John Bright and Cosprop (Part 2)

This is a second blogpost featuring London's Fashion and Textile Museum's 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. 

Above is details of the 1930s turban and robe designed for the Little Maharaja (Raj Singh) in Steven Spielberg’s 1984 film Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, by Anthony Powell.

Below: illustration  by Anthony Powell.

"We made the costume and we got the jewellery from an Indian shop in Southall, they had lots of authentically shaped and styled jewellery. Anthony preferred the faceted stones because they twinkled better - for a Spielberg film you have to have the right twinkle!" John Bright

Above: 1880's dress for Rosalind, played by Bryce Dallas Howard in the 2006 version of 'As You Like It'. Designed by Susannah Buxton with inspiration from a piece on Kimono fabric. 

Below: 1770 wedding Dress worn by Helen Bonham Carter as Elizabeth in 1994 Frankenstein. Designed by James Acheson with a Cream moiré silk stomacher and a skirt of cream satin embroidered with metallic thread. 

Below 1920's coat from House of Elliot (1991-1994) Pale green Silk with appliqué floral design. 

Below: Heavily embellished 1780's court suit Louis XVI from 'Jefferson in Paris' (1995)

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.

Love Bug

 

'Lovebug' dance by FRWRD Dance Company is performing at Gretna Theatre, PA today and the costumes are phenomenal I wish I could see it. Lauren Tait, the creator and director of Love Bug,”It depicts nine different types of bugs through dance and costumes and sets. A giant suspended cocoon and a vast spider web. The company is an adult company, though this show is geared towards young audiences, but hopefully sophisticated enough for adults to want to watch without their kids as well.

'LOVEBUG will transport viewers into the hungry bullfrog’s fly-filled bog, a bustling beehive, the chrysalis of the contemplative caterpillar, and the web of the bella tarantella, just to name a few.  Written and directed by Lauren Tait, LOVEBUG merges intricate movement, playful original poetry, and elaborate costumes and props—from a life-sized suspended cocoon to a giant spiderweb–to create an evocative and visually compelling experience with the aim to spark wonder and discovery in audiences young and old.' 

 

Freyja Crow

 

Freyja Crow is a young multi discipline artist who has a distinct style and often works on masks and costumes, here are some of her 'Sprout' series.

Alison Brown

 

It has been the Edinburgh Children's Festival recently and these fabulous costumes were created by Alison Brown for 'Tongue Twister' created by Greg Sinclair.

Olana Light

 

Lumbering in a fantastic carapace of beach stones, this is Olana Light exploring issues of identity and belonging with her winning entry Searching for a Place to Belong for the Little Forest Open Competition 2022.

Below are some of her works made for the 'Searching for a Place to Belong' project.

Bobby Becker

Digitally enhanced but a fantastic concept from Nashville based photographer Bobby Becker.

Tracy Widdess

A collaboration focusing on fictional birds from children's books, led to the bird masks above being created by 'brutal knitter' Tracy Widdess and costumes by 'Ant' Babcia Mrówki. Photography is by Tomasz Biskup and Paulina Kania. Art direction, custom-made typography and 3D objects are by Piotr Buczkowski 

Alaya

 

        








Love this video posted by Alaya with its fantastical costumes creating bizarre movement and spectacle.

Yoni Lefevre

Yoni Lefevre has through an incredible project challenged our view of grandparents by interpreting them through their grandchildren's eyes and creating costumes based on this vision.
Yoni visited a primary school and asked the pupils to draw their grandparents. She then selected the drawings =of four children aged 10 - 11 years.  Yoni Lefevre explains that unlike the majority of the population, children do not see their grandparents as gray and "dried", but as a happy, full of life, people with passions, who make life colorful.