THREE-TIME OSCAR WINNING COSTUME DESIGNER
SANDY POWELL
ON TURNING A BLANK CANVAS INTO A WORK OF ART DURING AWARD SEASON ‘This is a deeply personal project’
Sandy’s suit is unsullied as she arrives at the Critics’ Circle awards (above) before getting stars to sign up to the cause. Leading ladies Scarlett Johansson (below left) and Margot Robbie (below right) add their names
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Powell, this year was all about signature style. Combining flair and sustainability with a sense of humour, Sandy wore a toile cream suit – a calico template from an earlier designer suit – on which she gathered more than 150 signatures from Hollywood’s finest. It will be auctioned off next month to raise money to save the former home of her late mentor and friend, the filmmaker Derek Jarman. “I thought: ‘It’s a blank canvas – I could carry a Sharpie and get signatures and put it to a good cause,’” says the London-based British designer. “The campaign aligned with the awards ceremony and choosing what to wear, and raised money at the same time – it was serendipity.” The list of signatures is a roll call of the great and the good in Hollywood – many of whom she has dressed on screen – including Robert de Niro, Al Pacino, Olivia Colman, Scarlett Johansson, Renée Zellweger, Leonardo diCaprio and Brad Pitt, as well as directors Martin Scorsese, Quentin Tarantino and Parasite’s Bong Joon Ho, plus Oscar-winning singer Sir Elton John and Janelle Monae, who performed at the ceremony. “I had no qualms about asking, because it was fun to do,” says Sandy, who won her 15th nomination this year for her work on Martin Scorsese’s Netflix drama The Irishman. “I was sitting halfway back in the stalls so I could see where everybody was seated. Every time there was a commercial break I’d plan my target and run
down. Both Brad and Leo said yes and smiled for the camera. There wasn’t time to have a long conversation – I just said: ‘Believe me, it’s for a good cause.’” Some areas of the suit were more sensitive to sign than others.“I gave my bum to the girls to sign,” she says. “Leo signed the lapel and said: ‘It’s close to your heart.’ Gwendoline Christie signed my inner thigh.” DRESSED FOR SUCCESS Sandy will auction the suit – which she debuted at the London Critics’ Circle awards and also wore to the Baftas – through Art Fund, a leading independent arts charity, in aid of the campaign to save Prospect Cottage and its garden, where Derek lived until his death in 1994. The aim is to maintain the home on the Kent coast as a place for artist residencies and public access. “This is a deeply personal project as Derek is the person who inspired and encouraged me many years ago and started my career,” she says. “Maintaining his home will promote and protect his legacy and reintroduce his work to a new generation.” This year’s ceremony, says Sandy, was her favourite – despite the fact that she didn’t win on the night. “I’ve worked with a lot of actors, but the best thing was that I got to talk to people I’d never usually meet, such as the foreign filmmakers and documentary makers,” she H says. “It’s the most fun I’ve had at an Oscars.” REPORT: ROSALIND POWELL
For more information or to donate, visit artfund.org/prospect.
PHOTOS: CAMERA PRESS. GETTY IMAGES. REUTERS. SANDY POWELL
eciding what to wear can be one of the biggest D challenges of attending awards ceremonies. But for three-time Oscar-winning costume designer Sandy
