Costume conservation: My Fair Lady - Eliza Doolittle | V&A
Вставка
- Опубліковано 4 чер 2024
- This fragile silk costume was once worn on the West End stage by Julie Andrews in her role as Eliza Doolittle - star of the classic musical My Fair Lady. Designed by iconic designer and photographer Cecil Beaton, the exquisite ballgown was influenced by Beaton’s glamorous mid-century fashion photography. Follow the gown’s transformation in our Conservation studio, as we prepare it for display in our Theatre and Performance galleries.
00:00 What is ‘My Fair Lady’?
00:56 Looking at the dress in detail
02:00 Mounting concerns and solutions
03:26 Examining the dress and deciding conservation process
04:58 Dyeing silk crepeline
06:51 Cecil Beaton costume designs
08:02 Catherine Zuber, costume designer of 2018 adaptation
08:51 Supportive straps
09:42 Final mounted dress
The costume can be seen as part of the Re:Imagining Musicals display until November 2023.
Discover more about the Re:Imagining Musicals display: www.vam.ac.uk/exhibitions/rei...
More about My Fair Lady: myfairladymusical.co.uk/
Take a look at our costume collection: www.vam.ac.uk/collections/cos...
This dress is beyond stunningly beautiful. I'd like to know if Julie Andrews has seen or intends to see it while on display at the V & A? Thank you to anyone who has the passion to preserve anything from the past, whether clothing, buildings, furniture, anything. It's painstaking and are to be commended for your devotion.
I’d love a photo of her with the gown. She’s been a favorite of mine since I was a little girl.
@@ItsJustLisa That is a delicious idea!
I have been fortunate though the years to spend much quality time, dinners chats about The Boyfriend, My Fair Lady and Camelot. I was curious about so much of how the show MFL evolved. The most wonderful thing happened in Buffalo at The art museum where she had donated a painting and wanted me to take her to see it. I did. The young docent looked at Julie thought for a second and said Oh my God it’s Mary Poppins. She is as charming in real life as she appears on stage and screen.
My parents saw __My Fair Lady__ with Julie Andrews. They had the record from the play. I grew up listening to Julie Andrews singing Eliza. To learn that there are garments being preserved from the play fills my heart with fond memories of my parent’s love of musicals. To be able to glimpse a garment from the stage performance is a wonderful experience. Thank you for caring for these bits of history.
Hi how are you. Greetings from California, Good video. Hope you’re safe from the covid. Have a good week and stay safe 😃😘 Scott
Lovely! I teach young people musical theatre and often teach about Julie Andrews in My Fair Lady." They learn all of her solo numbers and of course, "The Rain in Spain." It is amazing that she did the show in New York for 2 years, around 800 times, before coming to London and wearing the above dress for another year or roughly 400 showings. So nice to get a glimpse of this magical costume.
I always love how the effort and the intricacies of making these conservations in order to be preserved for the next generations to see!!
These V&A conservation videos are so very informative. What expertise and dedication frothed conservators!
That is a stunning and elegant dress. Thank you for all the efforts in great detail to conserve it.
What a gorgeous piece of history. I've always loved 'My Fair Lady,' even when I was quite young, and became even more obsessed after discovering Julie Andrews originated the role onstage. She is my idol.
What a fascinating job, to be a textile restoration/conservation expert. It would be amazing if the V&A would interview a few of their conservationists, so that we can know more of what it takes to study & train for this career!
I imagine it required a strong art & science background!!
Textile Art A level for a start + some chemistry and physics and possibly a history A level (for the historical research side)
I expect you could Google the degree needed and it's entry requirements in the uk.
Textile Art is fascinating, very popular now and not that difficult, though it does require 2 years commitment and a certain mindset.
I took it by way of adult education about 10 years ago while still nursing part-time.
I would have loved this job if l had known it existed when l was young.
It pretty much ticks all my boxes ❤
@@helentee9863 I wanted to know too, so I googled it! :) There are not very many schools offering undergrad degree programs, most of the programs i found were master's level MA programs. Beloit College in Wisconsin has an undergrad program, but that was the only one I could find in the US.
6:50 This is fascinating! I didn’t even know that “Textile Conservationist” was a job. The ladies are very artistic but are also literally doing like a chemistry excitement with trying to match die. That’s so neat! I would love to learn more about their jobs and how they got into such a career!
*dye
Most likely these people have had an college education in textiles and work in textiles type of work, making their way up into their careers. I am sure it’s a process to be where they are at.
Very prestigious to be around such beautiful textiles. Very interesting and God bless those who take care of the past! Preservation Restoration Conservation for posterity.
Such a treat to see an iconic dress that most of us don’t have the chance to see how it was in the glory days on the stage. More familiar with Audrey Hepburn’s as she was the one who was in the movie, so it is interesting to note the details of this dress and compare it to the film’s.
I love learning about the conservation process of these pieces. The passion that the staff has for their work is evident.
Wonderful! I always love it when others appreciate the work that goes into those intricate set pieces and actually want to preserve them. You should read how Hollywood has just discarded National Treasures but some people were kind enough to save them for future generations. The dresses from Gone with the Wind are a really sad example.
@Lilith Afram. Thank God for Debbie Reynolds. She had the foresight to collect/purchase many iconic costumes, etc., from the golden days of Hollywood. I believe they were auctioned off after she died.
That's pretty representative of the mindsets between the two countries isn't it?
I mean Americans just flat out do not like old things (in general) if it's not new it's no good
I saw this all the time when my mom lead the historical society in our area
Perfectly good homes, over a century old, beautiful, up to date plumbing electric everything without fail all ripped down just because they were "old"
But the house in Wales that my grandfather grew up in is still standing to this day and its older than the US itself
@@3katfox I agree with you 200%! I hate that disposable mindset as well. My husband in just starting out in Real Estate and one of our goals is to be able to buy and restore old homes and see to it that they go to owners who will appreciate them and keep them up for another few centuries.
It's sad these days. We should all try to preserve National Treasures instead of tossing them aside. This sometimes make me ashamed to be an American myself
@@lilitharam44 that's why I wanna get into real estate too!
Absolutely stunning. A standing ovation for all the people that protect and preserve these wonderful theatrical creations. A lot of work with little recognition.
Don’t let a Kardasian see it
🤫
You are a keen observer. After what KK did to the iconic Marilyn Monroe dress, tasteless and tacky. Thank heavens this dress is in the V & A museum where she can't get her hands on it, whew.
Definitely.
Brilliant!
God forbid!
What a gorgeous dress. Beautiful work done by the conservators
LOVE these videos about musical costumes. We can never see the detail and care from the audience; it's so great to see the elements up close.
These conservation videos are truly some of my favorite content on UA-cam. Thank you for doing this. They're so informative, and (to me) extremely soothing. 😌
LOVE THE RED STONES - BEAUTIFUL BEADED GOWN
One of my late grandmother's dress is over 70 years old. A beautiful, body-hugging piece with shimmery lace. We don't have dress conservation experts where we live, so the best we can do is store it as carefully as possible.
🧵🪡🧵 Mr Cecil Beaton & Miss Julie Andrews 🎭🎭🎭 : What a GREAT duet !! 😍🤩😍
I love these in depth videos on costume conservation I would love to explore the more historical side like a worth gown or something on the up coming Chanel manifesto exhibition for next year
It's funny you should say that. Make sure you're subscribed, and keep your eye out in 2023...
Cathy Hay has a YT channel where she meticulously documents construction/reconstruction of gowns made by Worth; absolutely fascinating to see the end product.
I dunno I think these videos could be an hr long and I'd love them even more lol
Beautiful dress and it was so interesting to see how it was conserved. Looking forward to seeing the exhibition.
I love to see how carefully the garments are handled. It's like an asmr video.
That dress is astounding! Gorgeous and would have just sparkled on the stage! Just amazing to see!
I have so many costumes that would benefit from the genius of these people working on it.
What a beautiful dress! So lovely. Very nice. Love the beading. Julie Andrew's did a wonderful job in the role as Eliza Dolittle. So wonderful!!
Fantastic verbal/speech lovely narration voices and who they are really made it special. The narration is fantastic. Very enjoyable.
So regal. It looks so contemporary! Iconic and beautiful. Hopefully seeing with my own eyes in V&A museum ❤
Thank you for showing this absolute work of art and conserving it!
Iconic, iconic, iconic... there are other words
If he said 'iconic' one more time, I was gonna pop him in the nose with my thesaurus!
@@Art4ArtsSakeVideo 😂
This is what I’m in uni for, working up to, and look up to!
Oh! I clicked on this so fast! I was so excited to see this exquisite beauty!
If I could start a carrier over again I would love to learn all the techniques show here.
Stunning and beautifully designed and made costume!!!
My girl Hannah! Omg! You go boo!
🥰 oh heyy
A very interesting piece ,I am looking forward to seeing the dress on my next visit to the V and A,
I do wish I could have seen her as Eliza. The original soundtrack is miles better than the film, with all respect to Audrey and Marni.
Great video featuring a truly iconic dress.
I found it interesting that the musical’s current designer came to visit and study Mr. Beaton’s version. As I watch this video and remember that your institution has been storing it, presumably safely, for 40 years and yet the dress is clearly showing its age, I began to ponder. I am pondering what advice your department’s conservers would suggest to contemporary fashion and costume designers about design and structure if one were to be designing a piece which had a high probability of residing in a museum 40 years later.
As your staff discuss adding back channels and hidden elements to relieve the actual fabric from the stress of the beading weight, I wonder if there are specific things that could be done when the dress is being constructed to minimize the stress and deterioration risks.
I think they mentioned replacing some of the supportive stitching that's been lost.
Thank you! Very very interesting experience with a conservation.
Bellissimo video grazie
So exquisite. Thank you ❤
Fascinating insight
Dame Julie was robbed of her part for the film version. However, if she had been cast in MFL, we may possibly not have had her incomparable portrayal of Mary Poppins. Swings and roundabouts, I suppose!
Thank you ☺️
What an interesting job to have. Those are some smart ladies! Would have loved to have seen the finished product!
"All I want is a room somewhere..." 🎶
I love the dress soooo much it is so very beautiful! what a masterpiece of workmanship! it was a marvelous piece of Living Art on Julie Andrews.. however the presentation on that mannequin- ooooh weeee my goodness gracious there's no way to be kind- it looks like a robot without a head..
It's a shame that I can't get a copy or even watch the film on any channel that I can find. I loved the film so much and my daughter would love to see it too.
At 07:45 he was talking about the iconic black and white scene.
Madonna was inspired by it on her legendary world Tour "The Girlie Show" when singing "Justify My Love".
You will find it here on UA-cam!
I would have liked to see it restored!
Şahane...
Sanatsal..
Mücevher gibi...
Brilliant! And just imagine what this you tube video could mean to the gorgeous Mrs Julie Andrews who wore it once…
Great video!
I can imagine this on the stage.
📸📸📸 Sir Cecil Beaton 🧵🪡🧵
What an amazingly gorgeous dress it is magnificent 🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰👍👍👍👍👍👍👍💐💐💐💐💐💐💐 and what a tedious job wow wow wow
😍😍😍
🤩🤩🤩
Wow！
素晴らしいコンテンツなのに再生回数が少なすぎる
Wow
I wonder why they decided not to replace the shoulder straps when the original definitely had them. They're clear on every photo of Miss Andrews in the costume. I own the Embassy ball gown from the original Australian production which was made in London by Monty Berman who made all of Miss Andrews' costumes for both the Broadway and London productions and it has the shoulder straps. Interesting.
Julie had the voice, but Audrey had the style.
So did Julie, she just didn’t have the time as she’d already signed in to another project. And that project beat My Fair Lady by winning numerous Academy Awards to include Best Picture.
My fair Lady was nothing new. It might have been first on Broadway but not on the West End.
Shaw's play *Pygmalion* has been played on the West End in 1914 and had been adapted numerous times, most notably as the 1938 film Pygmalion, the 1956 musical My Fair Lady and its 1964 film version.
*Pygmalion is a play by Irish playwright George Bernard Shaw, named after the Greek mythological figure.*
*It premiered at the Hofburg Theatre in Vienna on 16 October 1913 and was first presented in German on stage to the public in 1913.*
*Its English-language premiere took place at His Majesty's Theatre in the West End in April 1914 and starred Herbert Beerbohm Tree as phonetics professor Henry Higgins and Mrs Patrick Campbell as Cockney flower girl Eliza Doolittle.*e
I adored the stage show, My Fair Lady, when I was it in 2018, but, strangely, I hated the film. The stage show had so much color and a clear plot. For some reason, for me, the film meandered. Also, I’ve never seen so much brown in my life. Lol
YOu can actually see her wear the same dress (the american version of it) in the Ed Sullivan Show singing I could have danced all night. You should consider having that video play next to the dress on display. I know the exact date of the showing if youd like.
How many performances was it worn for, and did it fit the understudy.
Julie Andrews is the real treasure
Although this gown was built to be worn without shoulder straps, it was worn by Julie Andrews “with”. As shown in photographs.
The images we have of Julie Andrews wearing the dress show that she did have sequined or jewelled straps. 💎 These were not on the dress at the point of acquisition by the museum, so we didn't feel it was appropriate to try and replicate them. Hope this is helpful!
✨️✨️✨️✨️✨️✨️✨️✨️✨️
I was surprised that they handled it with bare hands so much.
I have heard on other documentaries regarding the preservation and restoration of museum pieces that natural oils transferred from fingertips could eventually discolor fabric, become a draw to insects/microbes and would encourage decay. They mentioned that very thing (bare hands) being the cause of decay in antique costume collections.
I kept thinking they might sterilize it somehow, after the restoration - as a specialist who preserves wedding dresses does. Even if they decided on that, I would still wish to refrain from touching the garment without gloves in the first place.
Gloves - especially cotton gloves - aren't always suitable for handling and conserving delicate fabrics. We use nitrile gloves when handling sensitive materials, as appropriate. Oils from hands can cause damage, so clean hands (regularly washed with soap) are a standard practice to ensure the conservator can feel exactly what they are doing, and judge the strength of the fibres. We also don't apply any kind of sanitizer to historic fabrics. Hope this is helpful 🪡
@@vamuseum Please, if I seemed to judge harshly, pardon me.
I realize now that the emotionally-based opinion given in my earlier comment stems from my admiration for the designer and wearer of the dress, rather than the dress itself - or the estimated sum value of it's parts.
In reality, it may be that in five hundred years, there may not even be a market for Broadway theatrical gowns of antiquity.
And, yet I expect it to be handled as one would a priceless relic. Ha-ha!
Perhaps, I am overly nostalgic.
@@lizday8140 It was a good question and I think the museum did an excellent job of explaining their techniques. I didn't even think how important touch would be to determining the state of the material. Museums always do their best not only to preserve pieces for future generations, but to use processes that can be reversed if better processes for preservation are found.
I lived in England for a year when I was twenty and then I didn't find English people to be a refined people.....But now ,after living in USA for almost twenty years. I find them sooooo refined and lovely and elegant 😍🌹🌹🌹I miss you English people 🙏💕
I saw this movies each one of them like dream outstanding dress
Just out of curiosity, why do some people wear gloves when handling old costumes and some people don't? I happened to notice no one's wearing gloves while handling this. I'm just curious as to why.
Most iconic dress, that Kim Kardashian’s shouldn’t be allowed to touch nor wore. Cause, if she did, then you guys need to make sure she goes bankrupt for it. Since I couldn’t imagine anyone else wearing it, than Julie Andrews herself, during the day she wore it.
Also, these iconic dresses that is worn within movies, broadway, and theater, even the guys own clothes, if it survives, should be maintained and preserved for life. Since, it’s rare to see these again.
I wonder if it is possible to send this to Julie Andrews.
Please keep this away from Kim Kardashian.
Julie andrews never wore it that ‘nude’. She always had a sort of camisole, the straps clearly made it part of the dress. The sleeves were held by those straps I think.
All the images we have of Julie Andrews wearing the dress indicate that there was some sort of gauze around her neckline, which may have well been an underdress or camisole. This wasn't acquired with the dress so we didn't want to pretend it still existed! ✨
I'm just trying to wax proof a barbour coat I bought 25 years ago so I'm there. I'm hip.
Let's hope that no stupid celebrity tries to wear this gown to the Met Ball.
The gown is lovely, but I believe I like the one Audrey wore best.
You don’t see that kind of beauty anymore. Even on the ones who can afford it. Especially on the ones who can afford it. Some of the Halloween costumes worn by Hollywood (and I don’t mean in the movies) are atrocious and I have a feeling Cecil Beaton rolls in his grave every time one of the stars shows up in some of the nightmarish getups they step out in public in. Very few know how to dress with a measure of class and style. The rest are latecomers to the party!!
Since this is my first video on this channel, I'm confused why some restoration is done and not others. I assume long-time viewers have no problem with this. I also assume that more was done beyond a few lengths of thread with the beading. At the very least a total number of hours would help newer viewers to appreciate how much work was finally done even if it is not specific. Thank you.
It's kinda like you have to give and take. The more you restore, the less of the original garment remains. If you restore everything, eventually it's not going to be the same dress.
And also it depends entirely on the conservator or whoever owns the piece of work. Some want it fully restored, others like to keep the "story" told in the wear and tear.
There's different approaches to restoration, from doing just enough to stabilize it for display to fully restoring every bit of damage the piece has ever undergone. Also, sometimes a previous fix doesn't look great but fully removing it would damage the piece further.
The conservation was completed over about 8 weeks, and took around 80 hours (plus another 25 to get the mannequin shape correct). This included examination, reattaching beads, securing opening seams, dyeing fabric and protecting abraded areas 🧵
Don’t tell Kim k
Julie should have been able to keep the role for the film. But if she had I guess we would not have Mary Poppins.
Who designed the costumes for Audrey Hepburn's performance
Same designer. Sir Cecil Beaton reprises his role as costume and set designer
It’s based on George Bernard Shaw’s Pygmalion
How does Dr doolittle relate to Eliza doolittle?
Ohhh...for a moment I thought you meant 1964 film Audrey Hepburn who played Eliza Doolittle then. Took me awhile to realise you meant the Broadway musical Julie Andrews's Eliza role she was known for.
Thank you for not showing the bottom and hemline
I did lots
Do little
Wow, Julie Andrews is tiny!!
You should take a look at Elaine Page's Cats shoes in the Re:Imagining Musicals display. Now they're tiny! www.vam.ac.uk/exhibitions/reimagining-musicals
I met her at a book signing once. She is indeed!
I wanna see the dress Audrey Hepburn wore as Natasha Rostova in Leo Tolstoy's War and Peace
Curious…I noticed that the dress was touched with bare hands. Why do you not use gloves?
"Telling the tale of Professor Henry Higgins..."
Someone missed the entire point of the story, didn't they? 🤣
Missing context much? There was a rest of the sentence, fool.
@@quietquitter6103 Oh thank you for clarifying. I went suddenly deaf after the first part and missed the rest 🙄
But it's still wrong. It's not a story about Henry Higgins transforming Eliza Doolittle. It's a story about a flower girl becoming a lady. It's *her* story, not his.
@@LilyGrace95 Ah but who transforms her?
@@quietquitter6103 Higgins, Pickering, Freddy, and Pickering's mother. Each in their own respective ways.
It's Eliza's story. Not theirs.
@@LilyGrace95 Its all their story. Claiming it's one character's story is absurd.
This shouldn't be the first time you have had an item on display in 40 years!
Please don't let Kim K near this.
aku bisa membuat manik manik itu teknologi bisa membuat apapun okindonedia
Marilin, looking down from heaven: Are You Effing kidding Me??!?!!