Australians in Hollywood : Biographical Notes

Lizzy Gardiner
Lizzy Gardiner (b. 1966) studied costume and fashion design at Florence 's Academia di Italiana Art. On returning to Australia she designed for the fashion industry and for music videos and was principal costume designer on the soap E Street between 1989 and 1992. When accepting her Oscar for costume design for The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert (1994), she stole the show with her famous Gold Amex dress. Made from 220 American Express Cards, each one bearing Gardiner's name and an invalid authorisation number, the original dress is now in the archives of American Express; a replica hangs in the National Gallery of Victoria. She has since re-teamed with Priscilla director Stephan Elliot for Welcome to Woop Woop (1997) and Eye of the Beholder (1999). She made her directorial debut in 2000 with the documentary Killing Priscilla , a compelling record of Elliot's tribulations in getting Eye of the Beholder made. She also designed costumes for Mission Impossible II (2000) and, most recently, The Great Raid (2003).

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