LESLEY
BURKES-HARDING (Costume Designer) began her career
in 1975, as a student at England’s Mabel Fletcher Technical
College where she studied Theater Wardrobe Design. For three
years, she trained under the respected British wardrobe master,
David Harvey Jones, before moving to Auckland in 1979. She was
the Head of Wardrobe for Auckland's Mercury Theater, the largest
theater venue in New Zealand. There, she worked as costume designer,
cutting supervisor as well as the Wardrobe Supervisor in countless
musicals, operas and plays for the main stage and studio theater,
including “West Side Story,” “Les Liaisons Dangerous,”
“La Traviata,” “South Pacific,” “Romeo
and Juliet” and “Death of a Salesman.”
For the past ten years, she has worked primarily as a costume
designer. Recently, she designed costumes for the play, “Wit,”
the feature film, “Jubilee,” and as a construction
specialist building armor for the Army of Harradrim on “Lord
of the Rings.” Other projects include “The God Boy,”
“Angels and Orphans,” “Hamlet,” “Three
Tall Women,” “Young Hercules” and “Shortland
Street.”
Since period costumes are of special interest to Lesley, she
was delighted with the costume challenges of HER MAJESTY. “I
was thrilled to get this job. I love period fashion, it’s
my passion.” Not only did she get to design in period,
but to design the gown for the recreation of the Royal Coronation
of Queen Elizabeth II. “It took Norman Hartnell three months
and three-hundred people to create that gown; I've got two weeks
and about eight people!”
Lesley won a New Zealand Film Award for Best Costume Design
for her work on HER MAJESTY.
