The shirt worn by Colin Firth when he strides across fields dripping wet after a swim in the lake during the TV series adaptation of the classic novel Pride And Prejudice is among a number of period drama costumes being auctioned in London.
Cosprop, a costume house founded by Oscar and Bafta-winning designer John Bright in 1965, and Kerry Taylor Auctions, on Thursday announced the auction of the shirt, which has an estimate of between £7,000 and £10,000, along with more than 60 costumes from film and TV.
Oscar-winner Firth played Fitzwilliam Darcy in the 1995 BBC adaptation of Jane Austen’s novel, opposite Jennifer Ehle as Elizabeth Bennet – who is surprised when she visits his estate, Pemberley, to find him wet and not properly dressed.
The moment has been re-imagined in Netflix series Bridgerton, when British actor Jonathan Bailey steps out of a lake, and was also referenced in Bridget Jones’s Diary, which stars Firth as another Mr Darcy, a nod to his portrayal by writer Helen Fielding.
Also being sold is American actress Drew Barrymore’s Renaissance-style gown with wings from Ever After: A Cinderella Story, a 1998 reimagining of the fairy tale without the fantasy elements.
Up for auction at between £1,000 and £1,500, the costume is also being sold with prince Henry’s (Dougray Scott) clothes with a guide price of £600 to £1,000.
Both were made by Oscar winning costume designer Jenny Beavan, who also designed other items in the sale including Helena Bonham Carter’s 1900s-style ivory silk dress from the 1985 adaptation of E. M. Forster’s A Room With A View, and Heath Ledger and Sienna Miller’s costumes from the 2004 historical film Casanova.
The biggest ticket items are a vintage 1950s’ Christian Dior taffeta ball gown, worn by Madonna in 1996’s Evita, which could fetch between £40,000 and £60,000, and Johnny Depp’s Sleepy Hollow costume that could fetch between £20,000 and £30,000.
Items from Evita such as a pink satin evening coat, beaded taffeta ball gown, lyrics by Sir Tim Rice for Don’t Cry For Me Argentina, a Trifari brooch and earrings and a blue and purple silk dress, are also being sold.
Clothes worn by Depp in the 2004 film The Libertine, in which he played the poet the second Earl of Rochester, and his turn as Sir James Matthew Barrie in 2004’s biopic Finding Neverland, are also up for auction
A dress and hooded cape worn by Meryl Streep in 1981’s The French Lieutenant’s Woman is also being sold at the Lights Camera Auction event with an estimate of between £4,000 and £6,000.
The costumes have been donated by Cosprop to raise funds for The Bright Foundation, an arts education charity founded by Bright, who won an Oscar for his work on A Room With A View alongside Beavan.
Meryl Streep, an ambassador for The Bright Foundation, said: “John you have been one of my favourite colleagues in this sometimes challenging, always glorious profession.
“I am so happy to help The Bright Foundation continue with the same exceptional care, imagination, precision and depth of knowledge that made your work stand out so singularly.”
The auction also features costumes worn by Dame Julie Andrews, Jude Law, Tom Hardy, Eddie Redmayne, Gwyneth Paltrow, Dame Judi Dench, Ralph Fiennes, Scarlett Johansson, Nicole Kidman, Keira Knightley, Daniel Radcliffe, Alan Rickman, Margot Robbie, Dame Elizabeth Taylor and Aidan Turner.
Bright said: “My life’s work has been committed to costume design for film, TV and theatre and I feel incredibly fortunate to have been able to pursue this path.
“It is my firmly-held belief that the arts and creativity can shape happier and healthier children and enable young people to reach their full potential.”
The live Lights Camera Auction event, focusing on costumes, will be on March 5 and will be hosted by Kerry Taylor Auctions in London.
To coincide with this, a timed online-only auction selling memorabilia will run from February 22 until March 10.
