This is the assertion made by legendary director, Martin
Scorsese, in an interview featured as part of the V&A’s new blockbuster
exhibition, Hollywood Costume. Quite a bold pronouncement, even by
Scorsese’s standards - and one I was initially tempted to take with a rather
large pinch of proverbial salt. Surely
there are other parts of the film-making process which are equally, if not more,
important than costume design? Like
casting perhaps, or script-writing, or maybe the all-encompassing process of
directing?
However, a few hours spent wandering around the exhibition
(or, rather, elbowing my way around – the gallery was packed to capacity) was
enough to win me over to Scorsese’s view.
Featuring over 130 costumes from a century of film-making, and
guest-curated by Deborah Nadoolman Landis (whose design credits include Raiders of the Lost Ark, Blues Brothers,
Coming to America, and Michael Jackson’s Thriller music video), Hollywood
Costume is an exercise in promoting the often-overlooked role of costume
designers in the movie-making process – an exercise in which it wholly
succeeds.
Deborah Nadoolman Landis |
And while attitudes have improved markedly in the
intervening decades, costume designers were still being paid up to 33% less
than their counterparts in production design as recently as the early
2000s. Again, this differential seems to
run along gender lines – the poorer paid costumiers still tend to be women,
while production design is a predominantly male-dominated area. (Incidentally, Landis succeeded in redressing
this inequity when she became President of the Costume Designers Guild in
2001.)
The secret of this exhibition’s success lies in its
three-part structure: Act 1, or ‘Deconstruction’, takes us back to basics by
examining the beginning of the designers’ creative process and the research
necessary to bring a costume to life.
Act 2, or ‘Dialogue’, focuses on the collaboration between the designer,
the director and the actors who will eventually inhabit the costumes. This section features video interviews with
the likes of Tim Burton, the aforementioned Scorsese, and those perennial
chameleons Robert De Niro and Meryl Streep.
Indeed, the sheer number of weird and wonderful costumes included
in this exhibition leaves one in little doubt as to the integral role these
outfits have played in the creation of an iconic movie character. Would Marilyn’s infamous subway scene have
succeeded if it wasn’t for her white billowing dress? What about Dorothy’s jaunt down the Yellow
Brick Road – would it have been quite so memorable without her ruby
slippers? And as for Charlie Chaplin’s
tramp – that character has now become inextricably linked to his bowler hat and
cane.
Hollywood Costume also
brings into stark relief the quality of the workmanship that goes into film
costumes. While some of the exhibits
have, inevitably, faded over time (Vivien Leigh’s green curtain dress comes to
mind here – so much colour has drained from the fabric that curators have been
forced to illuminate it with a green spotlight), others have remained in
remarkably good conditions. In particular,
the wonderful sequinned fuchsia creation worn by Ginger Rogers in the 1944
film, Lady In The Dark, remains as
vibrant today as it did 70 years ago – so much so, I initially mistook it as a
piece worn by Nicole Kidman in Moulin
Rouge.
There was always a danger with an exhibition of this sort that
the costumes, displayed without their famous erstwhile inhabitants, would look
flat and lifeless – after all, Brad Pitt’s Fight
Club costume would inevitably look better if Brad Pitt was still in it. However, the curators have cleverly overcome
this problem by displaying the actors’ faces on strategically-place television
screens above the headless mannequins –instantly bestowing a semblance of life
to the overall image.
But for all its triumphs, this exhibition is not without its
faults.
The lighting of the exhibits is surprisingly
hit-and-miss. In some cases, light has
been used to great effect in order to enhance the costume (like Leigh’s green Gone With The Wind curtains), but there
are too many instances where the illumination detracts from the effect. In particular, Johnny Depp’s Demon Barber ensemble is so poorly lit,
it is difficult to even recognise the costume, let alone appreciate any of the
detail. Similarly, the choice of black
mannequins works well in some cases but not in others, namely when the costume
itself was black. Natalie Portman’s
black tutu from Black Swan, for
example, is indistinguishable from the black mannequin upon which it displayed (a
problem accentuated by the darkness of the gallery). And finally, why on God’s good earth did the curators decide to mount the superhero costumes in such elevated positions? Yes, I know that Spiderman likes to scale high buildings, but was it really necessary to re-enact the scene? Ditto for Superman (flying near the ceiling), and Batman and Catwoman (both perched in improbably vertiginous positions). Such staging eliminates any chance of examining the detail of these hugely influential costume designs.
Which is a great shame – because I doubt we will get such a
chance to get up close and personal with these magnificent creations again.
High Points: Dorothy’s ruby slippers, Charlie Chaplin’s tramp ensemble
Low Points: Inaccessible superheroes, dodgy lighting.
Hollywood Costume is
sponsored by Harry Winston (for reasons which will become clear at the end). It
runs from 20 Oct to 27 January at the Victoria & Albert Museum. Tickets
£15.50 (Concessions and group discounts available). Booking fees apply.
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