Guests at this year’s Baftas, held late last week (February 2), were given a eco-friendly dress code, encouraging them to wear something they already owned in the name of sustainability.
Sandy Powell, a costume designer nominated for her work on The Irishman, decided to wear a calico suit toile saved from an earlier design, but she also found a way to benefit another good cause – the ongoing attempt to save Derek Jarman’s iconic house – in the process.
How? Well, Powell decided to collect signatures at the awards show, with the aim of auctioning it off in aid of Prospect Cottage (and, tbh, she’s done a pretty good job of securing the big names).
Bong Joon-ho, Saoirse Ronan, Laura Dern, and Joaquin Phoenix (inarguably some of the biggest names this awards season) have already penned their signatures on the dress.
As have many others (reportedly over 100), including Elle Fanning, Courtney Love, and Gwendoline Christie. The right lapel alone boasts The Irishman’s Al Pacino and Robert De Niro, and Joker director Todd Phillips.
But Powell isn’t stopping there, either. Next stop for the star-strewn jacket: the 2020 Oscars, which begin on Sunday night (or Monday morning in the UK).
“I won’t wear it to the ceremony itself,” she tells The Guardian. “But maybe to one of the parties. But I definitely want to get Martin Scorsese, who has agreed to do it.”
Besides Powell – who became friends with Jarman working on his 1986 film Caravaggio – Tilda Swinton, Jeremy Deller, Wolfgang Tillmans, and other artists have been a part of the fundraising effort, which is run by the charity Art Fund.