Theatre Costume thumbnail 1
Theatre Costume thumbnail 2
Not currently on display at the V&A

Theatre Costume

1968
Artist/Maker

Costume for a Friend of Princess Aurora in Act I worn by Diana Vere in The Sleeping Beauty, Royal Ballet, Covent Garden, 1968. Knee-length princess-line ballet dress with short sleeves and boat neck, of off-white panne velvet. The neck, sleeves and hem are edged with chenille and lurex meshed braid with pearls on both edges. Around the mix-skirt is a loose band of velvet edged with gold lurex braid; the right side of the skirt is caught up over this revealing the underskirt and fold decorated with a shield surmounted by a crown in silver cloth decorated with pearlised sequins and embroidered fleur de lys. The top underskirt is of pink silk; four other underskirts, two of fine net and two of stiffer net, are attached to a low waistline. The dress is scattered with star shaped flower ornaments of copper and pewter coloured plastic. The costume fastens at the back with hooks and eyes and has eylet holes and lacing.


Object details

Categories
Object type
Materials and techniques
Brief description
Costume for a Friend of Princess Aurora in Act I worn by Diana Vere in The Sleeping Beauty, Royal Ballet, Covent Garden, 1968
Physical description
Costume for a Friend of Princess Aurora in Act I worn by Diana Vere in The Sleeping Beauty, Royal Ballet, Covent Garden, 1968. Knee-length princess-line ballet dress with short sleeves and boat neck, of off-white panne velvet. The neck, sleeves and hem are edged with chenille and lurex meshed braid with pearls on both edges. Around the mix-skirt is a loose band of velvet edged with gold lurex braid; the right side of the skirt is caught up over this revealing the underskirt and fold decorated with a shield surmounted by a crown in silver cloth decorated with pearlised sequins and embroidered fleur de lys. The top underskirt is of pink silk; four other underskirts, two of fine net and two of stiffer net, are attached to a low waistline. The dress is scattered with star shaped flower ornaments of copper and pewter coloured plastic. The costume fastens at the back with hooks and eyes and has eylet holes and lacing.
Dimensions
  • Shoulder to hem length: 92cm
  • Across shoulders width: 44cm
  • Hanging weight weight: 1.3kg
Production typeUnique
Marks and inscriptions
' Vere ' (Royal Opera House Wardrobe Label:)
Object history
Costume for a Friend of Princess Aurora in Act I worn by Diana Vere in Marius Petipa's ballet 'The Sleeping Beauty', The Royal Ballet, Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, 17th December 1968. The music for the ballet was composed by Tchaikovsky. This new production, staged by Peter Wright, was a deliberate attempt to give the ballet a different 'look' from the famous former production designed by Oliver Messel. New and additional choreography was provided by Frederick Ashton, and the 'Medieval' style sets and costumes were designed by Henry Bardon, Lila de Nobili and Rostislav Doboujinsky. The production was not considered a success, and was replaced by a new production by Kenneth MacMillan in 1973.
Production
Reason For Production: Commission
Associations
Literary referenceThe Sleeping Beauty
Bibliographic reference
Strong, Roy, Ivor Guest, Richard Buckle, Sarah C. Woodcock and Philip Dyer, Spotlight: four centuries of ballet costume, a tribute to the Royal Ballet, London: Victoria and Albert Museum, 1981.
Collection
Accession number
S.654-1981

About this object record

Explore the Collections contains over a million catalogue records, and over half a million images. It is a working database that includes information compiled over the life of the museum. Some of our records may contain offensive and discriminatory language, or reflect outdated ideas, practice and analysis. We are committed to addressing these issues, and to review and update our records accordingly.

You can write to us to suggest improvements to the record.

Suggest feedback

Record createdMarch 23, 2005
Record URL
Download as: JSON