This ensemble consists of an evening dress, top, corset waist and shoes. Collette Dinnigan, Sydney, designed the floor length black silk crepe evening dress, black wool top embellished with black beads and waist corset made of black satin with black beading. Stuart Weitzman, Spain, designed the black lace pointed toe high heels with an ankle strap. The ensemble was worn by Catherine Martin to the Academy Awards in 2002. It is part of a collection of Australian and international designer clothing, shoes and bags from the personal wardrobe of Catherine Martin.

Catherine Martin is one of Australia's outstanding creative talents, working as a production designer, film producer and costume designer on significant film, theatre and event productions including Strictly Ballroom, Moulin Rouge, Romeo + Juliet, La Bohème and Australia. Martin's creative collaboration with husband Baz Luhrmann has produced a visually lush, musically exhilarating, poetic style of storytelling.

Her personal wardrobe reflects Martin's romantic style, knowledge of fashion history and passion for handcrafted, artisanal textiles; an aesthetic that is also a key part of her designs for film, theatre, interior design and fashion. The collection includes outfits Martin wore to premieres and award nights including the evening dress she wore to the 74th Academy Awards where she received two Academy Awards for Best Costume Design and Best Art Direction.

Catherine Martin's personal wardrobe enhances the Museum's contemporary fashion and dress collection with significant examples of work from Australian and international designer labels including Easton Pearson, Collette Dinnigan, Willow, Akira Isogawa, Chanel, Mui Mui, Jill Sander, Comme des Garçons and Prada.

In addition the Catherine Martin collection includes a group of costumes and accessories from the films Romeo + Juliet (1996) and Australia (2008), set models from the film Australia (2008) and costumes and accessories from the theatre production of Puccini's opera La Boheme (2003). A key feature of these productions is the costuming and sets which reflect the extensive research and inventive interpretation of references drawn from across history and cultures. These costumes enhance the Museum's existing collection of costumes for the Baz Luhrmann films Strictly Ballroom (1992) (92/1900-92/1939) and Moulin Rouge! (2001) (2008/199/1-17).

This collection reflects the diverse approaches Martin and her team take in costuming film and theatre productions. In Romeo + Juliet, Leonardo DiCaprio's Romeo wears an off the shelf Prada shirt that has been skilfully distressed to appear dirty and bloodied, while his companions the Montague boys appear in colourful screen printed and hand painted Hawaiian shirts. The Australia costumes reflect the design and production teams' careful research into 1930s and 1940s clothing which they have skilfully re-interpreted and reproduced for the film. In contrast the costumes for the four key characters from La Bohème are an eclectic mix of contemporary mass market work wear, designer labels and newly created garments.

- Glynis Jones, Curator, Fashion and Dress, December 2010

Jacquard fabric made in Italy, lining made in China.

The dress, jacket and corseted cummerbund were designed by Collette Dinnigan. The cummerbund may have been produced specially for Catherine Martin.

The shoes were designed by Stuart Weitzman, Spain.

This ensemble was worn by Catherine Martin to the Academy Awards and the Vanity Fair Oscar Party in 2002. Martin won two Oscars that year - one for Art Direction on Moulin Rouge, 2001, and one for Costume Design for Moulin Rouge, 2001. The ensemble was custom made for Catherine Martin by Collette Dinnigan.

Catherine Martin was born in Sydney in 1965. She completed a Diploma Design course at the National Institute of Dramatic Arts in Sydney. It was here that she met and started working on projects with her future husband and creative partner Baz Luhrmann (b 1962).

Martin's first design project with Luhrmann was his experimental opera entitled Lake Lost devised for the Australian Opera in 1987, for which she and her co-designer Angus Strathie won a Victorian Green Room Award for Best Design. She has designed all of Luhrmann's subsequent productions including Strictly Ballroom (1992), Romeo + Juliet (1996) for which she received an Academy Award nomination for Best Art Direction, A Midsummer Night's Dream (various season's 1993, 1994, 1996, 2000, 2003) Moulin Rouge (2001) for which Martin won Academy Awards for Best Costume Design and best Production Design, La Bohème (various productions, 1990, 1993, 1996, 2002, 2003, 2004) and Australia (2008).

Catherine Martin and Baz Luhrmann married in 1997 and in the same year co-founded their film, theatre and entertainment production company Bazmark Inc and its subsidiaries Bazmark Live and Bazmark Music.

Evening outfit comprising of waistcoat, dress, cummerbund and shoes.

Black wool waistcoat with high neckline and standing collar, embellished with black beads in rosette and trailing foliage pattern. Caped sleeves of black beads on a net mesh. Fastened down the front with hooks and eyes. Silk lining.

Black silk crepe bias cut, floor length evening dress with shoestring straps and draped cowl neckline overlayed with black tulle trimmed with black sequins. Trimmed at shoulder with draped strings of square beads and applied floral motif made from black organza and sequins.

Black satin cummerbund embroidered and beaded in black, lacing up centre back.

Black lace shoes with pointed toe, thin high heel and ankle strap with buckle.

Designed: Dinnigan, Collette; Sydney, New South Wales; 2002

Owned: Martin, Catherine; Los Angeles, California, USA; 2002

2011/43/52

2002