Whether you're a cinephile, a fashionista or both, there's a fascinating exhibition on display at the Wilshire May Building on Wilshire Boulevard in Los Angeles, presented by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.
Hollywood Costume features more than 150 costumes from classic movies ranging from The Tramp (the Charlie Chaplin comedy made in 1915) to The Wizard of Oz, Titanic, The Hunger Games, Raiders of the Lost Ark and many others.
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and the Victoria and Albert Museum present Hollywood Costume — Photo courtesy of Richard Harbaugh / Copyright A.M.P.A.S.
The exhibition began its life in London at the Victoria and Albert Museum; here, much closer to Hollywood, the Academy has added more than 40 additional iconic costumes to the show, as well as a series of screening events that explore the relationship between costumes and character.
Gorgeous clothing from every cinematic era is included, created by costume designers such as Edith Head, Adrian, Catherine Martin, Sandy Powell and Deborah Nadoolman Landis, who designed the Raiders of the Lost Ark costumes and also served as the curator of the exhibition.
"Raiders of the Lost Ark" costumes shown at the Hollywood Costume Exhibition — Photo courtesy of Richard Harbaugh / Copyright A.M.P.A.S.
The show is broken into three distinct parts, each one in its own gallery in the Wilshire May Building museum space that will eventually become the permanent home of the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures.
"Act I: Deconstruction" follows the costume design process from script to screen, exploring first the written scene description, then the costume designer's creation presented on a for and finally a segment of the film showing the actor actually wearing the clothing.
Superhero costumes are sure to delight at the Hollywood Costume Exhibition — Photo courtesy of Richard Harbaugh / Copyright A.M.P.A.S.
"Act II: Dialogue" includes interviews created especially for this exhibition with renowned directors Martin Scorsese, Quentin Tarantino, Mike Nichols and Tim Burton, juxtaposed with the costume designers that each one has used repeatedly in their work: Sandy Powell, Sharen Davis, Ann Roth and Colleen Atwood.
This gallery explores the "Creative Collaborations" that go into creating those iconic screen images we all know and love. Also included in this section is an in-depth interview with Meryl Streep, discussing 10 of her films and the influence the costumes had on her character portrayals.
Meryl Streep discusses how costumes influenced her acting at the interactive Hollywood Costume Exhibition — Photo courtesy of Richard Harbaugh / Copyright A.M.P.A.S.
"Act III: Finale" looks at "Vamps & Vixens" and "Gunslingers & Blades," the women and men whose movie costumes have influenced the way the world actually dresses. Think Marilyn Monroe, Julia Roberts, Sharon Stone, Johnny Depp and Daniel Craig.
Make sure to get a look at Dorothy's original ruby slippers during your visit, and notice that the other shoes worn by the mannequins throughout the exhibit are actually replicas of the originals. That's because the shoes had to be drilled through and attached to the base stand, so matching replicas were used.
The Hollywood Costume exhibit runs straight through Oscar Sunday – Feb. 22, 2015 – and then closes Monday, March 2, 2015. For tickets, click here.