Striking a Pose: The Display of Hollywood Costume

Abstract

Hollywood Costume was a major temporary exhibition held at the Victoria and Albert Museum from 20 October 2012 to 27 January 2013 which explored the creation of character in film through costume design, and was curated by the Oscar-nominated costume designer Professor Deborah Noodalman Landis. This article focuses on the challenges negotiated to prepare the 130 costumes, which were diverse in style, material and condition, for display. As well as the condition and physical limitations of the objects, ethical conservation concerns and the differing working practices of the film industry both had to be taken into account. Through a variety of examples and case studies this article demonstrates the range of mounting approaches and solutions which were adopted to support and interpret this group of dramatic and iconic costume ensembles.