Entertainment

Suit signed by A-listers makes £16,000 to help Jarman cottage bid

Costume designer Sandy Powell joined the campaign to buy late filmmaker Derek Jarman’s cottage.
Costume designer Sandy Powell joined the campaign to buy late filmmaker Derek Jarman’s cottage. Costume designer Sandy Powell joined the campaign to buy late filmmaker Derek Jarman’s cottage.

A suit signed by a host of A-list celebrities has fetched £16,000 after it was auctioned off to raise funds for a campaign to save late artist and filmmaker Derek Jarman’s cottage.

Triple Oscar-winning costume designer Sandy Powell asked some of the world’s biggest stars to add their names to the outfit, approaching them at the 2020 Critics’ Circle, Bafta and Oscar ceremonies.

Scarlett Johansson, Brad Pitt, Renee Zellweger, Leonardo DiCaprio, Robert De Niro, Al Pacino, Sir Elton John and Joaquin Phoenix all agreed.

Sandy Powell suit sale
Sandy Powell suit sale Costume designer Sandy Powell auctioned off a signed suit in a bid to save a late artist’s cottage (Matt Alexander/PA)

The suit also boasts the signatures of Parasite filmmaker Bong Joon Ho and actresses Laura Dern and Saoirse Ronan.

It was sold in an online auction at Phillips Auction House for £16,000.

Proceeds will go to Art Fund’s £3.5 million campaign to save British filmmaker Jarman’s Prospect Cottage, in Dungeness, Kent, for the nation.

The cash brings the total to £2,732,000, with campaigners saying they need a further £768,000 by March 31, or risk the cottage being sold to a private buyer.

Stephen Deuchar, director of Art Fund, said: “Sandy’s contribution to the campaign has been immeasurable.

“Quite apart from the stylish gesture of donating her suit to auction, her tireless advocacy of Derek Jarman’s legacy both in public and in private has genuinely galvanised the campaign.

“We are indebted to her and Phillips for propelling us further towards our important target and its challenging deadline.”

For members of the public wishing to support the campaign, Art Fund’s crowdfunding site is at www.artfund.org/prospect.