The first thing you might notice as you walk through the exhibition is the projectors casting wondrous images on the walls, which were developed for this specific iteration of the exhibition.
The Arlington Museum of Art offers an audio guide unique to this exhibition, narrated by Kendall Quirk, director of exhibitions, and Shelby Carson, director of visitor experience. Carson wanted to ensure that people have the option to receive information in several different formats so the experience would be accessible and enjoyable for all.
“The audio guide that visitors will hear when they walk through the Heroes &Villains part of the exhibition covers every single movie that is featured, and there's an audio file for every single costume,” she says. “When people walk through, they have an hour and a half of audio files so they can sit and fully immerse themselves in that specific costume, all of them individually, or they can kind of pick and choose their own adventure.”
Guests can also peruse through the labels displayed and learn about the designers' process and intentions.
The label for Cinderella's dress, worn by Lily James and designed by Sandy Powell, says: “What Powell hoped to convey in the dress was a lightness and simplicity, and even though it was huge, she wanted it to appear weightless. ‘Not only does she need to dance, but she needs to run away from the ball down a massive staircase.’ The gown is very cleverly engineered so that even though it’s voluminous, it’s actually very well balanced.”
Cinderella's dress, worn by Lily James and designed by Sandy Powell, pairs wonderfully with glass slippers.
Christine Odwesso
One display showcases the development of Cinderella's glass slipper, from the prototype to the final product. Powell said, “I wanted it to be more than a glass shoe; I wanted it to really sparkle and shine and refract light …We didn’t know whether it was going to work until we got our first prototype, which was only a few weeks before we started shooting. Fortunately, it turned out spectacularly.”
Although Heroes & Villains and All That Glitters are traveling exhibitions, the Arlington Museum is the first to display the collections concurrently. The collaboration between the museum and Walt Disney Archives has been a year in the making.
“We've been in touch with them previously about having the exhibition in our old location, but it wouldn't fit in our space,” Quirk says. “We obviously knew about the exhibition and had been interested previously, so when we moved into this new space we wanted to show off what our space can do, and how much we can have in it. It just worked out timing-wise, which is sometimes very difficult to make happen.”
The collections contain over 300 pieces spanning more than 65 years. Carson says part of the magic of the exhibitions is the wide range of costumes, which means there’s something for everyone.
“We've got costumes from the '70s up to movies that have been released within the past year or two," Carson says. “Everyone who's walked through the doors has seen some really iconic characters, like Jack Sparrow and Cinderella. Someone of every age range can find some costume from film or television that they connect with on a personal level. It's not tailored just towards kids because it's Disney.”
Quirk says the museum is excited to present all forms of art, and the team feels particularly passionate about costuming, textiles and accessories.
“There's a lot of different art forms here,” Quirk says. “Highlighting film as another visual art form is really important as a museum; we don't always want to show paintings on a wall. Costumes are a really popular exhibition form that we've noticed, so it's great to hear that the feedback is still really positive. We want people to understand the real impact these designers have on their favorite films and filmmaking in general.”
The Arlington Museum of Art, 1200 Ballway Park, Arlington. The exhibitions opened in Sept. 2024 will run until March 2025.
The wedding dress from The Princess Diaries 2: The Royal Engagement, worn by Anne Hathaway and designed by Gary Jones.
Christine Odwesso
In The Crown Jewels Collection: Madame Leota from Haunted Mansion, worn by Jamie Lee Curtis.
Christine Odwesso
