THE LITTLE COSTUME SHOP DEBUTS AT THE ROYAL OPERA HOUSE

The Little Costume Shop, exquisitely hand made costume miniatures, is the creation of celebrity, award-winning, costume designer Vin Burnham.

A new exclusive collection has just been launched under license from the Royal Opera House and is on prominent show in the front of house showcase and in the shop of this magnificent building in Covent Garden.

The costumes are designed and hand made in London by award winning costume designer Vinilla Burnham, using period silks, antique lace and embroidery, appliqué, crystals and original 1920’s gelatine sequins.

These costume miniatures which stand at 21 inches tall are timeless decorative objects and destined to become collectors items. 

An ROH patron has just ordered a collection of 5 and Darcey Bussell has one of the Lilac Fairy which was the first role she performed at the ROH.

The collection of quarter scale costumes was inspired by the costumes from classical ballet and opera at the Royal Opera House when Vin started her career back in the Fonteyn and Nureyev era. Vin trained under the great designers including Nicholas Georgiadis, Yolanda Sonnabend, and Maria Bjornson.

Each costume comes from the same hand that has dressed Michelle Pfeiffer, Peter O’Toole, Heather Graham, Terence Stamp, Gary Oldman, Mimi Rodgers, Billy Zane, Sean Connery, Robert Carlyle, Michael Keaton and Danny Devito.

Vin who now works mainly in film and television, and has gone back to her roots at Covent Garden, by creating miniature opera and ballet costumes of her own designs. However, much of Vin’s work can still be seen on stage at the Royal Opera House stage; her Mouse costumes in Peter Wright’s ‘Nutcracker’, her masks in Andre Serban’s ‘Turandot’, dwarf costumes in Anthony Dowell’s ‘Swan Lake’, and headdresses and costume props in Kenneth MacMillan’s ‘Mayerling’ and ‘Gloria’.

“I am delighted to see my costume miniatures at The Royal Opera House,” says Vin. “It is where I learned my craft and a place that holds so many happy memories of working with legendary singers, dancers and designers, and of the ‘real’ Covent Garden Market. It is like coming home.”

Vin is currently hard at work on a new costume - ‘The Sugar Plum’ to co-incide with ‘The Nutcracker’ at The Royal Opera House. Photographs will be posted next month.

Photographs throughout : Richard Wilding