Shaw Brothers costume ‘treasure' trove to showcase Hong Kong film legacy
Costumes worn by stars in many of the biggest films to emerge out of Hong Kong's golden era of cinema are being meticulously catalogued as part of plans to return the pieces from the acclaimed Shaw Brothers to the public eye.
Since March, a team led by renowned Hong Kong stylist Tina Liu Tien-lan has been caring for 40,000 costumes from the company's productions at a two-floor, 3,344 square metre storage space at Shaw Studios in Tseung Kwan O.
Dressed in masks, white protective coats and gloves, the nine-member-strong team has been commissioned to clean the costumes, research and build portfolios that include details such as the actors and actresses who wore them and fabric types.
Highlights include antique dragon robes featured in The Adulteress (1963), a film about a scholar and a woman who fight to clear their names in conspiracies orchestrated by corrupt officials in the late Qing dynasty.
A prison uniform sewn with the name Sung Sai-kit, the protagonist played by Stephen Chow Sing-chi in the comedy Justice, My Foot! (1992), is also part of the collection.
The antiques were part of the golden era of the city's film industry as productions of Shaw Brothers (Hong Kong), founded by the late magnate Run Run Shaw, dominated the Asian movie scene in the 1960s. Some films also became hits internationally.
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