The Costume House - the inside story of Cosprop: From a Room with a View to Game of Thrones

by Keith Lodwick

Overview

One of the world’s most revered costume suppliers and creators, Cosprop was founded by John Bright, an Oscar—and BAFTA—winning costume designer, collector, and philanthropist. The Costume House explores some of the most celebrated film and television series in history, from Merchant Ivory to Downton Abbey, Game of Thrones, and Peaky Blinders. Featuring interviews with leading costume designers, directors, and actors, and never—before—seen costume designs and photographs, this book is an unprecedented firsthand insight into costume design and making, and their significance to stage and screen worldwide.
 
“We entered Cosprop as ourselves and walked out as the person we were playing.”—Helena Bonham Carter CBE
 
“Cosprop is a magical place that is an important part of the nation’s rich cultural heritage. This book should be essential reading for lovers of costume drama and for aspiring costume designers and makers. The industry as a whole should value this document as a glimpse into what excellence can be achieved in one lifetime, with the right balance of vision and modest ambition.”—Dame Judi Dench
 
Distributed for Cosprop

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781399994002
Publisher:	Yale University Press
Publication date:	09/09/2025
Pages:	240
Product dimensions:	9.44(w) x 12.19(h) x 0.00(d)

About the Author

Keith Lodwick is a writer, curator and theatre and film historian. He is the former Curator of Theatre and Screen Arts at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London. At the V&A, Keith was the assistant curator for the major exhibition Hollywood Costume (2012). He curated the touring exhibition Vivien Leigh: Public Faces, Private Lives and cocurated Censored: Stage, Screen, Society for the Theatre & Performance Galleries. With a career spanning over six decades, John Bright founded Cosprop in 1965, and over the past sixty years, despite the huge change in film and television production, he has remained a constant figure providing a link between authentic period dress and costume design for stage and screen.

Editorial Reviews

Cosprop has, as costume designer Chloé Obolensky observes, “become the bridge between the past and present worlds of costume design.” Lodwick’s book demonstrates Cosprop’s potential to play an equally important role in its future.”—Veronica Issac, Selvedge

From the Publisher