[ad_1]
- By Noor Nanji and Sophie van Brugen
- Cultural reporters
The wet shirt scene has gone down in television history
Millions of viewers around the world fainted at the sight of Colin Firth as Mr Darcy, emerging from a lake in a wet shirt in the 1995 BBC adaptation of Pride and Prejudice.
Now, that same shirt is on sale and could cost up to £10,000.
It is one of more than 60 film and television costumes that will be auctioned in London on Tuesday, with all proceeds going to charity.
Outfits worn by Madonna, Margot Robbie and Johnny Depp will also be auctioned.
Organized by Kerry Taylor Auctions, the lot contains treasures from the archives of Cosprop, a costume house founded by Oscar-winning designer John Bright.
Image source, Kerry Taylor Auctions
The shirt Colin Firth wore in THAT scene
The wet shirt scene didn’t actually appear in Jane Austen’s book, but that hasn’t stopped it from becoming one of the most famous television moments of all time.
It showed Mr. Darcy (Firth) taking an impromptu swim in his private lake, before walking away with his white shirt wet and sticky and bumping into his love interest, Elizabeth Bennet (Jennifer Ehle).
Viewers were glued to their screens and Firth was instantly transformed into a sex symbol.
The scene has even been replicated on screen, including in the television series Bridgerton and in Bridget Jones’s Diary.
Almost 30 years later, the shirt, now dry, will be auctioned with an estimated price of between £7,000 and £10,000.
It is one of several t-shirts that were used during filming. Another has already been auctioned for charity and a third remains in Cosprop’s archive, auctioneer Kerry Taylor told BBC News.
Kerry Taylor explains why the collection is so important
Other outfits up for auction include the Christian Dior ballgown worn by Madonna in Evita, which has an estimate of up to £60,000, Drew Barrymore’s suit in Ever After and the dress and cape worn by Meryl Streep in The French Lieutenant’s Woman.
Depp’s costume from Sleepy Hollow and Heath Ledger’s masquerade ball costume from Casanova are also for sale.
Costumes from TV drama series such as Poldark, Peaky Blinders and Downton Abbey are also on sale.
Image source, 20th Century Studios (left), Getty Images (right)
Drew Barrymore’s costume from Ever After: A Cinderella Story is on sale for £1,000 to £1,500
The entire collection spans over 400 years of fashion history, with costumes ranging in styles from fantastical Renaissance silhouettes to mid-20th century silhouettes.
Taylor described it as “a wonderful opportunity to own a piece of screen history” as all the outfits were worn by acting legends.
Cosprop donated the costumes in support of The Bright Foundation, a Hastings-based arts education charity, established and funded by John Bright to provide creative experiences for disadvantaged children and young people.
“My life’s work has been dedicated to designing costumes for film, television and theater,” Bright said. “I firmly believe that the arts and creativity can create happier, healthier children and enable young people to reach their full potential.”
An online auction, which runs through March 10, will also include film and television-related experiences and celebrity memorabilia. The lot listing includes the signed script of Love Actually donated by Richard Curtis and Emma Freud.