DEARBORN, Mich. — Cinderella came to Dearborn, Mich., last week, and she’ll be sticking around for more than six months, along with Maleficent, Mary Poppins, and even Benjamin Gates from National Treasure.

The characters — or their costumes really — are just a few of the more than 70 that are featured in a new exhibit at the Henry Ford Museum of American Innovation. Heroes and Villains: The Art of the Disney Costume opened on June 25 and runs through Jan. 1.

The exhibit, created by the Walt Disney Archives, is meant to showcase many of the extraordinary costumes that have appeared in Disney movies and television shows over the years and to recognize the often underappreciated art of costume design.

“[We wanted] to focus on the art of Disney costuming and pay homage to the designers who make all these wonderful creations and showcase their artistry, so we created The Art of Disney Costumes,” said Becky Cline, director of the Walt Disney Archives.

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The archives works to record and protect the most important items in Disney’s history, from scripts to props to photographs. Beyond preserving these artifacts of cultural history, the archives serve as a resource for researchers and those who hope to reference Disney’s past in future creations.

And part of this mission means bringing the legacy of Disney to the public. This can take many different forms, including books, film projects, and, of course, museum exhibits like The Art of Disney Costumes. 

A sign greets visitors when they enter the exhibit at the Henry Ford: “By walking into this space, you have been immersed into a costume designer’s workshop.” 

And that’s how it feels

It isn’t just the many different fabrics and shapes and colors that surround visitors, telling stories in the very stitches that comprise each costume. What immerses them even more deeply is learning the mindsets of the designers of each costume.

In front of each display, a plaque identifies a costume, along with a quote from that costume’s designer. It gives a visitor an appreciation for the the intention in every choice — why this color, why that pattern — and challenges them to see the costume, and the characters who wear them, in a new light.

“Some of these costumes are really outstanding just to look at as pieces of art,” Ms. Cline said. “You can look into these quotes and see [the designers’] own take on why they did what they did.”

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Consider the first part of the exhibit, where Cinderella — or really four different Cinderellas — greet patrons.

“Cinderella’s Workshop” encourages them to find the similarities and the differences in the costumes from Cinderella in 1997, Cinderella in 2015, Into the Woods in 2014, and Once Upon a Time, the television show that ran from 2011 to 2018. Shiny and gold or effervescent blue for the dress, golden or glass for the famous slippers, there is a reason for each decision.

Sandy Powell, for example, designed the costume for 2015’s Cinderella: a flowing sky blue dress and glass slippers, worn by Lily James. Ms. Powell wrote that she wanted to convey “lightness and simplicity” with the costume; she wanted the dress to be big but appear weightless.

Just next to these dresses is another illustration of the sheer amount of thought that can go into decisions like these. There are four different molds of the glass slippers from the 2015 movie, along with the final model and the actual shoes that were used. A plaque explains that it took years to get the slippers exactly right.

Both the beauty of the costumes and the deliberate choices of the designers who created them are evident throughout the exhibit.

The costumes are grouped into three categories: heroes are on one wall, villains along the other, with antihero-type characters occupying the “spaces between” in the middle of the exhibit.

Among the heroes are Mary Poppins, with costumes from both the 1964 and 2018 movies, Dorothy from 1985’s Return to Oz, and the Mrs. Ws from 2018’s A Wrinkle in Time.

The villains include Cruella de Vil from 102 Dalmatians in 2000 and Once Upon a Time, Jadis the White Witch from 2005’s The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, and Nizam from Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time in 2010.

Ms. Cline finds the antiheroes, those who cannot be easily classified as either heroes or villains, as the most interesting. At the Henry Ford, these costumes include Maleficent from the eponymous 2014 movie and Jack Sparrow from 2006’s Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest.

“When you see it and read about the designer’s intent, you suddenly realize they’re all choices. There’s nothing random about these costumes. They’re all chosen — the colors and the fabrics and everything — for a very specific reason,” Ms. Cline said.

That is because the costumes have an immense impact on the movie or show. Subtle changes can shift how the audience views a character or reveal how a character’s arc may develop.

Ms. Cline noted that a costume that seems out of place or anachronistic is easily noticed. But when a designer gets it right, the costume fits in with the rest of the movie.

The costume can also make a difference for the actors.

“I’ve talked to actors before who say, ‘When I put the costume on, I feel the character,’” Ms. Cline said. “And it’s really true: You feel a different way in a different type of costume.”

Relaying the many feelings that costumes can foster is a big reason for the exhibit.

In particular, Ms. Cline said that Disney wanted to reach people beyond the coasts, where the company’s American theme parks are located.

“All these other locations have Disney fans too,” Ms. Cline said. “And if they don’t get exposed or be able to see some of these exciting things in person, it’s a real great opportunity for us to visit them, bring Disney to them.”

That is what brought Disney to the Henry Ford, which showcases America’s history of innovation in manufacturing but also in politics and artistic movements. The Museum of American Innovation is located within the broader Henry Ford complex. It  also includes an outdoor living history museum called Greenfield Village, the Ford Rouge Factory, and more symbols of and ways to learn about Americana.

The Art of the Disney Costume adds to all of this. Stitched within each costume is a story, and together the costumes have told a story that has brought together two American titans, Ford and Disney.

First Published July 2, 2022, 12:00 p.m.