Stage 3: On display are three costumes from the movie Burning Secret (UK/FRG 1988), directed by Andrew Birkin, and two costumes from the movie Colette (Germany/UK/France 1990/91), directed by Danny Huston.
The movie costumes from BURNING SECRET will be described first.
The first costume on the left is:
a red dinner dress
as worn by Faye Dunaway in her role as Sonya Tuchmann.
This ankle-length, loosely cut dinner dress with train is made of ruby red chiffon. A chenille-brocade belt – the width of a hand and without a buckle – emphasizes the waist. The belt is gold with large embroidered black flowers and black trimming. There is a deep V-neckline on both the front and back of the bodice that reaches down to the waist. The border of the neckline is adorned with transparent, reddish beads that create a flowering vine motif. The lower portion of the V-neckline on the front and the back is filled with a panel of silver lace. Three narrow bands decorated with red beads run across the back at shoulder-blade height. The top band is taut while the two lower ones hang loosely in the neckline. The wide sleeves are tapered from the shoulder to the wrist. The fabric is gathered at the forearms, where there is row of small flat buttons covered in red chiffon. The hem of the sleeve is adorned with transparent beads.
A gathered overskirt, open at the front, falls loosely over the tighter skirt of the dinner dress. The hem of the underskirt is decorated with a chenille-brocade border identical to the belt: gold with large black flowers and a black trim. The train has a button in the middle that allows it to be fastened to the skirt. The dress comes with a silk stole that is gathered at the ends and decorated with black tassels.
In the film, Sonya also wears black stockings and closed-toe black shoes with a low, wide heel as well as a red rhinestone chain with a pendant.
To the right of this dress is:
a midnight blue dinner dress
also worn by Faye Dunaway in her role as Sonya Tuchmann.
This calf-length dinner dress with a stole has a bodice of transparent, midnight blue Chantilly lace, underlaid with cream-colored embroidered lace. The large rose petal pattern is clearly visible across the chest. The shallow V-neckline is bordered with a row of beads. The short trumpet sleeves extend to the elbows and have a dark sequin trim. The waist is emphasized with a wide velvet belt, also in midnight blue. Taffeta of the same color falls over a straight, midnight blue silk velvet skirt. The fabric is gathered at the front with an appliqué of short glass bead chains, causing the taffeta to cascade down either side. The long wide taffeta stole is also midnight blue, has a sequin trim and is gathered between the shoulder blades.
The third costume, also worn by Sonya, is:
a dark fur coat and a beige dress.
The black velvet coat has a very broad fur collar made from white-gray Russian squirrel. The collar covers the shoulders like a cape. The same fur is used for the cuffs of this oversized garment. A wide panel of dark grey silk adorned with vertical ornamental ribbons is sewn to the hem of the knee-length velvet coat. Underneath the coat, Sonya wears a long,
cream-colored dress of crêpe de chine with a deep V-neckline and long, truncated sleeves. The back features a row of fabric-covered spherical buttons that continue into the skirt. The skirt is asymmetric, with inserted godets that create soft, flowing folds. This is overlaid by a panel of the same fabric, cut shorter at the front than at the sides.
In the film, Sonya also wears a short, double-strand white pearl necklace.
The following descriptions are of the two costumes from the movie Becoming Colette.
The first costume on the left is:
a jacket as worn by Klaus Maria Brandauer in his role as Baron Henri Gauthier-Villars.
On display is a gray silk smoking jacket with a striking jacquard pattern. The shawl collar, sleeves and pocket flap are covered with shimmering black moire silk. The collar has a black cord trim that runs along the lapels and down to the hem. The abstract jacquard pattern is rendered in white, black and gray and consists of ornate curved lines with offshoots and shapes that resemble floral motifs. The jacket is lined with black silk and can be closed down the front with so-called frog fasteners. These consist of two ornamental braided attachments – one with a loop and the other with a button – that are made of ribbon or cord and are stitched to the garment.
In the film, Henri Gauthier-Villars wears the jacket over a white shirt with a waistcoat, together with a plastron and cloth tailcoat trousers with galon stripes down the side seams.
The second costume on the right is:
an ice-blue evening gown
as worn by Virginia Madsen in her role as Polaire.
This floor-length silk duchesse evening gown has a scoop neckline and puff sleeves decorated with black ostrich feathers. The dress consists of a corsage-style bodice and a floor-length bell-shaped skirt that forms a train. The hem of the skirt is also decorated with ostrich feathers. The bodice and the front of the skirt are partially covered with black embroidered lace, on which floral motifs are loosely repeated.
