Dodger 1

BBC and NBC children’s series. 10 x 45 minute episodes.

A new spinoff from Oliver Twist, following the adventures of the Artful Dodger and crime-lord Fagin and his gang, set in poverty-stricken mid-Victorian England. The production encompassed 70 main characters and a supporting cast of over 650, ranging from the wealthy, with stylish, fashionable clothing at one end of the scale, to ragamuffins and derelicts at the other, employing a distressed, down-at-heel look – with many gradations in between.

A combination of bespoke costumes for the principals was used, together with hired pieces for the supporting cast. For Fagin, the brief required a look of ‘faded gentility’, involving a long Georgian coat in a blue brocade, woven with silver grey thread, which was later distressed and broken down.

For Dodger, the costumes were all constructed from natural fabrics – either wool, cotton or silk – which not only gave an authentic look, but also kept sustainability in mind.