Wednesday 28 October 2009

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

27 comments:

  1. Oh my goodness, how breathtaking they all are! I wish I could see them in person!!! ;)

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  2. Hi Elise
    I'm loving your blog ... so beautiful.
    Can't wait to show the little ballerinas (LOL) in my life. They will be very impressed!
    Thanks for your comment on my site back in August ... I only just stumbled upon it .... sorry!
    Sharyne (mother to Scarlet & Lulu)

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  3. So beautiful! Even the shots from above are wonderful. Hope all is well with you.
    Hugs,
    Dawn

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  4. How lovely! The details are incredible, so delicate and utterly feminine. Thank you for brightening the blogging world with your beautiful, beautiful blog!

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  5. I love those!!! I know I can't buy one so maybe I should paint one! Thank you for sharing these!

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  6. beedeebabee - thank you !

    artsharyne - thank you very much and welcome !

    Dawn - thank you. Yes, and you ?

    Angela Recada - Angela, you are too kind, thank you !

    JBeaudetStudios - Christmas present maybe ?

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  7. Those little costumes took my breath away. So magical and pretty.

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  8. These are absolutely exquisite! The love and dedication to such beautiful detail is amazing!

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  9. These are simply stunning

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  10. These are simply amazing. It's a fantasy in it of itself. I'm really enjoying your blog, this is a world I'm not too familiar with but I find I'm liking it!

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  11. Such artistry and detail. Simply beautiful and breathtaking.

    Have a great day, Bonnie

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  12. Oh, these are magnificent. What a magical group of wonderful costumes.
    Karen

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  13. Ohh this is really cute :)
    love it !
    and thank you for visiting our blog:)
    http://daily-women.blogspot.com !

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  14. oh I love the above shots! So amazing!

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  15. I have seen these beautiful little costumes on display - definitely worth a closer look as well as checking out the website. They are every bit as scrumptious (and more!) as they look in the photos.

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  16. How uplifting these are, so beautiful and how refreshing to see something so expertly made. Really very rare these days. Every home should have one or even two! Bravo.

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  17. Such beauty made with love.Must of taken hours to get such detail.

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  18. Gorgeous!

    Happy Halloween to you too!

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  19. Those little costumes really are exquisite.

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  20. these are so beautiful.
    poppy

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  21. daisychain - aren't they just ?

    Pinecone Camp - I know what you mean !

    Simply Mel - you are right, they really are

    Mo - yes they are

    L - thank you and welcome, good to hear you are enjoying it !

    Bonnie - you too !

    Alicia @ boylerpf - they are !

    KarenHarveyCox - magical is the word I think

    M. and O. - thank you

    Maria - thank you

    Lal d'Abo - good to hear that you have seen them already, thank you for your comments

    Anon - well yes, especially for Christmas if you have a generous Santa !

    SarahA - I'm sure they did

    janettaylor - yes, they are

    Glowing Doll - and to you, belatedly !

    Jill Thraves - thank you, they really are

    Carol - thank you

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  22. These are amazing, I will follow the link right after this comment hee hee! Thanks for the visit and I loved catching up on the beautiful beings you interview! Blessings dear!

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  23. Dont miss the showcase at The Royal Opera House. Beautiful detail work that has to be seen live.

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  24. Such a lovely Blog!!!!! Keep on your good work - it is very important to all of us! Ricardo

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