"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!