by It is an uncanny experience to see a familiar costume from a loved one on a manure doll and not from its original carrier. It feels like the character – or the actor who played her – is somehow present or as if you had stumbled into a scene from a sentence that could be recognized so that you could find yourself around you.
This is the case for everyone who see the costumes of Downton AbbeyOne of the most popular and criticized programs in the history of British television (the series ran six seasons) and the topic of an upcoming auction in Bonhams. The farewell auction will be carried out online with an accompanying exhibition from August 18 to September 16 and ends when the third and last Downton film is opened in the cinemas.
Will you offer
Downton Abbey: The auction will have 120 props, pieces of furniture and, above all, costumes, which means that the fans will be able to offer everything, from the legendary Downton Butler Bell (estimated with £ 5,000 to 7,000) and Grantham family (£ 25,000-35,000) to Lady’s Wedding dresses (£ 3,000-5-50,000) and some of the late Dame-Smiths-Outo dresses (two-ply. Violet crawley (£ 2,000-3,000).
The costumes, which are known for their extraordinary detailed and historical accuracy, not only record the development of the residents of Downton, but also fashion during the entire eras.
“We were able to accept and explore these really important sartorial steps from 1912 to 1930” The Telegraph At Bonhams.
“It is a drama with such a heart and it’s about family, but it also tells the story of our time.”
This story may come to an end, but their costumes offer the chance to experience everything again, a nostalgia source for no one more than Robbins. “It is like being reunited with old friends,” she says.
“When I am currently in the process of designing and making it, I am so focused and obsessed from every detail. But then you have to free it – you have to let go of it. The fact that someone now has and is able to see all hours that have come into every use is amazing.”
For Charlie Thomas, group leader for private and iconic collections at Bonhams UK, this was particularly striking.
“The extraordinary love for detail is visible everywhere,” he says, “from Ms. Patmores’ handwritten recipes to the many revived costumes, which were made with original vintage fabrics, such as the famous” modern “harem pants costume, on which Lady Sybil is worked in the first series.”
A historical treasure hunt
There is careful work behind such recognizable pieces. Each costume began with extensive research, says Robbins, from Poring via Chanel -Back catalogs about the search by V&A. Then the procurement could begin what she (and her surprisingly optimized team) recovered through the Portobello market, gemsteine in Islington vintage shops and preferred places such as Chez Sarah in Paris. Original pieces have been restored, vintage finds were adjusted and some looks were created from scratch.
“You have a shopping list in mind, but you also find pieces that feel loyal to the character and have it in stock,” says Robbins.
Examples from the auction are abandoned, including the clothes that Lady Mary was in series six for her visit to the Restaurant in London with Henry Talbot six. The dress that sells an estimated £ 1,000 to £ 1,500 reaches so much: embodiment of the preload glamor of this time and repeats the golden mosaic blanket for which the criterion is known, and nodded a dress that wore Lady Edith in an earlier series for the same venue.
And all of this is thanks to an overlay that was made from the original metallic flower tip from the 1920s. “I found about six meters of it, which rarely reveals – I had never seen anything like this,” says Robbins. “I wasn’t quite sure what to do with it until I read the scene’s script.”
Such layers of meaning are a common topic. However, it was unusual to have such an abundant supply of original material. But as Robbins explains, the need often led to creativity, as in a complex sea green -Lady Violet in series six.
“You have a limited amount of material, no roles and rolls like in a Couture studio,” she says. “With this piece we have added tassures and a section inspired in Egyptology, which we put together to form a seam.”
The cinematic finale
The review of previous costumes was a useful instrument for Robbins when it came to working on the upcoming Downton film Downton Abbey: The Great Finale This played in 1930 and brings a new decade to the costume. “It was incredible to really get into a new look,” she says.
“The key change is the shift from the rather androgynic, straight and down silhouette of the found form of the 1920s in the 1930s.” Fans who discovered striking scarlet red dress in the ad for the last film Lady Mary’s.
But while we are waiting for the last edition of the Crawley family and Co with mixed emotions. In order to be released, it is encouraging to know that the chance of rediscovering everything is imminent. And for the few happy opportunity to have a piece of downton for posterity.
Downton Abbey: The auction will run online on Bonhams.com from August 18 to September 16, in addition to a special exhibition in the Bonhams New Bond Street, London, which is free of charge and open to the public.
