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

Theatre Costume


Any self-respecting 'dressing up' box would have had plenty of standard costume parts and accessories which would be needed for many period or fantasy costumes. Fancy dress and costume balls were a feature of social life in the 20th century, especially in the 1920s and 1930s and even into the 1950s, while many families would have played charades or sometimes put on plays. The dressing up box and raiding the family attics would have provided most of the costumes.

Oliver Messel (1904-1978) was Britain's leading theatre designer from the early 1930s to the mid 1950s, working in every aspect of entertainment - ballet, drama, film, musical, opera and revue - as well as in interior decoration and textile design. His lavish, painterly and romantic designs informed by period styles, were perfectly in tune with his times and earned him an international reputation. By 1960, however, Messel's style had become unfashionable, having no sympathy with the new 'kitchen sink' school of theatre. He increasingly concentrated on his non-theatrical painting and designing and eventually retired to the Caribbean, where he began a new career designing and building highly idiosyncratic luxury villas.


Object details

Category
Object type
Materials and techniques
wool jersey, plastic button
Brief description
Long sleeved, turtle necked leotard in black wool jersey, probably worn with fancy dress. Oliver Messel Collection.
Physical description
Long-sleeved, turtle necked leotard in black wool jersey, fastening under the crotch with a button and handworked buttonhole.
Dimensions
  • Collar to hem length: 77cm
  • Width: 44cm
  • Weight: 0.8kg
Credit line
Acquired with the support of the National Lottery Heritage Fund, Art Fund and the Friends of the V&A
Object history
Leotard probably from Oliver Messel's dressing up box.
Lord Snowdon, Oliver Messel's nephew, inherited Messel's theatre designs and other designs and artefacts. The designs were briefly stored in a disused chapel in Kensington Palace before being housed at the V&A from 1981 on indefinite loan. The V&A Theatre Museum purchased the Oliver Messel collection from Lord Snowdon in 2005.
Summary
Any self-respecting 'dressing up' box would have had plenty of standard costume parts and accessories which would be needed for many period or fantasy costumes. Fancy dress and costume balls were a feature of social life in the 20th century, especially in the 1920s and 1930s and even into the 1950s, while many families would have played charades or sometimes put on plays. The dressing up box and raiding the family attics would have provided most of the costumes.

Oliver Messel (1904-1978) was Britain's leading theatre designer from the early 1930s to the mid 1950s, working in every aspect of entertainment - ballet, drama, film, musical, opera and revue - as well as in interior decoration and textile design. His lavish, painterly and romantic designs informed by period styles, were perfectly in tune with his times and earned him an international reputation. By 1960, however, Messel's style had become unfashionable, having no sympathy with the new 'kitchen sink' school of theatre. He increasingly concentrated on his non-theatrical painting and designing and eventually retired to the Caribbean, where he began a new career designing and building highly idiosyncratic luxury villas.
Other number
ROT 9009 - TM Rotation Number
Collection
Accession number
S.581-2006

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Record createdMarch 12, 2007
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