The art of costume design has long been associated with the LGBT community. Now, Tampa Bay residents will get a chance to see some famous costumes up close with the premier of Cut! Costume and the Cinema at the Florida International Museum at St. Petersburg College.
The new exhibition opens Feb. 13 and runs through May 16 at the college’s downtown St. Petersburg campus. More than 40 period costumes, created by and borrowed from the costumier Cosprop, Ltd. in London, will showcase the art of making costumes for film.
“We are thrilled to host the world premiere of this wonderful exhibit,” says Kathy Oathout, director of operations at the Palladium, FIM and SPC Downtown Arts. “This collection has never been seen outside of London and we are excited to offer it to our patrons.”
Films represented in the exhibit range from Angelica Huston’s period dress from Happily Ever After, pictured, to the late Heath Ledger’s costume for Casanova. Other famous costumes in the exhibit were worn by Daniel Craig, Kate Winslet, Sandra Bullock, Uma Thurman, Johnny Depp and Robert Downey Jr., the star of the current hit Sherlock Holmes.
According to Oathout, more than 30 actors will be represented by costumes from 27 films.
Many of the costumes in the selection have won major film awards, including Oscars from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and BAFTA Awards from the British Association of Film and Television Awards. As these awards testify, costume is the essential ingredient to the authenticity of a period film.
According to a release from Cosprop, Ltd., costumes set the scene, providing information about where and when the drama is taking place, and introducing characters by giving clues about their status, age, class and wealth as well as their position in the story. Nowhere is this more evident than in the Venetian upper class 18th-century silk brocade coat of Heath Ledger (Casanova) verses the distressed leather jacket worn by Daniel Craig (Defiance) while hiding from the Nazis in World War II.
Out! Costume and the Cinema is open to the public beginning Saturday, Feb. 13 at the Florida International museum at 244 Second Ave. N., St. Petersburg. The Museum is open Tuesdays through Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Sunday, noon to 5 p.m. The museum is closed on Mondays. Get more information on the exhibit and for ticket prices.
