Miss Phryne Fisher is well known to TV audiences for tracking down crooks and criminals, but her killer 1920s fashions might just be the real stars of the show.
An exhibition featuring more than 50 garments designed for the ABC TV series by award-winning costume designer Marion Boyce has opened at Brisbane's Old Government House in the QUT precinct.
She said she found it refreshing to work on a period piece from the 1920s that was not about gangsters and molls.
"Phryne herself was such a fantastic creature: flamboyant, maverick, bohemian, well-dressed and completely outrageous, which was irresistible," Boyce said.
The 1920s theme reflects the era in which women were breaking free with radical and daring new ways of dressing.
Boyce said the style of the period was well suited to actress Essie Davis.
She also described the 1920s period as "quite masculine".
"They really tried to eliminate their busts. It was lovely essentially having someone with the right silhouette and also someone who could wear acres and acres of voluminous amounts of cloth," Boyce said.
"A lot of people would've been swamped by the amount of cloth, but Essie could fly with it."
A workroom set-up within the exhibition will offer visitors a rare glimpse into the designer's creative process.
While sewing machines did exist at that time, a lot of work was hand finished — a process Boyce and her small team used to recreate the costumes and accessories.
While the costumes themselves cannot be touched, alongside the outfits will be little swatches of fabric to give people an idea of the weight and feel of the textiles from the period.
Boyce said she was keen for people to enjoy the sense of fun she sought to thread through her costumes.
"My least-favoured fashion is disposable fashion. I love it when people are excited about creating their own costumes and their own outfits again and have the confidence to do it."
The Miss Fisher costume exhibition opens tomorrow and runs until September.