THE HOLLYWOOD COSTUME EXHIBITION - ACMI MELBOURNE

Picture from ACMI website

Where?  ACMI MELBOURNE

Federation Square, Melbourne


Ph +61 3 8663 2200

How much? Tickets $20 per adult (less for children, pensioners and family/other groups)

When?  Wednesday 24 April - Sunday 18 Aug 2013

Open daily 10am - 5pm (Thursdays until 9pm)

More details: http://www.acmi.net.au/hollywood-costume.aspx

“No food, drinks, photographs or totes” says the guy at the entrance to this exhibition.  The first three requirements I understand.  But I do wonder why I can’t take my tote in. Do they think I might bag Spiderman’s costume?  I eventually decide it is because if everyone carried a tote, there might be a little too much tote bumping when it gets crowded.  Today, despite it being school holidays, the crowd is fine.  I get to keep my tote.  Phew!

We float down the escalator into a dark exhibition room in what feels like the basement of ACMI. 

The first thing I see is Nicole Kidman’s face on screen about A4 size, sitting atop one of her Moulin Rouge costumes.  She is hanging from the ceiling, perched on a swing. 

While at first, the face-on-projected screen is a little strange, it does work well in creating a more life like representation of the actor who wore the costume.  It takes you back to the relevant film, perhaps even the precise scene (depending on how familiar you are with the film).

The number of costumes represented is deceptive.  That is, there are far more than you think.  This really only occurred to me after I had seen everything and was looking at a list of all that is on show.  Music from a selection of blockbusters fills the room.  You can read about the costume, you can listen to actors, designers and directors tell their perspectives, you can get rather close up to the costumes and truly appreciate the intricate detail in some of them (particularly the Elizabeth costumes!).

The thing that struck me was the size of the Spiderman costume and the size of Batman’s costume.  Much bigger than I imagined!

There are some truly iconic costumes at this exhibition and I suspect many would be recognisable for any age group, regardless of your level of film buff-edness.  Some that come to mind include: Harry Potter; Spiderman; The Titanic; Fight Club; Moulin Rouge; Chicago; The Addams Family; Chicago; 101 Dalmatians; The Blues Brothers; Elizabeth; The Iron Lady; The Wizard of Oz; Breakfast at Tiffany’s; Kill Bill; Gladiator… the list goes on!  There will be something here that you will recognise and I am sure something will surprise you.

TIPS:

• If you are driving into the city to see this exhibition and you are ok to walk a little, I recommend parking at the botanical gardens.  It is $1.50 per hour (up to 4 hours available – just check signs) there, which is a massive difference to the prices you will pay in the car parks nearer to Federation Square.
• Make sure you look up to the ceiling at this exhibition or you will miss some very famous costumes!
• An hour should give you heaps of time to comfortably wander through and read most of the commentary. 
• Pre-purchase your ticket here to avoid waiting in the queue.

Note: no photos are allowed in the exhibition so all photos above have been sourced from the internet.