angels costumes
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angels the costumiers’ london warehouse holds eight miles of costumes. photograph: angels the costumiers
among the sea of red father christmas costumes at angels, one stands out .
angels costumes awarded the bafta for outstanding british contribution to cinema. click for details .
angels costumes. costume suppliers to the entertainment industry, film, television and theatre, photographic, pop promos .
welcome to angels costumes – the largest privately owned collection of costume for film, theatre and television anywhere in the world .
angels costumes was honoured with the awards for outstanding british contribution to cinema at the ee british academy film awards on sunday 14 february .
dressed by angels: 175 years of costumes runs until 3rd january 2016. for ticket and venue information, visit their website here .
angels has supplied costumes to a range of classic films such as dr zhivago, chariots of fire, shakespeare in love and gladiator .
angels costumes has received 36 best costume oscars over the years, with the first dating to 1948 and the most recent last year .
angels has supplied costumes to a range of classic films such as dr zhivago, chariots of fire, shakespeare in love and gladiator .
baby jane picks up her altered costumes from
western costumes
which is, in reality, one of the largest costume houses in hollywood .
with thanks to everyone at angels, especially mark rhodes and jeremy angel. tours of angels are available to book twice a month .
( oscar nominees ‘allied’ and ‘florence foster jenkins’ and oscar winner ‘fantastic beasts and where to find them’ all had costumes from angels. tours are available of the angels costume house but need to be pre - booked, urltoken
urltoken was founded in 2001 by bafta - winning costume house, angels costumes. since 1840, the company has been a major player in the film, television and theatre industry. it wasn' t until the millennium that angels costumes started to focus on fancy dress, and urltoken was born .
the site also houses an embargo room, where angels stores costumes which companies have sent back in case they are required for a re - shoot .
choose from over 10, 000 costumes, all available for next day delivery .
tim angel, chairman of angels costumes, said the award recognised the' incredibly - talented people that have worked for the company over the years' .
angels costumes is to receive the outstanding british contribution to cinema award at the ee british academy film awards ceremony at london’s royal opera house on feb 14 .
angels costumes, which was founded in 1840, will receive the outstanding british contribution to cinema award after more than a century working with the film industry .
tim angel, chairman of angels costumes, said the award recognised the
incredibly - talented people that have worked for the company over the years
.
this is one of the stand - out differences between shakespearean films from 50 years ago and more recent productions such as macbeth, for which angels provided costumes .
this year, angels supplied costumes to several films nominated for baftas, including cinderella, the danish girl, bridge of spies and the lady in the van .
angels costumes, which was founded in 1840, will receive the outstanding british contribution to cinema award after more than a century of working with the film industry .
angels fancy dress, the renowned company handling star wars, doctor who & many more, opens 8 miles of costumes to the public & announce new cosplay lines .
angels costumes, which was founded in 1840, will receive the outstanding british contribution to cinema award next month after more than a century working with the film industry .
this year, angels supplied costumes to several films nominated at the baftas, including cinderella, the danish girl, bridge of spies and the lady in the van .
on rare occasions, costumes created and supplied by angels for some of the most iconic international film, television and theatre productions in history are sold through bonhams auctioneers .
the costumes are protected from fire by a network of water pipes running across the ceiling .
“we don’t actually have any designers on staff. all of the costumes are designed by our clients in meetings with us, and we produce the costumes according to their spec. ”
to celebrate the milestone, tim angel obe and and exhibitours have today announced dressed by angels, an exhibition of costumes from the early victorian era to the present day .
angels also provide accessories such as hats, jewellery, walking sticks and umbrellas .
angels keeps it in stock and re - tailors it to fit the actor .
tim angel, chairman of angels costumes, said: “i am delighted that angels’ contribution to film has been recognised by bafta, not just for the angel family, but also for the incredibly talented people that have worked for the company over the years .
alterations to clothing from the warehouse are usually carried out by angels. this does not just entail period frocks and suits but contemporary costumes such as police uniforms and military regalia .
now in its 175th year, angels costumes is the world’s longest - established and largest professional costume house, having become an integral part of the international film industry over the past century .
the real - life princess margaret hired angels to build costumes for “old mother red riding boots, ” a show that she staged with her sister, queen elizabeth ii, in 1944 .
angels costumes, the family - run business, will pick up the outstanding british contribution to cinema award at next weekend’s bafta ceremony, as it receives its first public honour in seven generations .
angels thank you for all my fancy dress needs being met. big love. james corden
and the best costume oscar goes to... angels (36 times so far )
all the military stock at angels is unranked until the staff are told to adapt it .
' i' m delighted that bafta is honouring the costumiers angels,' she said .
i' m delighted that bafta is honouring the costumiers angels ,
she said .
i' m delighted that bafta is honouring the costumiers angels ,
she said .
i asked if angels sold many things at auction. “we do sometimes. we offer a service where we can lock away the principal character costumes so they can’t be used again post production. ”
ahead of the oscars, we went behind the scenes at the costumer’s headquarters. founded in 1840 in covent garden, angels does a brisk business with costume designers for movies, tv and theater productions, as well as stylists and magazine editors. (among its recent clients are “the crown, ” “victoria” and “assassin’s creed. ”) most often, what they need can be drawn from angels’ vast inventory. other times, angels staff create costumes from scratch. if you lined up all of the costumes in angels’ storage in a row, it would stretch about eight miles .
the original star wars film, in 1977, was another triumph for the costumier. angels began life as a second - hand clothing store and is now the biggest supplier of theatrical costumes in the world
main entrance to angels’ hendon offices. the costume warehouse is connected, just a short away .
urltoken doesn' t have stores but you can always visit our friends at angels fancy dress .
the angels costumes team, including tim’s children daniel, emma and jeremy who work alongside him, will pick up their award live at the bafta ceremony at the royal opera house on sunday, february 14 .
founded in 1840, angels costumes in london is the longest - established and largest professional costume house in the world. the costumiers is to receive the outstanding british contribution to cinema award at the baftas on sunday
how costumes are returned to angels is something jeremy was empathetic about: you damage them, you get billed. “ we did the costumes for robin hood: prince of thieves ” he recalled. “ i went to see it being filmed with my dad, and the costumes looked great. well, we were walking round the costume tent and my dad’s face dropped. there was a table with the people in the costume department, cheese grating the costumes! they could see my dad’s face. they said “oh no, they’re not yours’. we bought extra costumes for this. ” i’ll never forget my dad’s face walking into the tent and watching them distress his costumes. but anything that looks like that from us is booked out like that. ”
angels costumiers has been dressing the world of film, tv and theatre for the last 175 years. over seven generations of one family, angels has become the world' s premiere costume designer .
founded in 1840 by morris angel and still run by the family, angels is the leading costumier to the film and television industry, and the pre - eminent fancy dress supplier to the public. angels owns the largest collection of costumes and accessories anywhere in the world, with eight miles of clothes racks .
costumes from productions including the indiana jones films, titanic and doctor who will also be auctioned on 6 march .
the imaginarium of doctor parnassus, stage costumes from the broadway production of wicked, and many, many more .
i ask about historical accuracy in their costumes. mark explains that if you do it right, no - one notices. much of what angels does will be completely ignored, and that’s exactly what they want .
“the crown” and “the bfg” are just two of the productions to which angels supplied household cavalry helmets .
the relationship between dance and dance costumes is complex and does not simply reflect dance practice in a specific period, but also social behavior and cultural values. dance costumes can be divided into the following categories: historical, folk or traditional, ballroom, modern, and musical dance costumes. influence has spread from fashion to dance and back again .
with a collection that spans eight miles of hanging rails, and is made up of over 1 million items of clothing, angels provides costumes for theatre, tv, film, photo shoots, advertisements and music videos .
i would definitely recommend visiting dressed by angels, if you are a movie fan, or an avid lover of costumes, fashion and historical clothing. alongside the actual costumes, there is also a gallery of costume designs, and a recreation of a costume workroom, giving you a behind the scenes glimpse into the process of costume making .
these are just hints at what awaits us behind the warehouse doors. you know, the warehouse with 8 miles of costumes to explore? yeah. that one. angels is aptly named, because this is costume heaven .
of the 120 members of staff, many have been working at angels since the 1980s, with those responsible for specialist military costumes, police uniforms, specialist costume making and the warehouse clocking in more than 20 years each .
this is the “badge room, ” where angels keeps hundreds and hundreds of military and other uniform badges .
bonhams it would be turning into a stars' dressing room, by allowing customers the opportunity to try on selected costumes .
and the aisles are interspersed with' pockets' - clear spaces where actors have more room to try on the costumes .
classic biba clothes from the 1960s and 70s. the late fashion designer alexander mcqueen worked at angels in the 1980s
if you would like to take a tour at angels, information on booking can be found via their website .
one is set in yorkshire in the early 1900s, the other in a galaxy far, far away... but they have one thing in common: angels, the world' s biggest supplier of costumes to stage and screen .
angels has also made costumes for some of the most - successful movie franchises in history including the harry potter, james bond and pirates of the caribbean series. buttons and badges are stored in boxes in their own dedicated room (pictured )
we have the largest collection of quality costumes and accessories anywhere in the world. eight miles of hanging costumes in london. together with a full ladies and men' s making and alteration service we can supply any size and style of production to any budget
immediately recognisable are rose and jack’s costumes from james cameron’s 1997 titanic, various costumes from mrs henderson presents 2005, a stunningly realistic interpretation – complete with cat (!) of blofeld’s costume from bond film you only live twice 1967, costumes from the grand budapest hotel 2014, chitty chitty bang bang 1968, velvet goldmine 1998, my week with marilyn 2011 and again, many more .
angels employ an in - house team of dressmakers and tailors. for larger scale projects, freelancers are contracted. .
take part in live industry projects. this has recently involved designing and making costumes for nottingham’s theatre royal, and hainsworth mill fabrics .
one of the exciting things about being a writer, is that i am lucky enough to attend private views and press views of fascinating events. one such event recently, was the press view of the dressed by angels: 175 years of costumes exhibition .
angels achieved certain details on the dress with a kind of design shorthand. the green plants shown below, for example, were stitched onto the real - life dress. staff at angels screen - printed them onto their re - creation .
the dress was pulled from the angels stock for the tv show. as high - definition tv has entered the mainstream, it’s become more important for costume shops like angels to use high - quality fabrics because audiences can spot the difference .
posts in dressmaking require a minimum of 2 years formal training in the construction and interpretation of costumes plus at least 2 years relative experience .
posts in tailoring require a minimum of 2 years formal training in the construction and interpretation of costumes plus at least 2 years relative experience .
largest selection of: costumes, wigs, masks, make - up, fangs, shoes, bags, fashion accessories and much more .
“we will be having some more anime and comic inspired costumes coming in soon. we already have a sailor moon line in the works .
the company also supplied costumes to several films nominated at this year' s baftas including cinderella, the danish girl and bridge of spies .
the company also supplied costumes to several films nominated at this year' s baftas including cinderella, the danish girl and bridge of spies .
daniel’s entrepreneurial son morris was the brains behind what became angels costumes in 1840. actors in victorian melodramas became regular customers – and didn’t mind the ghoulish provenance of the clothes at all. the business grew and grew, changing from retail to rental along the way .
angels costumes, which was founded in 1840, will receive the outstanding british contribution to cinema award after more than a century working with the film industry. pictured the elizabeth i costume, left, worn by judi dench, right, in 1999 film shakespeare in love
dame pippa harris, chairwoman of bafta' s film committee, said the company remained' at the very heart' of the film industry. angels supplies costumes for huge films, left, the outfit worn in lawrence of arabia by peter o' toole, right
three of the five nominees for best costume design at this year’s oscars — “allied, ” “fantastic beasts and where to find them” and “florence foster jenkins” — got their costumes from one place: angels costume, a family - run shop on the outskirts of london .
london costume house angels has made and supplied outfits to hundreds of films, from lawrence of arabia to maggie smith’s muddy boots in the lady in the van. as bafta is poised to honour the company, sarah cooper meets the family of angels .
“our technology is the fabrics, and however many technological advances have been made in film, costumes still need to be done by hand. ”
mark tells of how terry gilliam and heath stayed for about three weeks at the warehouse, improvising, trying on costumes and building heath’s character .
they’ve been used in theater productions, commercials and in the movie, “evita, ” in which they adorned the costumes of argentine military officers .
dame pippa harris, chair of bafta’s film committee, said: “it’s extraordinary to think that [ angels costumes ] has been in existence longer than bafta or indeed cinema itself. it remains at the very heart of our industry, supplying iconic costumes for a remarkable range of films from doctor zhivago and chariots of fire to shakespeare in love and gladiator, as well as this year’s cinderella and the danish girl. ”
the story of angels began in the early 19th century when morris set up a stall selling second hand clothes and hiring costumes to jobbing actors in london' s theatreland - and with the expansion of theatres and the arrival of the film industry, the business soon expanded .
we all began to feel that it was the multicoloured aspect of the itv identity which felt appropriate for angels. this suggested the huge variety of costumes and the joy of fancy dress. we started thinking about how we could use a range of colours in the logo .
angels is the largest and most prestigious costume house in the world and is the gold standard of costuming in the entertainment industry .
angels acquired bermans in 1992, moving the professional hire for film, tv and theatre to camden. this allowed the original shaftesbury avenue premises to be opened as angels fancy dress; giving over almost one acre of storage space to public fancy dress hire .
a show designed to complement any event, string angels is pure style – these three ladies are immaculately presented performers, play a wide ranging repertoire with a totally professional approach. the creative vision for your event can be incorporated into the show, they’ve even performed on horseback as a special request for a very unique show! you can also customise with five angels onstage for huge impact! string angels requires a minimum of production: the angels bring their own pumped - up backing tracks and signature pink violins .
the story of angels began in the early 19th century when morris angel set up a stall selling second hand clothes and hiring costumes to jobbing actors in london' s theatreland - and with the expansion of theatres and the arrival of the film industry, the business soon expanded .
games designers will often have the costumes made to put on their actors when filming motion capture scenes. it helps create a rounded, realistic character .
the tailoring department brings to life sketches made by film and tv designers. and angels is very proud of its attention to detail .
customers search for items in the stockroom. the family - run business based in hendon has supplied costumes for countless productions, from downton abbey to star wars
with a collection that spans eight miles of hanging rails, and is made up of over 1m items of clothing, angels is one of the most well - respected and celebrated companies in the industry, providing costumes for theatre, tv, film, photo shoots, advertisements and music videos .
angels is the world’s largest costume house, and have been supplying the entertainment industry with perfectly historically accurate costumes and accessories for over 175 years. their warehouse contains over 8 miles (!) of costume rails, and their work has been featured across numerous television, theatre and film productions .
in the late 1920s, after madame tussauds was destroyed by fire, angels re - dressed all the waxworks and provided uniforms and livery for the staff. from 1940 to 1945, angels provided dress uniforms for the free french army and for ensa, the army entertainment troupe .
costume design oscars abound for films supplied by angels, starting with hamlet in 1948 and most recently this year with the grand budapest hotel .
as the tour wraps up we walk past a rail marked dr. who. the costumes from the latest episodes still needed to go back on the rails .
it has also made costumes for some of the most - successful movie franchises in history including the harry potter, james bond and pirates of the caribbean series .
angels costumiers is having what one might call a vintage year. it provided costumes for four of the five films nominated for the best costume designs oscar, including
into the woods ,
a modern twist on fairy tales, and
maleficent ,
a darker take on
sleeping beauty .
over 100 of angel' s costumes will be on display. visitors will be able to see bespoke costumes made for the likes of; laurence olivier, fred astaire, judi dench, tom baker and cate blanchett. as well as a display of interesting photographs, letters and artefacts, providing an insight into showbiz history .
tim angel, chairman of angels, explained that while he was sad to see many of the items go, it was an unavoidable decision .
in angels the costumiers' massive storage facility in hendon, north - west london, there are 8. 5 miles of railing containing 1million outfits
angels have contributed toward many high profile feature films. as widely reported, four of 2012’s best costume design oscar nominations came in some capacity from angels (hugo, jane eyre, anonymous, w. e .). often angels will not make all of the costumes for a particular production. for example they supplied garments for penny rose on the pirates of the caribbean films but the fabric for jack sparrow’s coat was actually sourced at their rival, cosprop. this is why there is no typical production. different costume designers have different requirements and will go wherever they need to see them met .
now, six - and - a - half generations later, angels’ main base is in a huge warehouse in hendon, employing 120 people. there are a staggering eight - and - a - half miles of costumes of every description hanging here. you could clothe several armies with the military gear on display .
we currently operate two stores. our central london store is located in the heart of theatre land on shaftesbury avenue and features five floors of costumes, fancy dress and accessories including our hire department. our north london store is located in hendon and features costumes and accessories to buy as well as an extensive range of partyware and balloons .
from the fifteenth to the eighteenth century, festivities at european courts required highly elaborate dance costumes. the style of court dance costumes tended to be similar to everyday dress of the period, incorporating, for example, laced corsets, puffed and slashed sleeves, farthingales with skirts and applied decoration. in the early twenty - first century, the reproduction of historical dance costumes was evident in the activities of historical dance organizations, such as the institute for historical dance practice (ihdp) in ghent, belgium .
and angels has amassed 36 oscars for costume design along the way - its most recent for the grand budapest hotel at this year' s awards .
angels originally made it for a window display at the luxury department store harrods, not to actually be worn. but when creative executives on “the crown” came to the shop looking to dress the queen for her coronation scene, the angels staff realized a dress already in stock would do the trick .
anne v. coates: appeared as one of howard hughes' editors, putting together the initial cut of hell' s angels (1930) .
since it opened in 1840, angels costumes in london has been the go - to clothing supplier for theatre, and later for film too. before it receives an outstanding british contribution to cinema bafta on sunday, take a tour of its gargantuan premises, including outfits seen on indiana jones, lawrence of arabia and more
posts in our alterations workroom require a minimum of 2 years formal training in the construction and interpretation of costumes. college leavers and graduates usually start in the alterations workroom .
on the landing, jack the giant killer, great gatsby, django unchained, and hansel and gretel each have a place allocated to two costumes and a large poster .
as the film industry was beginning, angels began a relationship with the film industry that lasts to this day, making the costumes for the film maid of the mountains (1913). the shaftesbury avenue location ensured that angels dressed every show of distinction in the west end, including musicals showboat, the girl friend, the co - optimists, the year of grace, no, no nanette, and plays such as journey' s end, and the truth game .
in 1948 hamlet starring laurence olivier won the best achievement in costume design oscar ® at the academy awards. angels have gone on to supply costume to another 35 best costume oscar ® winners. in 2015 angels supplied costumes to four of the five films nominated for oscars ® in costume design and all five films nominated for the film costume design at bafta: the grand budapest hotel; the imitation game, into the woods, mr turner, the theory of everything and maleficent .
tim angel obe (centre) with sons jeremy (left) and daniel (right) in angels warehouse with two costumes worn by actresses playing queen elizabeths i in different films. (left) by cate blanchett in elizabeth (1998) and (right) by dame judi dench in shakespeare in love (also 1998) .
after that comes historical costumes, each labelled under their historical period. mark explains that the smaller wheeled rails dotted around can’t be photographed as they are being prepped for production .
the angels dress glamorously in high - end costumes giving the client the choice between playful little dresses, sexy shimmery black cocktail dresses, glamorous discoball silver ball gowns complete with trains and more. the look is completed with beautiful hair and makeup and of course their signature pink violins. the client decides how much production to add – but with such a dynamic act, we recommend a good quality sound system and three spotlights for maximum impact. the angels look as good as they sound !
“with the arrival of hd and 3d, what you see on screen is shown up much more. people are noticing costumes more than ever before, ” jeremy angel, creative director
no tour of angels would be complete without a look at the accessories room: an aladdin' s cave of beads, bangles, earrings and other jewellery .
featured in screamers / richard iii / bed of roses / once upon a time when we were colored / angels and insects (1996). see more »
angels has worked on numerous productions that have won a bafta or oscar for best costume, including: hamlet, doctor zhivago, star wars, chariots of fire, braveheart, the english patient, shakespeare in love, sleepy hollow, the duchess, anna karenina, the great gatsby, and the grand budapest hotel. this year, angels supplied costumes to several films nominated at the ee british academy film awards, including cinderella, the danish girl, bridge of spies and the lady in the van .
i’m meeting with lydia, one of angels’ social media team. lydia is a cosplayer, and while we wait for the rest of the group she enthuses about the upcoming london mcm expo and costumes she has planned. we’re soon joined by mark, a jack of all trades in the company, who has over 30 years’ experience in the industry .
and if clothes need to be splattered with dirt, angels even has its own brand pure filth, which looks just like the real thing but washes out easily .
an exhibition, dressed by angels, will open at the old truman brewery in hanbury street, london e1 on october 2. for more info, click here .
we went on to draw this joined up logotype. the former angels logo began with a distinctive, forward - sloping a and we echoed it here. there was a feeling that the preceding angels logos were a little light and did not hold up at distance, so we moved towards a bolder weight for the new logo .
' as cinema has evolved and changed, so too has angels, and we are looking forward to seeing what the next hundred years of film will bring.'
as cinema has evolved and changed, so too has angels, and we are looking forward to seeing what the next hundred years of film will bring .
✂ behind the seams is available now from http: / / www. angelsbehindthes... angels has been providing costumes for stage and screen since 1840, and is the name sewn into thousands of costumes for television, theatre and film productions, including thirty - six costume oscar® - winning movies behind the seams gives exclusive access to what really goes on at angels, and tells the story of the biggest dressing - up box in the world. this is a unique insight into 175 years of the entertainment industry in london, and the evolution of a family business now into its seventh generation. now you too can step behind the dressing room door and see how the magic unfolds... show less
depending on the availability and calibre of a lead performer, he / she will either visit angels for fitting or their measurements sent ahead, with any additional modifications completed on set. angels provided some of consolata boyle’s costumes for the iron lady (2011), but meryl streep did not come for a fitting. measurements are obviously a closely guarded secret at the site. we were watched intently during our tour, though not hounded, presumably in case any measurements from prominent actors were currently in use by tailors or dressmakers .
if you succeed, doors can open for you within the industry worldwide. it is well proven that having angels on your cv and a reference from us is a major advantage - not only does it demonstrate that you have had the best training but also that you work in a professional, efficient and reliable way - the angels way !
at angels fancy dress, we think everyone should look their best and they look unique, and these videos can help you make sure you stand out from the crowd .
next to the dickens letters are manuscripts relating to the murderer dr crippen, who sold his wife’s clothes to angels after killing her. there is a letter in which angels complains to the authorities that it is a year since crippen has been hung and that the police still haven’t returned the wife’s clothes (which they want to rent out) .
mark muses, “the guys were always coming to us for costumes, running around here. both they and spike milligan always wanted to leave the tags on for filming for some odd reason. ”
if you succeed in getting a job at angels you will be given a unique opportunity which you should use to your best advantage in learning every aspect of the costume business .
angels sent this red jacket, likely originally made as a hunting jacket for an upper - class british man in the 19th century, to the set of “downton abbey. ”
a costume designer will approach angels with his / her request, be it half dozen australian light horse uniforms from world war i or three box jackets from the early 1980s. there will be discussion on colour, condition, fabric, timescale and budget, what is essential and what can be negotiated. then they will go to the rails. there are 8. 8 miles of costume rails housed at angels, so chances are what someone wants will be there. if not, costumes need to be created according to specification from the ground up .
costumes for every occasion such as halloween, christmas and st patrick' s day. uniforms, novelty, sexy, historic, fairytales, superheroes - no matter what the theme we have a costume .
we finish up in the fancy dress section with a look at contact lenses and fangs. lydia explains that while cosplay is very diy, there are some awesome costumes available that could be easily upgraded .
the team at angels have pulled a few costumes from the rails that they thought we might be interested in. on one of the four dummies is an original star wars uniform from a new hope. on another, a police uniform used in both dr. who and torchwood, then a jacket worn by tommy lee jones in captain america and lastly a uniform from richard iii .
angels was established by morris angel in the seven dials region of london as a used clothing store in 1840, essentially selling tailors’ samples and excess stock. soon the store relocated to shaftesbury avenue where it became a popular haven for actors to rent costumes. by the time the movie industry took hold at the turn of the century, angels had already established itself as the go - to establishment for garment hire, tailoring and alterations. in 1992, the company relocated again, this time to camden after acquiring their main rival berman’s and nathan’s. the shaftesbury avenue store became a fancy dress rental shop that still exists today. in 2002, angels moved to a purpose built site in hendon housing their entire costume hire and garment making facilities .
stars flock from hollywood to hendon to visit the massive angels warehouse on an industrial site just off the edgware road. the stock was relocated there from premises in nearby camden in 1992
established in 1840, angels is a seventh - generation family business, led by chairman tim angel, who has also served as chairman of bafta and a governor of the bfi .
“we have always been the bridesmaid and never the bride, so it’s very exciting to have our contribution recognised, ” says angels’ chairman tim angel of the award, which he will accept on february 14 at london’s royal opera house. he will be accompanied by his three children, all of whom also work for angels — jeremy (creative director), daniel (head of costume) and emma (head of fancy dress). “i’ve been given the baton and i’m running with it, but there have been seven angels at the helm of this company and 15 angels involved in the business, not to mention all the people who have worked for the company over the years. this bafta is for all of them. ”
from shakespeare in love to star wars, the great gatsby to the grand budapest hotel, london - based costume house angels has supplied millions of costumes to scores of bafta and oscar - winning films. but for the first time, the 175 - year - old family business will itself take centre stage this awards season as the recipient of the 2016 bafta for outstanding british contribution to cinema .
at present angels is in its sixth generation as a family owned and run business. virtually everyone that works at the hendon site has been employed by angels for several years. indeed our tour was conducted by mark rhodes who started out in the military department a quarter of a century ago. as jeremy angel pointed out during our interview, “ at angels a job title doesn’t really mean anything. i have a brother and a sister who work here, i have my mum, my uncle, my aunt; plus the family dogs live here! ”
established in 1840, angels is a seventh - generation family business, led by chairman tim angel obe, who has also served as chairman of bafta and a governor of the bfi .
“when people talk about what sea - changes there have been in films and tv, people talk about hd, special effects and cgi. but before the sixties and seventies, film productions looked like the era they were shot in; actors were wearing costumes, ” the angels boss said. “but in the 1960s directors wanted authenticity and so you’d see real victorian clothes start to be used. ”
recent graduate roles include freelance costume designers, trainee costume designers, and wardrobe assistants for a range of theatre, film, and television productions. this includes rogue one: a star wars story, the book of mormon, matthew bourne’s the red shoes, and the winter’s tale at the garrick theatre, london. they are also working for world - renowned organisations such as angels costumes in london .
their previous award - winning costumes appeared in olivier’s 1948 hamlet, gigi, doctor zhivago, star wars, chariots of fire, the last emperor, the english patient, shakespeare in love and the great gatsby .
furthermore with so many costumes in angels’ vast warehouse it stands to reason that anyone could chance upon a golden movie find. this famously occurred in 2005 with a chance unearthing of obi - wan’s brown cloak from star wars (originally made by berman’s). this must be the most fun part of angels. even those who have worked for the company for twenty years do not know every item on every rail. our eyes glazed over at bob hoskins and judy dench name tags sewn into dresses and suits. we can only wonder at what other undiscovered gems might be lurking out there .
jeremy angel stands with a rail of costumes at angels the costumiers on july 29, 2008 in london. jeremy is the 6th generation of his family to work in the business. 120 staff look after up to 4 million costumes hanging on 6 miles of rails. founded in 1840 - angel' s facility, the largest of it' s kind in the world, supplies film, tv and theatre - on over a 1000 projects a year and has supplied outfits to 30 films films that have won oscars for best costume. much of the stock is also availbale to the public to hire for fancy dress .
the ghosts of laurence olivier, richard burton and omar sharif are lurking in an unglamorous industrial estate in hendon. in a warehouse belonging to angels, the world’s largest supplier of costumes to the stage and screen, clothing worn by the silver screen idols of old hangs next to outfits from outer space, gowns dating back to the elizabethan era, 1920s flapper dresses and military uniforms from around the world .
angels’ first foray into film came in the silent era. it made the costumes for maid of the mountains (1913) and provided leading stage actors of the day with the outfits for their appearances in front of the movie cameras. it also made the outfits for the front - of - house staff working at the old “picture palaces”, as the luxury cinemas of the 1920s and 1930s were called .
regardless of your qualifications you will go through our own rigorous training programme. during your three month trial period you will go' back to basics' and learn' the angels way' .
in the alterations department, one woman is deep in concentration sewing medal ribbons on to an raf uniform. all the military stock at angels is unranked until the staff are told to adapt it
the real howard hughes was still married to ella botts rice during the production of hell' s angels (1930) and would have been balancing romantic involvement with evelyn brent and billie dove .
costumes worn by prominent actors or designer clothing is kept in a separate room. incidentally, the former is still used. if not actually hired out, it can still be used for reference by tailors and dressmakers .
then, as the entertainment industry entered the world of film, the family firm used its long - standing theatre connections to provide the costumes for motion pictures including sir laurence olivier’s richard iii and maurice chevalier in gigi .
there is a picture of david hemmings in tony richardson’s the charge of the light brigade and one of pop star adam ant wearing exactly the same jacket. (angels prides itself on the way it recycles costumes .) nearby is the costume sean bean wore for sharpe, when he was drafted in to the series after the original actor paul mcgann broke his leg, and the one benedict cumberbatch wore for his hamlet .
now in its 175 th year, angels costumes is the world’s longest - established and largest professional costume house, and has worked with film luminaries including alfred hitchcock, powell and pressburger, david lean, martin scorsese, and steven spielberg on features from the ealing comedies, films produced by gainsborough studios and hammer, to the carry on films, bond, star wars, pirates of the caribbean, and harry potter .
natalea: i’ve gained so much from hosting trivia night! an addiction to iced lemongrass / plum tea for starters... an increase in useless knowledge, better oratory skills, creative excuses for wearing costumes ...
a walk through the endless columns of costumes is like a passage through time. there are outfits for a roman soldier, a king, even sherlock holmes. if hollywood can create the character, they' ve got them covered .
tim angel, who is celebrating the 175 - year anniversary of his family business, is overseeing the next stage of the company’s evolution as media streaming giants netflix and amazon start knocking on the door for costumes for their own productions .
their collection of clothes covers eight miles of hanging rails and includes more than one million items of clothing. as well as working with the film industry, the company provides costumes for theatre and television including hit itv series downton abbey .
as well as supplying to a host of successful uk films — including the harry potter franchise and the king’s speech — angels is also seen as one of the go - to costume houses for big us productions. “budgets are tight and there is global competition, but the fact that productions want us to send costumes around the world means we must be doing something right, ” says angel, who has supplied projects in china and australia .
it is a measure of the status of angels costumes that being directly involved in only three oscar - nominated films last sunday seemed, if anything, a mild anticlimax. often, there are more. on the main landing of the company’s offices, there’s a mannequin dressed in 1920s fantastic beasts and where to find them outfit. this stands next to displays from the other two oscar contenders from this year, florence foster jenkins and allied .
normally i' ve always said no to doing an exhibition because i think costume exhibitions are just costumes on dummies, but they were worn by people and whilst they are things, there' s more of a story behind them .
countless others involving actors dressed almost entirely by angels have been nominated in other categories, along with virtually every notable television drama in recent years donning clothes from their one million items and eight miles of hanging rails .
angels staff also glued on the beads, rather than stitching them, and based their rendering on black - and - white photographs, drawings and a swatch of fabric given to them by the dress’s original makers .
gwen stefani was roughly thirty - four - years - old at the time she played jean harlow, who was only nineteen - years - old at the time that hell' s angels (1930) premiered .
“they come here because they know they can get what they want, particularly in terms of period costumes. we go back hundreds of years, we’ve got amazing stock, we remain competitive and we are very good at what we do. ”
at the beginning of the twentieth century, isadora duncan' s natural movements on stage characterized a new era for dance. duncan' s modern dance style has been influenced by greek art, folk dances, social dances, and athleticism. free - flowing costumes and loose hair permitted a great freedom of dance movement. after world war i, modern - dance groups emerged with predominantly female dancers. during the following decades, avant - garde choreographers, such as george balanchine and martha graham, and later merce cunningham, paul taylor, alvin ailey, and pina bausch, reformed and liberalized traditional dance and its costumes. moving away from traditional ballet techniques, modern dance gave rise to a new era of costuming. costumes and makeup took on a unisex look as choreographers felt it less relevant to differentiate female and male dancers. theater designers experimented with seminude costumes: transparent t - shirts and short black trunks for men and simple bodices and plain tights for women were the standard outfits .
at the beginning of the twentieth century, isadora duncan' s natural movements on stage characterized a new era for dance. duncan' s modern dance style has been influenced by greek art, folk dances, social dances, and athleticism. free - flowing costumes and loose hair permitted a great freedom of dance movement. after world war i, modern - dance groups emerged with predominantly female dancers. during the following decades, avant - garde choreographers, such as george balanchine and martha graham, and later merce cunningham, paul taylor, alvin ailey, and pina bausch, reformed and liberalized traditional dance and its costumes. moving away from traditional ballet techniques, modern dance gave rise to a new era of costuming. costumes and makeup took on a unisex look as choreographers felt it less relevant to differentiate female and male dancers. theater designers experimented with seminude costumes: transparent t - shirts and short black trunks for men and simple bodices and plain tights for women were the standard outfits .
angels specialises in “breaking down” clothes to make them look worn and lived in for the stage, using a nutmeg grater to make sleeves appear lived in, varnish to simulate stains and cold tea to age white shirts.
angels is a supplier of costumes based in london , england to the film , theatre and television industries , as well as to the general public . the company , founded in 1840 , is the longest-established costume supplier in the world , and has supplied costumes to 37 films that have received best costume oscars , including the 2010 film alice in wonderland and , most recently , the grand budapest hotel . since its founding the company has stayed in family ownership for six consecutive generations , and is currently run by chairman tim angel , obe ( former chairman , bafta ; former governor , bfi ) and his three children , emma ( director of fancy dress ) , daniel ( head of costume ) and jeremy ( creative director ) . 
angels is a supplier of costumes based in london, england to the film, theatre and television industries, as well as to the general public. the company, founded in 1840, is the longest-established costume supplier in the world, and has supplied costumes to 37 films that have received best costume oscars, including the 2010 film alice in wonderland and, most recently, the grand budapest hotel. since its founding the company has stayed in family ownership for six consecutive generations, and is currently run by chairman tim angel, obe (former chairman, bafta; former governor, bfi) and his three children, emma (director of fancy dress), daniel (head of costume) and jeremy (creative director).
angels is a supplier of costumes based in london, england to the film, theatre and television industries, as well as to the general public. the company, founded in 1840, is the longest-established costume supplier in the world, and has supplied costumes to 37 films that have received best costume oscars, including the 2010 film alice in wonderland and, most recently, the grand budapest hotel. since its founding the company has stayed in family ownership for six consecutive generations, and is currently run by chairman tim angel, obe (former chairman, bafta; former governor, bfi) and his three children, emma (director of fancy dress), daniel (head of costume) and jeremy (creative director).