John Bright and Cosprop (Part 1)

Above: bodice purchased in 1958 from the Parisian Clignancourt Flea Market.

London's Fashion and Textile Museum has a rich and wonderful exhibition of Cosprop which was created by John Myles Milton Bright (7 March 1940-). which is on display until March 6th 2026. 

Below: John Bright

Cosprop is a unique collection of costumes gathered during the last six decades by costume designer John Bright a costume library used by international film and television makers. 

Below: John Bright with the costume Uma Thurman wore in 'The Golden Bowl' 2000.

Above: Uma Thurman at fitting, Below costume Uma Thurman wore in 'The Golden Bowl' 2000.

Above: Illustration by John of 1800 jacket and Breeches for Prince Vasili Kuragin (Basil Henderson). Below: Jacket detail.

Above: costumes with a photograph from 'A Room With A View' 1985. 

Below: Detail from the costume of Miss Lucy Honeychurch worn by actress Helen Bonham Carter. 

Below: Details of the costume of Charlotte Bartlett worn by actress Maggie Smith. 

Above and Below: details of 1850's dress for Mrs Codrington  in 'The Charge of the Light Brigade' 1968 played by (Rachel Kempson). Beige Muslin and cotton with printed Voile

John Bright made this dress in a day!

"There was so much to do that I had to make a dress in an extended day. I created the bodice in the morning, the skirt in the afternoon and the trimmings and finishing in the evening, so it was a 12-16 hour day" John Bright

Above: Sketches for 1979 'Tess', costume design was by Anthony Powell (2 June 1935 – 16 April 2021) who received an Oscar for Best Costume Design.

Above: 1880's peignoir for Tess played by Nastassja Kinski. Lace over peach silk underdress, with pale green fine knitted silk overdress attached with stunning pink and green floral embroidery. 

Below: 1880's wedding dress for Tess Durbeyfield played by Nastassja Kinski. Deep cream silk with white lace and panels of ruching. 

"Tess was one of the early film productions that brought out the best in what we could do. Anthony researched every detail of the historical period to ensure accuracy, even down to the position of the buttons on the bodices." John Bright

Below: 1914 Wedding Suit for Meryl Streep as Karen Blixen in 'Out of Africa', 1985.

Two-piece cream silk, high waisted jacket with high collar with pleated net trimmed in black piping, worn over ancle length hobble skirt and hat with peaked crown trimmed with floral embroidery. 

You can see detailed archive research by the collections curators Steph, Sage, Annie and Maddie here.

Henry Croft

 

I love folk history and costumes and have had a long interest in the Pearly Kings and Queens of London, with their amazing intricate and wild button decorated clothing.  Folk traditions are hard to find documentation for, but it seems the thrust of this tradition was Henry Croft (1861-1930) above. 

Henry Croft  was an orphaned street sweeper who collected money for charity. At the time, London costermongers (street traders) were in the habit of wearing trousers decorated at the seams with pearl buttons that had been found. In the late 1870s, Croft adapted this to create a button suit to draw attention to himself and assist his fund-raising activities. 

In 1911 an organised pearly society was formed in Finchley, north London.

Henry Croft's funeral in January 1930 was attended by 400 followers and received national media coverage. In 1934, a memorial referring to Croft as "The original Pearly King" was unveiled in St Pancras Cemetery and in a speech to mark the occasion he was said to have raised; £5,000 a vast sum in those days, for those suffering in London's hospitals.

"As autumn is the time when the Coster royal families of London overhaul the pearly suits after the summer season .Mr H G Tabram, of Holborn, the original Pearly King of London, and his family are having a visit. Pearly suits have from 20,000 to 50,000 buttons and each member of the Tabram family has an outfit address as an indication of rank. Mr Tabram can also a makes repairs on the suits of the Coaster Kings. Mr Tabramhas resigned since 1899, his father having been a Pearly King in 1870." 

 

Two photographs of children with bread for the harvest festival. 

In other lifetimes I would have loved to have been a pearly king or queen, creating these decorated clothes. I would in yet another lifetime like to have had a sporran and merkin shop on the royal mile in Edinburgh . . . but you have one life and this is busy enough with its madness.

MILA

Mila is a London studio combining the talents of Kamlia and TJ who create hand beaded and embroidered objects including bags, balaclavas and ties to name a few, as well as having a shop they are also available to commission. 

 

Susan Farrington

 

Medals created by Susan Farrington,  as part of costumes for 'The Pirates of Penzance' which inspired and motivated Susan to create many more medals for fun.

Then she was invited by Elsa Mora to create some more medals (below) for The Art Yard Center’s Order Of Everyday Humans (2020) - Distinguished Medals Project.

Marijke van Welzen

Incredible 'storytelling' coats created using a blend of techniques by Marijke van Welzen.