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Angels Costumes | Outstanding British Contribution to Cinema

9 February 2016

Angels Costumes was honoured with the awards for Outstanding British Contribution to Cinema at the EE British Academy Film Awards on Sunday 14 February.

Event: EE British Academy Film AwardsDate: Sun 14 February 2016Venue: Royal Opera HouseHost: Stephen Fry-Area: CEREMONYBAFTA/Stephen ButlerTim Angel accepts the award

Now in its 175th year, Angels Costumes is the world’s longest-established and largest professional costume house, having become an integral part of the international film industry over the past century. With a collection that spans eight miles of hanging rails, and is made up of over 1m items of clothing, Angels is one of the most well-respected and celebrated companies in the industry, providing costumes for theatre, TV, film, photo shoots, advertisements and music videos. 

Since the emergence of cinema in the early 1900s, Angels has worked closely with some of the medium’s most pre-eminent figures, including Alfred Hitchcock, Powell and Pressburger, David Lean, Michael Balcon, Herbert Wilcox, Anthony Asquith, Richard Attenborough, Alan Parker, Anthony Minghella, Martin Scorsese, and Steven Spielberg, as well as across genres and franchises: from the Ealing Comedies, films produced by Gainsborough Studios and Hammer, to the Carry On films, Bond, Star WarsPirates of the Caribbean, and Harry Potter


Watch Angela Scanlon go behind the scenes at Angels' warehouse >


Designs by Lindy Hemming for Simon Callow's costume in Four Weddings and a Funeral and the finished waistcoat in the film

Angels Costimes - 4 WeddingsDesigner Lindy Hemming


Sketch design by Phyllis Dalton for Kenneth Branagh's costume in Henry V and the garments in action

Angels Costumes - Henry 5Designer Phyllis Dalton


Angels has worked on numerous productions that have won a BAFTA or Oscar for Best Costume, including: HamletDoctor Zhivago, Star Wars, Chariots of FireBraveheart, The English PatientShakespeare in LoveSleepy HollowThe DuchessAnna KareninaThe Great Gatsby, and The Grand Budapest Hotel.  This year, Angels supplied costumes to several films nominated at the EE British Academy Film Awards, including Cinderella, The Danish Girl, Bridge of Spies and The Lady in the Van.

The Duchess

The Great Gatsby

The Grand Budapest Hotel

Established in 1840, Angels is a seventh-generation family business, led by Chairman Tim Angel OBE, who has also served as Chairman of BAFTA and a Governor of the BFI.

To have been at the heart of the British and international film industry from the very start is an incredible achievement, and we are all honoured to play a role in its continued growth. As cinema has evolved and changed, so too has Angels, and we are looking forward to seeing what the next hundred years of film will bring!

Tim Angel OBE, Chairman of Angels Costumes



The Outstanding British Contribution to Cinema Award is presented annually in honour of Michael Balcon, the British film producer known for his work with Ealing Studios. Previous recipients include Mike Leigh, Kenneth Branagh, Derek Jarman, Mary Selway, Ridley and Tony Scott, Working Title Films, Lewis Gilbert, the Harry Potter series of films, John Hurt, Peter Greenaway and Tessa Ross. Last year’s recipient was BBC Films.