The shirt worn by Colin Firth when he strides across fields dripping wet after a swim in a lake during the TV adaptation of the classic novel Pride and Prejudice has been sold at auction for £20,000 in London.
Cosprop, a costume house founded in 1965 by the Oscar and Bafta-winning designer John Bright, and Kerry Taylor Auctions, auctioned the shirt, which had an estimate of between £7,000 and £10,000, along with more than 60 costumes from film and TV.
The 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 Pemberley estate to find him emerging from the water partly clothed and dripping wet.
The moment has been reimagined in the Netflix series Bridgerton, when the 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 the writer Helen Fielding.
Among the biggest ticket items was Johnny Depp’s costume as Ichabod Crane in the 1999 gothic supernatural horror Sleepy Hollow, which went under the hammer for £24,000.
Drew Barrymore’s costume as Danielle in the 1998 film Ever After: A Cinderella Story was sold for £16,000 having had an estimate of up to £1,500.
Cate Blanchett’s costume as Queen Elizabeth I for the 1998 film Elizabeth, which had a guide price of £700 to £1,200, sold for £4,800.
Keira Knightley’s costume as Georgiana in the 2008 movie The Duchess went for £6,000, while Aidan Turner’s outfit as Ross Poldark for the TV series Poldark was auctioned for £3,200.
Items from Evita such as a pink satin evening coat, beaded taffeta ballgown, lyrics by Tim Rice for Don’t Cry For Me Argentina, a Trifari brooch and earrings and a blue and purple silk dress, were also sold.
The auction also featured costumes worn by Julie Andrews, Jude Law, Tom Hardy, Eddie Redmayne, Gwyneth Paltrow, Judi Dench, Ralph Fiennes, Scarlett Johansson, Nicole Kidman, Daniel Radcliffe, Alan Rickman, Margot Robbie and Elizabeth Taylor.
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 fellow costume designer Jenny Beavan.
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, was hosted by Kerry Taylor Auctions in London.
