. I've decided to just use the original wallpaper patterns as there is a nice alliance between female cast and this fabric. It emphasises the rigid society in Victorian times, what was expected fo women and where they would spend all their time, in these rooms covered in this wallpaper.

3)My design sketches are too fashion based and therefore I need to research into costume illustrators and make drawings which are more expressive and tellng of the characters. *NB, Pamela Howard.

4) Emphasis on need for a set design to give the costumes a fuller context (world they would be seen in).

5) The costume sketches should not be on a plain white background, use a pattern, collage, somethign to give greater context and information about the costume.

Notes on Psychology of Dress

Chapter Six: Appearance Management and Self Presentation

• In everyday life we are caught up in the act of appearing before others.
• We present existing and idealized images of self.
• By managing appearance we can try to shape others’ understandings of our identities.
• Clothes act as props, helping us move form one role to the next (theatre metaphor).
• Appearance management involves experimentation and self-expression.
• Displaying self to others in a social context, i.e. Self presentation.
• Our lives are interwoven with those of others around us.
• Our self-concepts provide some guidelines for dressing (“that’s me” versus “that’s not me”).]
• We are likely to dress differently when we are alone and when we are with others, The private context of self is likely to involve inner dialogue and thought process, experimentation and fantasy.
• Joanne Eicher (1981) uses the term secret self to refer to the self that may not be shared with any other person and notes that the secret self can dress to fulfil fantasies.
• Fantasy clothes may be sexual or bold colours that would not be worn in public. For example conflicts of gender and age may be apparent in the secret appearances of some troubled adolescents as noted by Michelman and Michelman (1986).
• The public context of self is especially likely to include concern about others’ perception of us.
• What motivates us to think about our self presentations? In part, desire to seek and maintain a sense of personal control/power to exert influence over present and future events. May wish to engage in self-presentation for purposes of individually or socially induced concerns.
• Public expression of self becomes an arena for constructing a compromise of actual and ideal self image (Baumeister, 1986).
• Self promotion, appearance display for perusal of others, to further the self in some way- as is common in a job interview or politics.
• A concept that enables us to understand perceptions of self across contexts is identity. An identity is the organised set of characteristics an individual perceives as representing or defining the self in given social situations.
• Although people have on self-concept, they may have contextually relevant identities (Troiden, 1984). For example, a person is likely to dress and behave differently in class than at a party, or when interacting with their mothers than with a date.
• Through the process of self-identification, individuals places (locate or identify) and express their own identities.
• Appearance management allows them to anticipate what identities they would like to have in a social situation, so they can present themselves accordingly to others.
• “All the world’s a stage

And all the men and women merely players:

They have their exits and their entrances;

And one man in his time plays many parts” – ‘As You Like It’, Act 2, scene, Shakespeare.

• Is all the world a stage, with all people as performers of roles? In looking at self concept and appearance, we have seen that clothes most likely represent more in our daily personal and social lives than costumes for performances before others. Yet appearance management as a form of behaviour may be characterized in part by performance of the self in context.
• The social- psychological perspective in sociology known as dramaturgy draws analogies between human behaviour and the theatre.

Notes on Psychology of Dress

Psychology of Dress, Hurlock, 1984, 2nd edition, AYER company, publishers inc.

• Interest in fashion is not of recent origin. Ever since pre-historic man began to adorn his naked body with coloured clays, clothing has been one of the absorbing and all-important problems of life. But never in history has fashion held such power as it does today.
• Fashion can thrive only in a social environment.
• “Both he and his people were black as sloes,

For the region they lived in was torrid;

And their principal clothes were a ring through the nose

And a patch of red paint on the forehead.” – Thomas Hood the Younger.

• Modesty, covering the body (create illusion as underneath is hidden)
• Modesty theory, popular opinion would have it that clothing was first worn as a result of the sense of modesty which is supposed to be an inborn characteristic of the human species. Human trait as no other animal shows any signs of embarrassment, though totally unclothed. Differs from time to time and country to country, depending on ideals of that country.
• Herbert Spencer says “the dress, like the badge was first worn from the wish for admiration.”
• One of the chief values in clothing is that is enables people to advertise themselves in way that will win the attention and admiration of others.
• Many who lack any ability and could not hope to rise above the “average” on their merits alone, find a satisfactory outlet for this desire for recognition through the medium of dress.
• Competitive imitation, previously clothing was used as a means to display wealth, but the style of dress worn by leaders of society is soon imitated by those of lower classes, thanks to commercial manufacturers.
• Primitive peoples have not been free from this form of self-display. In some of the African tribes, people wind around their bodies all the cloth they possess. If they are wealthy, they are so enveloped that their arms stand out almost straight and they nearly suffocate under the rays of the tropical sun. But to compensate for this discomfort is the pleasure which they derive from knowing that they are greatly envied by those who are more comfortable.
• “The extreme importance of clothes would disappear at once if the two sexes were to dress alike” – Havelock Ellis.
• It is a common belief that women alone are worshippers of fashion. Men laugh at them for their interest in dress and point it out as one of the weaknesses responsible for the title of ‘weaker sex’.
• Fashions for women have lagged behind those of men in brilliancy and elaborateness until very recent times. Usually there was a close parallel to be found in the general lines of the clothing for the two sexes, with a tendency for the lines for women to be slightly less elaborate than those for men.
• When women emerged from the home, feminine dress took on the elaborate form which characterised the clothing of men.

An All Female Cast?

During my research into silhouettes in fashion I started to realize the current emphasis on androgyny. This made me start to think about the possibility of having an all female cast. We all know in history plays were performed by a totally male cast, so this could be a fun spin on the production I am designing for. The suit has become a staple for the wardrobe of a woman and the cuts are becoming more and more masculine, with slouchier jackets and loose fitting trousers. I am excited about this possibility but to understand if it will work I need to try out some designs.

Rita Ora at London Fashion Week 2013
Photogrpahy via: http://twanatells.com/wp-content/
uploads/2013/02/Rita-Ora-Fashion-Week-london.jpg

Helmut Newton, 1975 for Yves Saint Laurent
Photography via: http://myfashiondaze.blogspot.co.uk/20
11/04/le-smoking-jacket-yves-saint-laurent.html

Tilda Swinton for W magazine,  August 2011
Photography via: http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-
lm3ur5FjBtU/TkYCG5sFQ8I/AAAAAAAAAJM/qT5
3Wn517c/s1600/swinton+1.jpg

Boy Meets Girl S/S 13
Photography via: http://www.fashionisingpictures.net/photo
shoots/boymeetsgirlforspringsummer201324.jpg

Approach to Design Brief

As "The Importance of Being Earnest" is set in 'the present' I think it would take the design in an interesting direction if I take this literally and base my designs on today's society.
To keep it relevant to the themes and storyline of the play I plan to create costumes with modern silhouettes but pattern the fabrics using a contemporary twist on Victorian style. Contrasting these two elements will, I believe, create a visually engaging design aesthetic and something new for this classic text.
A further development I made whilst researching for the project was to take inspiration for the modern silhouettes only from British designers, thus keeping with the English setting and style of Wilde's play.
In addition, I will approach the theme of colour by using the associations with colours to decipher the appropriate one for each character. Then taking this inspiration and applying it to the fabric patterns.
I'm excited about beginning the design process and feel enthusiastic about where my project is heading.

"The Importance of Being Earnest" - The Film, 2002

Photography courtesy of: http://ia.media-imdb.com/images/M/
MV5BMTI1MTAxNDk0Nl5BMl5BanBnXkFt
ZTcwMDg2ODEyMQ@@._V1_SY317_CR4,0,214,317_.jpg

I absolutely loved this film. The text was stuck to but with more imagination and humor than I could ever imagine. The casting and acting were spot on. I could not think of better actors to play Jack, Algernon, Gwendolen, Cecily and Lady Bracknell. The setting was beautiful in every seen and the decor was a visual feast. 

Gwendolen was portrayed more sexually and cheekily than I had read into the character which I thought worked particularly well. 

Act One, Scene 2 with Jack and Algernon was set at a bar/ party which gave the film a wider range of surroundings and made the film even more enjoyable. 

From start to finish a great production which stayed very much to the original masterpiece by Oscar Wilde. 

Colours: Meanings and Associations

I researched on the internet, in books, and generally just thought about what colour could mean and symbolize and have put all those ideas into a list which will I hope help me to make decisions for my designs in Unit 3, Part 2. It is worth noting of course that colours come in many shades which can affect what thoughts they exude. 

Page from Unit 3 Sketchbook
Watercolour colour wheel I made to help visualize and better
understandcolour possibilities for the project.
Photography by: Marina Bussandri

Black

Severe, powerful, mysterious, sophisticated, glum, depressing, mourning, grief, deadly, serious, security, oppression, menace, heaviness, simplicity, absence of light (all absorbed), on stage becomes flat, disappears in the shadows.

Blue

Serene, calming, cool, quiet, sad, nature, purity, masculine, intelligence, friendship, primary colour, trust, loyalty, wisdom, confidence, faith, heaven, sky, truth, piety, spiritual.

Brown

Drab, grim, dull, warm, earthly, poor, isolation, sad.

Gray

Professional, working world, subtle, drab, dignified, gloomy, cold, boring.

Green

Freshness, nature, success, greedy, envy, peace, luck, environment, restful, growth, harmony, fertility, stability, ambition, jealousy, sick.

Orange

Tropical, warm, healthy, positivity, motivated, garish, earthy, royal family (emblem), vitality, attracts attention, comfort, lack of intellectual values, cheer, excitement, spicy, autumnal, energetic, prison uniforms.

Pink

Soft, feminine, innocent, delicate, romantic, delicious, floral, sensual.

Purple

Royal, wealth, rich, imperial, stately, extravagance, impressive, prestigious, pomposity, supernatural, cosmos, power, nobility, luxury, bravery, courage, conceit, creativity.

Red

Alert, warning, sexual, aggressive, passionate, love, anger, demanding, vital, primary colour, religious, catches attention, spicy, war, courage, leadership, masculine energy, exciting, energetic, danger, extremes, seduction, lust, heroism, adventure, stop, fiery, strength, power, rage, wrath. 

White

Clean, pure, safe, light, goodness, faith, harmony, young, innocent, simple, virginity, perfection, on stage flares, sensual, delicate, soft, romantic.

Yellow

Sunny, bright, warmth, hopeful, optimistic, energetic, primary colour, loyalty, alertness, deity, most visible of spectrum, tropics, joyful, alive, summer and spring, intellect, cheer, honor, creativity, attention, courage, spicy. 

Pages from Unit 3 Sketchbook
Photography by: Marina Bussandri

Pages from Unit 3 Sketchbook
Photography by: Marina Bussandri

Pages from Unit 3 Sketchbook
Photography by: Marina Bussandri

David Bowie Is: The Exhibition

The V&A should be proud to have such a visually engaging, beautifully curated and incredibly popular exhibition being held at present.
Costumes, album covers, hand written lyrics, photographs, paintings, videos and of course music made up the incredibly dense exhibit. Trying to admire and learn about such a large amount of work when the exhibition was so crowded was difficult. In addition, the provided headset with audio clips was not working properly and made it very confusing to understand. Despite the technical difficulties, and crowds of people just seeing such extravagant and one-of-a-kind pieces was a treat in itself. The exhibition was held in rooms with dark coloured walls and dim lighting consequently highlighting each piece and making the whole experience more atmospheric.
It is next to impossible to try and explain or describe the entire collection of material so I will simply have to talk about some of my favourites.
In my opinion this is the best exhibition I've seen in my life. Never have I been so blown away by how everything was presented. It was original, vibrant, informative, rich in history, culture, beauty and with a wide range of mixed media. I will definitely be visiting again!

Character Analysis: "The Importance of Being Earnest".

John (Jack/Earnest) Worthing, J.P
*Protagonist
*Represents conventional Victorian values, such as: duty, courtship, respectability.
*Hypcritically flouts these characteristics.
*He knows what's expected from Victorian society.
*Escapes the boundaries of his real life and respectability by going to the city and indulging in the actions and behaviours he pretends to disapprove of in his 'brother'.
*Leads a double life (Jack in the country/ Earnest in the city).
*Initals after his name stand for Justice of Peace, a legal judge.
*Feels less at home in aristocratic society as he is a foundling.
*Ironically called his brother Earnest, as in fact deceiving everyone.
*Represents hypocrisy in Victorian morality.
*Denies to himself and others his moral wrongdoing.

Algernon Moncrieff
*Friend of Jack from the city, secondary hero.
*Self absorbed, stylish, witty, idle, charismatic, a decorative bachelor.
*Swears to never to marry, but falls in love with Cecily (Jack's ward)
*Speaks in paradoxical and epigrammatic pronouncements.
*Living is an art form (embodies this view of Oscar Wilde), life is art, something one creates oneself.
*Disrespects the society he is to inherit.
*No moral convictions, he feels his only duty is to live beautifully.
*Like Jack, creates a fictional character "Bunbury" to escape his responsibilities and leave the city to avoid social engagements.
*Propoenent of aestheticism.
*Takes innocent delight in his ingenuity, acknowledges his wrongdoing and revels in it.
*Doesn't take himself seriously.
*Upper class, opulent living.
*Hedonist.

Gwendolen Fairfax
*Represents conventional Victorian womanhood.
*Bent on self-improvements, she has ideas and ideals and attends lectures.
*Cosmopolitan and pretentious.
*Elegant fashion and sophistication.
*Daughter of Lady Bracknell, similar outrageous pronouncements and speaks with an air of authority.
*Her consciousness of self-image clouds her judgement.
*She is the dominant aggressive partner in the relationship with Jack (inverted traditional gender roles)
*Her movements and speech is very calculated.
*Fixated on the name "Earnest" (metaphor for Victorian middle and upper classes obsession with virtue and honor).

Cecily Cardew
*Child of nature, lives in the country, the traditional home of innocence.
*Antithesis of Gwendolen.
*Young and pretty.
*Dresses and wears her hair simply.
*Her innocence is contrasted with her fascination of wickedness. She falls for Jack's brother Earnest, from hearing his wicked tales and bad reputation.
*Unwillingness to 'improve'.
*Superficial, only interested in marrying a man named Earnest, like Gwendolen.
*She invented and elaborate romance with Earnest, this fantasisim is similar to Jack and Algernon.
*Perfect mate for Algernon, given to creating fictions. Again embodies the view that life is a work of art, so represented in her journal and correspondence with Earnest.
*A romantic.

Lady Bracknell
*Antagonist of the play, blocks both potential marriages.
*Aunt of Algernon, mother of Gwendolen.
*Only character without a foil of partner (Jack/ Gwen, Algy/ Cecily, Miss Prism/ Chausable, Lane/ Merriman)
*Passes judgement on other's behaviour, not silently.
*Archetypal upper class Victorian matron. Typical Victorian Classicism.
*Embodies rules and traditions of society.
*Insists Gwendolen should not marry beneath her, has made it her life's goal to make Gwendolen follow in her footsteps).
*Fixated on appearances at the expense of reality (trapped in a web of superficiality).
*Primary representative of conventional Victorian morality.
* Snobbish, domineering, cunning, narrow-minded and authoritarian.
*Lacking in compassion, cares nothing about humane aspects disrupted in Jack's childhood.
*Her outrageous pronouncements, and lack of awareness of how ridiculous they are, make her a funny and likeable character.

Miss Prism
*Cecily's governess.
*Name suggests she has all the apparent respectability and moral severity expected of a Victorian governess, but she has a hidden past.
*Secret life as a novelist, suggest her to be a romantic and artistic underneath her stern exterior.
*Stern, rigid.
*Source of pedantic bromides and clichés.
*Hrshly criticizes Jack's brother.
*She entertains romantic feeling for Dr. Chasuble, but as he is a priest is prohibited from telling him directly.


Rev. Canon Chausable, D.D
*Initials after the name (D.D) stand for Doctor of Divinity.
*He is the local vicar in Jack's area of the country.
*Typical vicar type but similar in age to Miss Prism.
*Easy-going, postivive.
*Jack and Algernon ask him to christen them both, at separate times, "Earnest".
*Though celibate entertains romantic feelings for Miss Prism, good match for the educated lady.

Lane
*Algernon's butler.
*not passive, deliver droll lines and comments.
*Knows about bunburying at the beginning of the play .

Merriman
*Jack's butler in the manor house, country estate.
*In Acts II & III.
*In one scene forces bickering between Gwendolen and Cecily to maintain 'polite'.

The Curious Incident...

Realistic family dynamic.

Protagonist very credible.
Fiddles with hoody, aids the illusion of his aspringers.
Visually engaging.
Physical theatre. Astronaut scene ( frantic assembly)
Fast forwarding
Letters dispersed around him
Whole back wall is a grid used as a screen when he is planning out his thoughts.
Moving in direction more deliberate due to grid compared to being in a room
Same prop used for many things oven tv fish tank, lit up in different colours
Walking through audience breaks illusion

"Befrdfgth" by Dr Brown

Photograph courtesy of:
 http://www.sohotheatre.com/whats-
on/doctor-brown-befrdfgth/

I wouldn't exactly call him a doctor, well possibly a doctor of comedy; Possibly!
The content of this performance was sexual, vulgar, painstakingly offensive...but I enjoyed every minute of it.
The act begins as soon as the audience enter and take their seats, with Dr Brown peeking from behind the stage curtains. From that moment right until the end I was thoroughly engaged. Various scenarios were acted out in mime, with occasional backing music and a lot of audience participation. The physicality of his movements were very surprising, it is definitely not what I expected when someone explained this as a mime performance. He clambers over the audience, multiple times, and runs up and down the stairs when changing from one character to another in the narratives. Playing every role in each scenario adds to the humour and suspense of each scenario as that time taken in-between leaves room to wonder what the reaction of the other character can be. The changing from one character to another is incredibly clear as a result of the almost slapstick facial expressions, this helps clarify the story and in turn helps the audience understand the scenario despite only one man playing all these different people/ creatures.
The audience is a character in itself. The audience's laughs, smirks, coughs play a part in the humour and are more dominant than other performances as the room is relatively quiet. Dr Brown pays attention to everything he hears,  picking up on if someone has a particular laugh or someone sneezes. His facial expressions in reaction to these noises are possibly the funniest part of the show, raising eyebrows and shaking his head. In one scenario the audience is encouraged to make the sound effects of the motorcycle ride he is acting out, it almost felt like it was a primary school lesson, and yet everyone seemed to be enjoying it. Towards the end of the show an audience member was dragged up and the scenarios, which we were already familiar with, reenacted using him to play the other characters. This use of autonomy and chance makes for an incredible audience reaction, especially when the participant challenges Dr Brown.

Phil Burgers, a.k.a Dr Brown accepting the Foster's Edinburgh
Comedy Award 2012.
Photograph courtesy of: http://i.huffpost.com/gen/745239/thumbs/o-
DOCTOR-BROWN-FOSTERS-570.jpg?4

The costume is really a secondary component visually, but the wizard like dress he wears is practical: free moving, loose, flexible and light. Throughout the performance he wears gloves, which at one point when he held his hands up in the light I noticed, were not matching colour or material. One was navy blue, one black, one silk the other not, one had holes and ladders the other in perfect condition. This lack of care could be deliberate or not, something that is hard to decipher.
Although it may seem like this performance is a sequence of narratives with no connection and no plan, it's most definitely a performance with a structure. We start seeing an eye from behind a curtain and despite being funny the entire way through there was definitely the build up to a climax. Follow by an ending which was slower and calmer. After which the audience applauded and Dr Brown disappeared behind the curtain, only to return a few minutes later nude except for a pair of speedos, when he once again clambered over the audience getting a little too close to comfort to certain 'lucky' members.
The bizarrity of the scenarios and the attention to detail, down to every eyebrow raise, make for an experience which is like no other I have ever seen; and one that I would no doubt love to see again.
Dr Brown has really tapped into the sort of humour which we enjoy in our everyday lives. At the beginning, due to the offensive and religious material, I thought, is there a political or social message here? Is he commenting on today's society? Soon after it becomes clear that Dr Brown is simply stressing the importance of frivolity. Making the audience remember that silliness is important and that we should take a step back and enjoy life a little more. A lesson that I was happy to be reminded of.

Initial Reaction to Chosen Texts

Photography by: Marina Bussandri

When we received the Unit 3, part 2 brief I was excited to get going. I began by reading "The Importance of Being Earnest" which I absolutely loved. I thought it was funny, witty, and most importantly something I would enjoy designing for. However I thought it best to explore the other texts as well so as not to cut my options short. "The Judas Kiss" by David Hare I found less of an "easy-read", it didn't grip me as much and overall I was less enthusiastic. However the name immediately inspired ideas for a theme of colours, deep reds and maroons, purples and burgundies. Despite this excitement the colour possibilities, both Acts are set indoors, whereas in "The Importance of Being Earnest" had more variety. Also, It had female and male characters to design for which gives me as a designer a larger capacity for choice. As I am predominantly interested in costume, the large amounts of nudity in "The Judas Kiss" I felt also limited my choices. I went to see "The Judas Kiss" and enjoyed it but after seeing it realised that I was furthermore attracted to "The Importance of Being Earnest". The more I thought about it the more enthusiastic I became with Oscar Wilde's "The Importance of Being Earnest", consequently this is my final choice of text for Unit 3, part 2.

"Anna Karenina" Costume Exhibition

Ham House and Garden
Photography by: Marina Bussandri 

Held at Ham House and Garden in Richmond, Anna Karenina", the costumes in this exhibit were viewed in The Long Gallery, a room which is rich with context, history and beauty.
the location for some of the filming of "Anna Karenina". Long galleries were common in Elizabethan and Jacobean houses, commonly used to stroll up & down as a form of exercise.

The Long Gallery, Ham House
Photography by: National Trust

The Long Gallery was used as a means to show of the Lauderdales' royal connections and lavish taste. The walls are covered in portraits, including the likes of: King Charles I, Queen Henrietta Maria, and other members of the royal court. The shallow carved and gilt frames are mostly 'auricular' pattern, fashionable in the 17th century. There are large windows at both ends of the room, which allow in daylight but there is little artificial light as this would damage the paintings. Unfortunately this affected the costume exhibition as I found details were lost with the lack of light.
At first, I found the costumes did not look like much in comparison to how bold and luxurious they appear in the film. However the longer and closer I looked at each garment the more impressed I became.
The costume designer for the film, Jacqueline Durran, is famed for her period costumes in both "Pride and Prejudice" and "Atonement". For the stylised adaptation of Tolstoy's epic love story the director, Joe Wright, gave Durran a brief stating that she was to honour the simple silhouette shape reminiscent of a classic stage setting. Consequently Durran designed the costumes which inhabited both the opulent fashion of the late 19th Century as well as taking more simplistic inspiration from the 1950s era.
Anna's undergarments were the piece in the exhibit which caught my attention. Aesthetically they are beautiful to look at. Made historically accurately meant that they were supposedly very uncomfortable to wear. Originally the undergarments were to be created in reds, pinks and yellows however the director made the decision to colour only the corset and leave the rest uncoloured to visually make more of an impact.

19th Century Undergarments
Worn by Anna Karenina, (Keira Knightley)
Photography by: Marina Bussandri

 The other garments worn by the character of Anna Karenina on display included a black hat with mesh veil and a ball gown. The dress is from the intense ballroom scene. Fifteen meters of fabric were used, and for the actress to be able to endure the long filming hours for the scene, the costume designer had to make sure the material was light weight. An expression of shock spread across my face when I first saw the garment due to the tiny size of the dress, and consequently very petite torso and frame of the actress. Black which had a dark purple sheen as the light moved is how I would describe the fabric. Expensive was the last thing it looked, and the clasps were not hidden well. However one must remember that this is the state of a garment after having been used for filming. Personally I found this dress underwhelming but it worked well on camera and stayed true to the detail in Tolstoy's writing.

Velvet Dress, with close ups of woven trim and sleeve

Worn by Dolly (Kelly MacDonald)

Photography by: Marina Bussandri

The pale green coloured velvet dress worn by the character Dolly in the proposal scene was designed with a minimal trim which was a nice contrast to Anna's opulent and elaborate style. The soft gentle colour resembles and embodies the character of Dolly. I found the detail on the puff sleeve incredibly beautiful as both the fabric and the concaves created light and shadows which were visually very engaging.
Male garments were also displayed. The grey military uniform which Jude Law wears consistently throughout the film was influenced by the Russian uniforms at the end of 19th Century. The simple wool design exudes importance and runs with the idea that the most important person in the room is the least ostentatious.
The Blue military suit worn by the character of Vronsky was made using individually casted buttons.
Knowing the extent the production went to in order to seem authentic and the importance of the 'realness' of a button makes the whole film and exhibition more impressive. Practically was questioned with these costumes as well. Joe Wright wanted this costume to be even tighter on Aaron Taylor-Johnson, however Durran stepped in to say that this was impossible as the actor would have to ride a horse.

Blue Military Suit

Worn by Vronsky (Aaron Taylor-Johnson)

Photography by: Marina Bussandri

The accessories displayed included: pillbox hat, military hat and a pair of gloves. Whether they were sourced or created remains a mystery but it is clear that they now most definitely look worn.
Overall i had an incredibly enjoyable day. Ham House and Garden is an incredibly beautiful, extravagant place to visit. I found the exhibition smaller than I had imagined, including only five or six garments, but they were of the principal characters and therefore had much richness and depth to them. An incredibly enlightening and useful experience!