FIDM MUSEUM & GALLERIES PRESENTS EXHIBITION ON OSCAR FASHIONS

HELEN MIRREN'S ELIZABETHAN DRESS FROM 'THE TEMPEST' IS COVERED WITH GOLD AND SILVER ZIPPERS, ALL THE WAY UP TO ITS RUFFLED COLLAR. THE HAT THAT MADE JOHNNY DEPP THE MAD HATTER IN 'ALICE IN WONDERLAND' WAS CRAFTED FROM IMPORTED ITALIAN LEATHER WOVEN WITH GOLD THREADS, AND IT WAS SIZED TO FIT THE FLUFFY ORANGE WIG HE WORE BENEATH IT. THE COSTUMES FROM 'TRUE GRIT' WERE MADE NEW, THEN AGED TO LOOK MORE THAN 100 YEARS OLD, WHILE MUCH OF THE CLOTHING FROM 'THE KING'S SPEECH' WERE ORIGINAL PIECES FROM THE 1930s. FILM FANS AND FASHIONISTAS CAN GET AN UP-CLOSE LOOK AT THESE OSCAR-NOMINATED OUTFITS AND NEARLY 100 OTHER MOVIE COSTUMES AT L.A.'s FASHION INSTITUTE OF DESIGN & MERCHANDISING's 19th ANNUAL ART OF MOTION PICTURE COSTUME DESIGN EXHIBITION, ON VIEW NOW. THE FIDM MUSEUM & GALLERIES COLLECTS AND DISPLAYS MOVIE COSTUMES TO ALLOW FUTURE FASHION DESIGNERS AND THE PUBLIC TO SEE THE CREATIVITY AND CRAFTSMANSHIP BEHIND THE CLOTHING THAT MKES MEMORABLE CHARACTERS ON SCREEN, SAYS CURATOR AND FASHION HISTORIAN KEVIN JONES. OSCAR-NOMINATED COSTUME DESIGNER MARY ZOPHRES SPENT MONTHS RESEARCHING THE LOOK AND STYLE OF 1860s ARKANSAS, WHERE THE ADVENTURE OF 'TRUE GRIT' TAKES PLACE. ONCE SHE BECAME FLUENT IN THE ERA'S FASHIONS, SHE ORDERED MULTIPLE OUTFITS MADE FOR EACH CHARACTER, THEN HAD THE NEW CLOTHING AGED TO APPEAR ALMOST 140 YEARS OLD. HISTORICAL COSTUMES ARE MORE EXPENSIVE TO PRODUCE, ZOPHRES SAYS: 'THE EARLIER YOU GO, THE MORE MONEY IT COSTS.' PRODUCTION ON 'THE KING'S SPEECH' STARTED LESS THAN SIX WEEKS AFTER JENNY BEAVAN WAS HIRED TO DESIGN ITS COSTUMES, SO TO OUTFIT THE ROYAL 1930s DRAMA, SHE RENTED AS MANY ORIGINAL PIECES AS SHE COULD FROM A COSTUME HOUSE IN LONDON. WHAT SHE COULDN'T FIND, SHE MADE, INCLUDING THE SUITS WORN BY KING GEORGE VI (COLIN FIRTH) AND SEVERAL DRESSES WORN BY THE QUEEN MOTHER (HELEN BONHAM CARTER). FOR A PICTURE SET IN THE RECENT PAST, IT'S COMMON FOR COSTUMES TO USE A MIX OF RENTED ORIGINALS AND CUSTOM-MADE NEW PIECES, BEAVAN SAYS. THE FIDM EXHIBIT FEATURES FOUR OF OSCAR'S FIVE NOMINATED DESIGN NOMINEES, EVEN THOUGH IT WAS ASSEMBLED BEFORE ACADEMY AWARDS NOMINEES WERE ANNOUNCED. OTHER FEATURED COSTUMES INCLUDED SEVERAL DAZZLING OUTFITS WORN BY CHRISTINA AGUILERA IN 'BURLESQUE', LEONARDO DI CAPRIO AND ELLEN PAGE'S CLOTHES FROM 'INCEPTION' AND AN OUTFIT FOR EACH CHARACTER IN 'THE KIDS ARE ALL RIGHT'. SOME OF THE MOST EYE-CATCHING COSTUMES INCLUDE THOSE FROM 'PRINCE OF PERSIA: THE SANDS OF TIME' AND 'CLASH OF THE TITANS'.