The new additions to the V&As collection include pieces designed by renowned costume designers Edith Head, Sandy Powell and John Mollo. Among the 500 outfits are Marilyn Monroes black tasseled dress from 1959s Some Like it Hot, as well as a sequin-spangled, mink-trained number that Ginger Rogers wore in 1944s Lady in the Dark.
The BFI is guardian to one of the world's most significant collections of film and television material and we want that collection to be seen and enjoyed by as many people as possible. I have long thought there should be a national film costume collection, said Amanda Neville, BFI director.
The BFI acquired most of the costumes through its Museum of the Moving Image, which closed in 1999.
Neville continued, It's wonderful to be able to give our nascent costume collection a new home at the V&A, another national collection with the resources and specialist expertise to ensure that these wonderful examples of the costume designer's art will be preserved and made accessible to the public.
Discover highlights from the V&A's Hollywood Costume exhibition here
