Witten by Eloise Robertson

Costume Couture: Sixty Years of Cosprop

Elizabeth Blackadder: A Life in Colour

Dovecot Studios’ 2026 season is a celebration of craftsmanship, melding organic creation with absolute professionalism. This organic feeling – of collaboration between the artist, their art, and the venue – shines through their display of Elizabeth Blackadder’s work: A Life in Colour. All-the-while, down below and tucked behind the front desk, lies a sleek yet treasure-filled exhibition of dedication spanning decades in Costume Couture: Sixty Years of Cosprop.

Cosprop is a period-specialist costuming house in London. While their name is little known, their designs are impossible to have missed. This exhibition, marking their sixtieth anniversary, celebrates that fact; if you’ve seen a period film from the last 60 years, there’s an almost-certain chance you’ve seen their work. This prolificacy allows one to feel surrounded by greats, from picturing Helena Bonham-Carter in her Room With a View picnic outfit to Anya Taylor-Joy in Emma’s green-accented dress. It felt more like meeting one’s beloved characters than any passing celebrity encounter could. Clothes maketh man, especially clothes of such careful curation.

The meaning of Cosprop’s ethos: not to costume but to clothe- is superbly demonstrated. From careful period accuracy to abundance of materials, their outfits include many details which are imperceptible on screen yet elevate the look and feel entirely. This is what makes them so worth seeing: they are not, as the name suggests, costumes or props. They are wearable artworks; wearable because they are built around the actors’ movement requirements and durability for filming, and artworks because of the utter dedication poured into every design and every finishing touch. It is a credit to this hard work that the pieces remain in fantastic condition, no sequin or button misplaced. They stand as evidence to the fantastic endurance of slowly-produced, consciously-crafted clothing. 

Moving up towards their free exhibition, just above and overlooking their tapestry studio, one encounters constant reminders of their dedication to craftsmanship: the weaving below, the three-dimensional pieces welcoming you up, and Blackadder’s alternating tapestries and paintings sitting so naturally in the venue. Glinting gold and silver frames filled with colour and still life draw the eye throughout the room. The exhibition showcases Blackadder’s ability to capture emotions with colour; strokes of muted-but-bright blues and oranges capture attention in Still Life with Model Temple, whilst the dark tones of Summer House threaten to leave one melancholic. 

Walking through these pieces one feels they ought to take something great from them, that they are budding with insight. To this end the price tags beside them become rather distracting, as though the emotional weight of the piece is measurable in pounds to the nearest thousand. Nonetheless, pieces with the ability to import meaning straight into your mind never fail to do so; this is a credit to the peacefulness and flow of the walk around the gallery. Here again, Dovecot’s seamless integration and celebration of the work it hosts, and creates, is standout.

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