Behind the Silver Screen: Costume Couture Unveils Six Decades of Cinematic Magic
“We entered Cosprop as ourselves and walked out as the person we were playing”
The art of costume design will be getting its moment in the spotlight with Costume Couture, a new exhibition running 26 September 2025 – Spring 2026 at the Fashion and Textile Museum in London.
The exhibition will showcase the craftsmanship behind some of cinema and television's most memorable looks with a journey into the workshop of Cosprop, the North London costume house that has been quietly revolutionizing period drama since 1965.
Under the direction of Oscar and BAFTA-winning costume designer John Bright, Cosprop has built its reputation on historical accuracy that goes far beyond surface-level aesthetics. The costumes on display—from Helena Bonham Carter's flowing Edwardian gowns in A Room with a View to Colin Firth's iconic Mr. Darcy ensemble—will showcase an obsessive attention to detail.
Visitors will discover how Cosprop's artisans use period-appropriate construction methods, working with natural fabrics like silk, wool, and muslin to create historically accurate silhouettes, and how even hidden elements—corsets, petticoats, and stays—are crafted with museum-quality precision to ensure authentic movement and shape.
The range of productions represented reads like a greatest hits of British cinema and television: Pride and Prejudice, Downton Abbey, Peaky Blinders, Pirates of the Caribbean, and Out of Africa. Each costume tells a story, from Nicole Kidman's increasingly restrictive wardrobe charting her character's journey in The Portrait of a Lady to the symbolic red traveling dress worn by Nastassja Kinski in the final scene of Tess.
Beyond the finished garments, the exhibition will offer access to the creative process itself. Mood boards, fabric swatches, sketches, and dye rooms reveal how designs evolve from concept to screen. The "breaking down" process—where costumes are deliberately aged and weathered—is particularly fascinating, showing how Captain Jack Sparrow's lived-in look was carefully orchestrated.
In many ways, Cosprop has been operatinglike a traditional atelier, with individual artisans responsible for entire ensembles, hand-beading details, and creating millinery that rivals haute couture standards.
As Judi Dench notes, "Cosprop is a magical place that is an important part of the nation's rich cultural heritage."
Costume Couture finally give audiences the chance to appreciate the invisible artistry that brings our favorite characters to life, one stitch at a time.
