Digitizing costume

3D models of the 'Harald of Mayfair' evening dress, the broadtail dress, and the Gone with the Wind nightdress allow us to observe them in very close detail.

Conservation concerns mean that the dresses cannot be made available for museum visitors to handle directly. Because fragile fabrics need to be carefully preserved, dresses cannot be mounted and re-mounted and taken in and out of storage too often.

The 3D models displayed here allow viewers to get close to the fabric without causing any harm to the artefacts.

The models help us to get a sense of how the fabric falls, to look closely at the details of the design of each item, and to look for the marks and smudges that indicate their use by Vivien Leigh and by Suzanne Farrington.

Click and hold to rotate each model and zoom in to examine the dresses in detail.