'My thumb almost delayed a Batman film'

Vin Burnham has made a name for herself as a costume designer behind some big Hollywood blockbusters and hits on both the stage and screen.

And her decades-long career has seen her collect a rich seam of stories, including the time she nearly accidentally delayed the filming of a Batman movie.

Burnham helped create the iconic Batsuit worn by Michael Keaton in Tim Burton's Batman, which she later refined for the sequel Batman Returns.

On the very first day of filming Batman, she said she was in the dressing room getting the cowl ready when she mistakenly put her thumb through the front of it.

"There was only one and that is a complete crime," Burnham added.

However, Keaton had forgotten his contact lenses, which gave her time to make the necessary repairs, she said.

Burnham, who lives near Crowborough in East Sussex, has also designed Aslan for the BBC's The Chronicles of Narnia, alongside costumes for the BBC's Wind in The Willows.

She said she was "very, very fond" of Aslan.

"To me he's a bit more golden retriever than a lion," Burnham continued.

Children used to write fan letters to him, she told BBC South East.

Burnham says on her website that after starting out in the props department at the Royal Opera House as a trainee, she has since "dyed, painted, stitched and glued [her] way up through the ranks".

Among her proudest achievements is designing Lady Gaga's "living dress" for the Monster Ball World Tour, besides her work for the BBC.

"Everything about a costume is as important as a word in a script," she said.

"The whole point of theatre and film is storytelling - and costume designers are storytellers," Burnham continued.

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