Joanna Lumley

The day I got the key to the Sistine Chapel

issue 18 December 2021

After being landlocked for the past 18 months, it was a particular thrill to set off to film in three European capitals: Berlin, Paris and Rome. As always, it is my duty to supply and prepare my wardrobe for each documentary, having been given a list of the things we shall be doing so that I can be suitably dressed for each occasion. Conscious of the ‘waste not, want not’ attitude which has intensified as the planet warms, I have devised a sort of dressing-up box of old clothes which can be re-worn (‘your chance to see again…’) and made slightly different by adding a scarf or rolling up the sleeves or trouser legs, or occasionally wearing the garment inside out.

It is far easier to dress for Mongolia or Kyrgyzstan than for Paris. In vast landscapes, bright colours mean you can be spotted as you round up yaks or cross a rope bridge, and cameras love colour.

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