John Bright

John Bright was born in March 1940 and trained as an actor at London’s E15 drama school. Working as an actor on the stage he became interested in theatrical costumes and, in 1965, began to establish Cosprop, a company which would supply costumes for films, operas and the stage, as well as to private individuals – including Diana, Princess of Wales for her 1983 tour of Canada. Through the actress Peggy Ashcroft he was introduced to film costume designer Jenny Beavan, who had stepped in to design the clothes for the 1984 film ‘The Bostonians’ after Judy Moorcroft had left the production. Jenny asked for John to be her co-designer and they have since collaborated on twelve films, mainly for the Merchant-Ivory partnership, with John also designing for the opera. In the twenty-first century much of his energy has been in running Cosprop with other family members, having become its director in 1991.