Saturday Night Fever, 1977 © 2012 by Paramount Pictures. All Rights Reserved
Hollywood Costume
Few film costumes are quite as iconic as the white suit worn by John Travolta in Saturday Night Fever. Who can forget Travolta’s Tony Manero strutting his stuff on that kaleidoscopic disco dance floor? With this in mind the Victoria & Albert Museum set out to track down the elusive outfit, which had not been seen nor heard of since its sale at a Christie’s auction in 1995.
The hunt for the famous flares was initiated in 2008 by Deborah Nadoolman Landis, Senior Guest Curator of the V&A’s next major exhibition, Hollywood Costume. The exhibition, which is sponsored by Harry Winston and due to open this October, covers costume highlights from a century of film-making, and Landis felt that it would be incomplete without Travolta’s three-piece suit.
Saturday Night Fever, 1977 © 2012 by Paramount Pictures. All Rights Reserved
Hollywood Costume
After 17 years of obscurity the suit has finally been found, after the owner, who prefers to remain anonymous, called the V&A to reveal that it was right here in London.
Hotfoot it down to the V&A from 20th October to see the paragon in polyester, with its tiny 28 inch waist. Other classics on display will include Dorothy’s gingham dress from The Wizard of Oz, Scarlett O’Hara’s green ‘curtain’ gown from Gone With The Wind and Holly Golightly’s little black dress from Breakfast at Tiffany’s.
Saturday Night Fever, 1977 © 2012 by Paramount Pictures. All Rights Reserved
Hollywood Costume
The exhibition will also explore the costume designer’s creative process, a craft that Guest Curator Sir Christopher Fraying says is “often taken for granted or misunderstood. This V&A Exhibition presents an opportunity to set the record straight – and will do so in the most spectacular way.”
For more info visit the V&A website here
