By Walt Disney Archives Staff
Continuing a cross-country tour that launched at D23 Expo 2019, Heroes & Villains: The Art of the Disney Costume makes its Southeastern U.S. debut on February 17, when the exhibition opens at the Birmingham Museum of Art. Produced by the staff of the Walt Disney Archives, the 6,000-square-foot exhibit examines the craftsmanship and artistry of Disney costume designers, offering visitors up-close looks at more than 70 iconic costumes and props from some six decades of Disney films and television programs.
“So much has been said and documented about the incredible work of filmmakers, musicians, and animators who have brought our favorite films and TV shows to life,” says Kelsey Williams, Exhibitions Creative Lead for the Walt Disney Archives. “But we think it’s fair to say that Disney costume designers have not had their work examined, or appreciated, with the same level of attention. We’ve been excited to finally shine that spotlight with this traveling exhibition.”
Heroes & Villains: The Art of the Disney Costume marks the first Disney experience to debut at the Birmingham Museum of Art. Previous stops for the exhibit have included the Museum of Pop Culture in Seattle, Washington (in 2021), and the Henry Ford Museum of American Innovation in Dearborn, Michigan (in 2022).
“What’s great about producing and traveling this exhibit is that it’s flexible,” shares Matthew Adams, Manager of Exhibitions for the Walt Disney Archives. “It’s been featured in a variety of different spaces across the country, each with its own unique configurations, but the exhibit has been designed like that intentionally.”
No matter the venue or layout, costumes from some of Hollywood’s preeminent designers are on full display, including Academy Award® winners Colleen Atwood and Sandy Powell, as well as Emmy® winner Ellen Mirojnick and Emmy® nominees Eduardo Castro and Penny Rose. Their work has been worn by the likes of Nicolas Cage, Glenn Close, Angelina Jolie, Geoffrey Rush, and Disney Legend Oprah Winfrey.
“You get to see costumes from our collection up-close,” Williams explains, “which is really quite spectacular. To take in the fine detailing, the stitching, the textiles, the colorful fabrics, the costumes’ lightness or heaviness—it’s all the work of costume designers who put an incredible amount of thought, consideration, and skill into every detail you see… the elements that help shape and define who the character is.”
Visitors will first enter “Cinderella’s Workshop,” a gallery that examines how several designers have each applied their own unique style and artistry to different interpretations of the fairy tale heroine—from Rodgers and Hammerstein’s Cinderella (1997) and Into the Woods (2014) to the ABC hit series Once Upon a Time (2011–2018) and the 2015 live-action reimagining of Walt Disney’s animated classic starring Lily James.
“It’s a really cool case study,” says Williams, “and through our gallery elements, you’ll also get to hear from the designers themselves as they explain their creative process and what they brought to their variation of the character.”
The exhibit continues upstairs, where dozens of iconic costumes are revealed in three sections: Heroes, Villains, and Spaces Between—a category reserved for the antiheroes whose fascinating journeys make them among Disney’s most complex characters.
This week’s opening in Birmingham welcomes several first-time additions to the exhibit, such as the costumes of Peter Pan and Captain Hook (Alexander Molony and Jude Law) from 2023’s Peter Pan & Wendy, the village dress worn by Belle (H.E.R.) in 2022’s Beauty and the Beast: A 30th Celebration on ABC, and the bewitching dresses donned by the Sanderson sisters (Bette Midler, Sarah Jessica Parker, and Kathy Najimy) in 2022’s Hocus Pocus 2.
The Alabama premiere also marks a homecoming for Adams. “I’m personally really excited about this venue because Birmingham is where I was born and raised,” he relates, thinking back to school field trips to the museum. “So it’s really a full-circle moment to have a project I’m working on follow me back to my hometown.”
The significance of exhibiting treasures from the Archives’ collections isn’t lost on Adams. “We can take them to places where there traditionally is not a big Disney experience, such as a theme park,” he continues. “We can take them into communities where there’s a high affinity for Disney. So it’s been rewarding to go to those places and share a little bit of Disney magic for fans who would otherwise need to go far to experience it.”
Heroes & Villains: The Art of the Disney Costume is on display at the Birmingham Museum of Art in Alabama from February 17 through August 18, 2024. Stay tuned to D23.com as future venues are announced.
