Lizzy Gardiner
Encyclopedia
Lizzy Gardiner is an Australia
n costume designer, who has been working in Hollywood since the early 1990s. Noted for her originality, she is best known for her American Express gold card dress
which she wore to collect her Academy Award for Best Costume Designer at the 67th Academy Awards
in 1995 for her work on The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert
. Her highest profile film was Mission: Impossible II
in 2000 for which she designed the costumes.
for six years. She left Australia after finishing high school and moved to Italy, where she studied fashion and costume design for three years at the Accademia di Italiana in Florence
.
After graduating she returned to Australia and began working in the Australian film and TV industry, working on the soap opera
E Street
. Whilst working on E Street in 1993, she began working with Tim Chappel. Together they designed outlandish costumes for Stephan Elliott
's Australian LGBT
comedy film The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert
. Amongst the bizarre costumes she designed for the film was a dress consisting of many pairs of pink flip flops. She studied Australian drag queen
s and their clothes and commented, "I love the fact that you can do things without much budget."
Her costumes won her the Academy Award for Best Costume Designer at the 67th Academy Awards, Best Designer at the British Academy of Film and Television Arts
(BAFTA), and Best Designer at the Australian Film Institute Awards
. The Motion Picture Guide 1995 Annual, covering the films of 1994, said, "The Oscar-winning costumes by Lizzy Gardiner and Tim Chappel are wildly inspired and range from the bizarre to the simply indescribable."
She gained worldwide attention at the Academy Awards in 1995 when she picked up her award wearing an unusual dress consisting of 254 expired American Express Gold cards. The dress had originally been made for that film but was unauthorized by American Express
. However, after the dress was worn by Gardiner herself, American Express saw its marketing potential and was keen to showcase it throughout its travel offices in the United States. The dress was auctioned off for charity in March 1999 for $12,650, with the proceeds going to the American Foundation for AIDS
research. It has been cited as amongst the worst Oscar gowns of all time.
Subsequent films which Gardiner worked on include Bound
(1996), Welcome to Woop Woop
(1997), Gone Fishin'
(1997), Woundings (1998), Theory of the Trojans (1999), Eye of the Beholder
(1999), Mission: Impossible II
(2000), Effie: Just Quietly TV series (2001), Stealth
(2005), The Great Raid
(2005), Ghost Rider
(2007), The Ruins
(2008) and Burning Man
(2011).
In answer to queries about her working on the gay film The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert and the lesbian thriller Bound, starring Jennifer Tilly
and Gina Gershon
, back-to-back (Gardiner identifies as straight) she said, "It just never occurred to me that sexuality is an issue. Australia has grown up dramatically in the past five years. Besides, we're a nation of convicts. So we're all sort of rogues."
Gardiner has a biographical entry in the book 1001 Australians You Should Know.
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
n costume designer, who has been working in Hollywood since the early 1990s. Noted for her originality, she is best known for her American Express gold card dress
American Express Gold card dress of Lizzy Gardiner
Costume designer Lizzy Gardiner wore a dress made of 171 American Express Gold cards to the 67th Academy Awards on March 27, 1995, where she won an Oscar for Best Costumer Designer. All of the cards were genuine, but had expired...
which she wore to collect her Academy Award for Best Costume Designer at the 67th Academy Awards
67th Academy Awards
The 67th Academy Awards, honoring the best films of 1994, were held on March 27, 1995 at the Shrine Auditorium, Los Angeles, California. They were hosted by well-known comedian and talk show host David Letterman....
in 1995 for her work on The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert
The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert
The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert is a 1994 Australian comedy-drama film written and directed by Stephan Elliott. The plot is based on the journey of three drag queens who travel across the Australian Outback from Sydney to Alice Springs in a tour bus that they have named...
. Her highest profile film was Mission: Impossible II
Mission: Impossible II
Mission: Impossible II is a 2000 action film directed by John Woo, and starring Tom Cruise, who also served as the film's producer...
in 2000 for which she designed the costumes.
Biography
Gardiner was born in the rural city of Dubbo in western New South Wales and lived there until she was sent to boarding schoolBoarding school
A boarding school is a school where some or all pupils study and live during the school year with their fellow students and possibly teachers and/or administrators. The word 'boarding' is used in the sense of "bed and board," i.e., lodging and meals...
for six years. She left Australia after finishing high school and moved to Italy, where she studied fashion and costume design for three years at the Accademia di Italiana in Florence
Florence
Florence is the capital city of the Italian region of Tuscany and of the province of Florence. It is the most populous city in Tuscany, with approximately 370,000 inhabitants, expanding to over 1.5 million in the metropolitan area....
.
After graduating she returned to Australia and began working in the Australian film and TV industry, working on the soap opera
Soap opera
A soap opera, sometimes called "soap" for short, is an ongoing, episodic work of dramatic fiction presented in serial format on radio or as television programming. The name soap opera stems from the original dramatic serials broadcast on radio that had soap manufacturers, such as Procter & Gamble,...
E Street
E Street
E Street is an Australian television soap opera created by Forrest Redlich and produced by the Ten Network from 1989 to 1993.Whereas Neighbours is set in a middle-class suburb, Home and Away in a seaside town, and Richmond Hill a semi-rural ordinary community, E Street was set in a tough inner-city...
. Whilst working on E Street in 1993, she began working with Tim Chappel. Together they designed outlandish costumes for Stephan Elliott
Stephan Elliott
Stephan Elliott is an Australian film director and screenwriter.-Life and career:Elliott began his career as an assistant director working in the boom of the Australian film industry of the 1980s....
's Australian LGBT
LGBT
LGBT is an initialism that collectively refers to "lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender" people. In use since the 1990s, the term "LGBT" is an adaptation of the initialism "LGB", which itself started replacing the phrase "gay community" beginning in the mid-to-late 1980s, which many within the...
comedy film The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert
The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert
The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert is a 1994 Australian comedy-drama film written and directed by Stephan Elliott. The plot is based on the journey of three drag queens who travel across the Australian Outback from Sydney to Alice Springs in a tour bus that they have named...
. Amongst the bizarre costumes she designed for the film was a dress consisting of many pairs of pink flip flops. She studied Australian drag queen
Drag queen
A drag queen is a man who dresses, and usually acts, like a caricature woman often for the purpose of entertaining. There are many kinds of drag artists and they vary greatly, from professionals who have starred in films to people who just try it once. Drag queens also vary by class and culture and...
s and their clothes and commented, "I love the fact that you can do things without much budget."
Her costumes won her the Academy Award for Best Costume Designer at the 67th Academy Awards, Best Designer at the British Academy of Film and Television Arts
British Academy of Film and Television Arts
The British Academy of Film and Television Arts is a charity in the United Kingdom that hosts annual awards shows for excellence in film, television, television craft, video games and forms of animation.-Introduction:...
(BAFTA), and Best Designer at the Australian Film Institute Awards
Australian Film Institute Awards
The Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts Award, known as the AACTA Award , is an accolade presented annually by the Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts . The awards recognize excellence of professionals in the film industry and television industry, including directors,...
. The Motion Picture Guide 1995 Annual, covering the films of 1994, said, "The Oscar-winning costumes by Lizzy Gardiner and Tim Chappel are wildly inspired and range from the bizarre to the simply indescribable."
She gained worldwide attention at the Academy Awards in 1995 when she picked up her award wearing an unusual dress consisting of 254 expired American Express Gold cards. The dress had originally been made for that film but was unauthorized by American Express
American Express
American Express Company or AmEx, is an American multinational financial services corporation headquartered in Three World Financial Center, Manhattan, New York City, New York, United States. Founded in 1850, it is one of the 30 components of the Dow Jones Industrial Average. The company is best...
. However, after the dress was worn by Gardiner herself, American Express saw its marketing potential and was keen to showcase it throughout its travel offices in the United States. The dress was auctioned off for charity in March 1999 for $12,650, with the proceeds going to the American Foundation for AIDS
AIDS
Acquired immune deficiency syndrome or acquired immunodeficiency syndrome is a disease of the human immune system caused by the human immunodeficiency virus...
research. It has been cited as amongst the worst Oscar gowns of all time.
Subsequent films which Gardiner worked on include Bound
Bound (film)
Bound is a 1996 neo-noir crime thriller film directed by the Wachowski brothers. Violet , who longs to escape her relationship with her mafioso boyfriend Caesar , enters into a clandestine affair with alluring ex-con Corky , and the two women hatch a scheme to steal $2 million of mafia money.Bound...
(1996), Welcome to Woop Woop
Welcome to Woop Woop
Welcome to Woop Woop is a 1997 Australian-British comedy film, directed by Stephan Elliott starring Johnathon Schaech and Rod Taylor. The film was based on the novel The Dead Heart by Douglas Kennedy...
(1997), Gone Fishin'
Gone Fishin' (film)
Gone Fishin' is a 1997 American comedy film starring Joe Pesci and Danny Glover as two bumbling fishing enthusiasts. Nick Brimble, Rosanna Arquette, Lynn Whitfield, and Willie Nelson costar.-Plot synopsis:...
(1997), Woundings (1998), Theory of the Trojans (1999), Eye of the Beholder
Eye of the Beholder (film)
Eye of the Beholder is a 1999 thriller film starring Ewan McGregor and Ashley Judd, based on the novel of the same name by Marc Behm. It was written and directed by Stephan Elliott...
(1999), Mission: Impossible II
Mission: Impossible II
Mission: Impossible II is a 2000 action film directed by John Woo, and starring Tom Cruise, who also served as the film's producer...
(2000), Effie: Just Quietly TV series (2001), Stealth
Stealth (film)
Stealth is a 2005 American science fiction action film starring Jessica Biel, Josh Lucas, Jamie Foxx, and Sam Shepard. The film was directed by Rob Cohen, director of The Fast and the Furious and xXx....
(2005), The Great Raid
The Great Raid
The Great Raid is a 2005 war film about the Raid at Cabanatuan, adapted from William Breuer's book of the same name. It tells the story of the January 1945 liberation of the Cabanatuan Prison Camp on the Philippine island of Luzon during World War II. It is directed by John Dahl and stars Benjamin...
(2005), Ghost Rider
Ghost Rider (film)
Ghost Rider is a 2007 superhero film written and directed by Mark Steven Johnson. Based on the character of the same name which appeared in Marvel Comics, the film stars Nicolas Cage as Johnny Blaze, a stunt motorcyclist who sells his soul to the Devil and transforms into thevigilante Ghost...
(2007), The Ruins
The Ruins (film)
The Ruins is a 2008 Australian-American horror film directed by Carter Smith and starring Jonathan Tucker, Shawn Ashmore, Jena Malone, Laura Ramsey and Joe Anderson. The film is based on the novel of the same name by Scott Smith, who also wrote the screenplay...
(2008) and Burning Man
Burning Man
Burning Man is a week-long annual event held in the Black Rock Desert in northern Nevada, in the United States. The event starts on the Monday before the American Labor Day holiday, and ends on the holiday itself. It takes its name from the ritual burning of a large wooden effigy on Saturday evening...
(2011).
In answer to queries about her working on the gay film The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert and the lesbian thriller Bound, starring Jennifer Tilly
Jennifer Tilly
Jennifer Tilly is an American actress and poker player. She is an Academy Award nominee, and a World Series of Poker Ladies' Event bracelet winner. She is the older sister of actress Meg Tilly.-Early life:...
and Gina Gershon
Gina Gershon
Gina L. Gershon is an American film, television and stage actress, singer and author, known for her roles in the films Cocktail , Showgirls , Bound , Best of the Best 3: No Turning Back , Face/Off , The Insider , Demonlover , Category 7: The End of the World , P.S...
, back-to-back (Gardiner identifies as straight) she said, "It just never occurred to me that sexuality is an issue. Australia has grown up dramatically in the past five years. Besides, we're a nation of convicts. So we're all sort of rogues."
Gardiner has a biographical entry in the book 1001 Australians You Should Know.