While most of the Oscar-winning costumes in The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert (1994) were made with small budgets and creative solutions like crafting glamorous outfits from cheap flip-flops, the pom-poms on this iconic wattle dress worn by Felicia JollyGoodFellow (Guy Pearce) were made by inmates at the Long Bay Correctional Complex.
In Baz Luhrmann’s Strictly Ballroom (1992), another Australian classic released two years earlier, sparkles are a must. Despite Australian Dancing Federation President Barry Fife’s (Bill Hunter) limited time on the dance floor, his sequined tuxedo shimmers and shines and helps bring what production and costume designer Catherine Martin calls the film’s “marvellous preposterousness” to life.
Curator Notes
To mark the 20th Anniversary of The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert, the National Film and Sound Archive of Australia's General Manager of Collections interviewed costume designer Tim Chappel on stage in March 2014. In this clip Tim discusses the design and creation of the yellow wattle costume featured in the film. You can watch it at the NFSA website.
You can also browse additional images and articles on The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert at the NFSA website, as well as their extensive resources on Strictly Ballroom.
Related works
Collection
Not in ACMI's collection
Previously on display
10 February 2022
ACMI: Gallery 1
Collection metadata
ACMI Identifier
Curatorial section
The Story of the Moving Image → Moving Australia → MA-05. Heroes and anti-heroes → MA-05-C01