The Scarlet Pimpernel (1934) was Oliver Messel’s second costume design commission for Alexander Korda, the leading film director and producer of the 1930s. Based on the novel by Baroness Emma Orczy, the film is a romantic adventure set during the French Revolution. English matinee idol Leslie Howard starred as Sir Percy Blakeney ‘the Scarlet Pimpernel’ and Merle Oberon in her first starring role, as Lady Marguerite.

Messel was expert in recreating period costume, with a modern twist. His costumes for Oberon were daringly low-cut but very flattering and he used large picture hats to frame Oberon’s exquisite features. The film was a huge success and spawned a series of sequels. It also established Merle Oberon as a major international film star.

The British Film Institute (BFI) acquired its costume collection for display at the Museum of the Moving Image, which existed on the South Bank in London between 1988 and 1999. The collection is made up of British, European, American and Japanese films and covers the period from the silent film era to the mid-1990s. It contains a wealth of historic and significant film costumes worn by major performers and designed by some of the 20th century’s most important film costume designers. The collection was transferred to the V&A in 2015.