- By Noor Nanji and Sophie van Brugen
- Cultural reporter
March 5, 2024
Updated 27 minutes ago
image description,
The wet shirt scene has gone down in television history
Millions of viewers around the world raved about Colin Firth as he stepped out of a lake wearing a wet shirt as Mr Darcy in the 1995 BBC adaptation of Pride and Prejudice.
Now the same shirt was bought at an auction in London for 25,000 pounds.
Before the sale, auctioneers had given an estimate of £7,000 to £10,000.
It's one of more than 60 costumes from movies and television sold Tuesday. All proceeds go to charity.
Outfits from Madonna, Margot Robbie and Johnny Depp were also part of the auction.
video caption,
Kerry Taylor explains why the collection is so important
The auction, hosted by Kerry Taylor Auctions, featured treasures from the archives of Cosprop, a costume house founded by Oscar-winning designer John Bright.
The wet shirt scene didn't actually appear in Jane Austen's book, but that didn't stop it from becoming one of the most famous TV moments of all time.
It showed Mr Darcy (Firth) going for an impromptu swim in his private lake, filmed in Lyme Park near Stockport in Greater Manchester, before walking off in his sticky, wet white shirt and telling his lover Elizabeth Bennet (Jennifer Ehle). met.
Viewers were glued to their screens and Firth was instantly transformed into a sex symbol.
Image source: Kerry Taylor Auctions
image description,
The shirt Colin Firth wore in THAT scene
The scene has even been recreated on screen, including in the television series Bridgerton and Bridget Jones' Diary.
Almost 30 years later, the shirt – now dry – was sold.
The hammer price was £20,000, twice the estimate. The buyer's premium was £5,000, bringing the total to £25,000, all of which will go to charity.
It is one of several shirts used during filming. Another has already been auctioned off for charity and a third remains in the Cosprop archive, auctioneer Taylor told BBC News.
Other outfits in the auction included the Christian Dior ball gown worn by Madonna in “Evita,” Drew Barrymore's costume in “Ever After” and the dress and cape worn by Meryl Streep in “The French Lieutenant's Woman.”
Depp's Sleepy Hollow costume and Heath Ledger's Casanova masquerade ball costume were also for sale.
Costumes from TV drama series such as Poldark, Peaky Blinders and Downton Abbey also went under the hammer.
Image source: 20th Century Studios (left), Getty Images (right)
image description,
Drew Barrymore's costume from Ever After: A Cinderella Story
The entire collection spans more than 400 years of fashion history, with costumes ranging in style from fantasy-renaissance to mid-20th century silhouettes.
Taylor described the auction as “a wonderful opportunity to purchase a piece of film history” as the outfits were all worn by acting legends.
Cosprop donated the costumes in support of the Bright Foundation, a Hastings-based arts education charity founded and funded by Bright to provide creative experiences for disadvantaged children and young people.
“My life’s work is dedicated to costume design for film, television and theater,” Bright said. “I firmly believe that art and creativity can produce happier, healthier children and enable young people to reach their full potential.”
Film and television experiences as well as celebrity memorabilia will also be offered in an online auction that runs until March 10th. The list of lots includes the signed script for Love Indeed, donated by Richard Curtis and Emma Freud.