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Costume

Rooms 103 – 106

Our Theatre and Performance collections include over 3,500 stage costumes and accessories dating from the mid-18th century to today. From complete outfits to individual headdresses, they are a tribute to the creativity and skills of designers and costume makers working in every kind of performance: drama, opera, dance, musicals, pantomime, rock and pop, music hall, film, cabaret and circus.

Where to find this collection

Rooms 103 – 106
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Navy blue tailcoat worn by Fred Astaire in the film 'Shall We Dance'. — Shall We Dance, film costume worn by Fred Astaire, made by Anderson & Sheppard Ltd, 1936, UK

theatre costume — Music-hall costume worn by May Moore Duprez, about 1910, England

theatre costume — Costume for 'Prince's Mother' in Swan Lake designed by Alexandre Golovine for the Bolshoi, Moscow, 1901

theatre costume — Headdress, theatre costume worn by Ram Gopal, maker unknown, mid-20th century, UK

Costume — Costume for The Chinese Conjurer in Massine's ballet 'Parade', designed by Pablo Picasso, 1917

theatre Costume — Theatre costume from 'The Lion King', designed by Julie Taymor, 1994, US

costume — Brexit Dress, pantomime costume, designed by Lotte Collett, 2016, UK

costume — Lady in the Dark, film costume, designed by Edith Head, 1944, Hollywood, US

theatre costume — Hat worn by Idina Menzel as Elphaba in the original 2003 New York production of Wicked, by Rodney Gordon, 2003, New York, US

costume — Dame Edna's Breakfast Dress, costume, designed by Stephen Adnitt, 1997, London, England

rock and pop costume — Rock and pop costume worn by Mick Jagger, designed by Ossie Clark, 1972, UK

rock and pop costume — Rear view, 'Bicycle John', rock and pop costume worn by Sir Elton John, designed by Bill Whitten, about 1974, UK

Design — Design for the costume of Le Buffoon in the ballet 'Chout', by Mikhail Larionov, 1915, Lausanne, Switzerland

Costume design — Costume design for 'Le Coq d'Or', by Natalia Goncharova, about 1914

costume — Black satin floral patterned shoes worn by Prince, costume, about 1994, USA

theatre costume — Theatre costume, designed by Philip Prowse, made by Bonn & Mackenzie, 1981, London, England

prop — Film prop and costume from 'The Bride of Frankenstein', designed by Vera West for Universal Pictures, 1935, US

Conserving a clown costume

See the processes involved in conserving a sequinned clown costume

Léon Bakst – design for the ballet

Discover Léon Bakst's revolutionary costume designs for the legendary Ballets Russes

Shoes formerly worn by Prince

Shoes worn by the best-selling musical artist Prince have been acquired for the V&A's National Collection of Performing Arts

ASMR at the museum

Get closer to our objects than ever before

The story of The Supremes

Mary Wilson, co-founder of The Supremes, talks about her extraordinary career and the heyday of Motown

Designing Hollywood costume

Delve into Hollywood's extraordinary legacy of costume design

Gender, performance and transformation: Sonja Harms

Hear how costume maker Sonja Harms crafts alternative identities through clothing

Conserving a ballet tutu

Watch as Belinda Wright's tutu is humidified

Handling Ian McKellen's Shakespeare costume

Find out about the importance of handling theatre costumes with care

Conserving an Adzido Pan African Dance Costume

See how these raffia leg wraps were conserved

Conserving Vivien Leigh's Cleopatra Cloak

Step behind the scenes and experience the conservation process up close

Background image: Costume for The Chinese Conjurer in Massine's ballet 'Parade', designed by Pablo Picasso, 1917