A version of this story about Jenny Beavan and “Mrs. Harris Goes to Paris” first appeared in the Below-the-Line issue of TheWrap’s awards magazine.
Mrs. Harris (Lesley Manville) is a cleaning woman in London in 1957. One day, while tidying her employer’s room she sees, draped over a chair, the pettiest soft-pink floral “Ravissante” dress by Christian Dior. In that transcendental moment, Mrs. Harris vows to someday own a Dior dress of her own. And the first step on that quest is right in the film’s title: “Mrs. Harris Goes to Paris.”
For three-time Oscar-winning costume designer Jenny Beavan (“Mad Max: Fury Road,” “Cruella”), the film was a journey as well.