This gown was made for the movie Elizabeth by costume designer Alexandra Byrne, whose designs were nominated for an Academy Award, but it was her designs for the film's sequel, The Golden Age, which would win her the Oscar.
The gown was used again for the David Starkey Documentary Elizabeth, where the collar was removed and a yellow petticoat was used instead of the original. The gown was used a third time in Elizabeth I with Helen Mirren, but was covered with a jacket, so only the sleeves and a bit of the front are visable. The gown does not fit the actress Diana Kent properly, and so a layer of decorative fabric has been added beneath the front closure in order to compensate. These changes to the gown can be seen more clearly in Showtime's first season of The Tudors. It makes yet another appearance several years later in The Princess of Montpensier. |