Formerly the wardrobe of the Fortune Theatre, it avoided being sold off when it was taken on by the newly established Stage South in 2018, following the closing of the theatre that year.
Items from the wardrobe were used in last year’s Academy Award winning film The Power of the Dog, and now the organisation is looking to attract more film companies with the establishment of an online catalogue showcasing its best items.
Stage South wardrobe volunteer Dan Eady said the wardrobe was "a great resource", and it would be a pity if it was not used because people did not know about it.
"Targeting film productions seems to be possibly one of the best options as far as trying to make this wardrobe viable."
This year’s film The Royal Treatment showed Dunedin was capable of film productions at scale, he said.
However, the wardrobe could also be used for theatre productions and shows.
The idea of an online database had been in the pipeline for 18 months, and it should be functional in "the next couple of weeks".
About 200 items had been put on mannequins and photographed for the online catalogue.
Costume expert Charmian Smith said this was less than one third of the collection.
"We’ve just taken a number of costumes, and hats and shoes, and fur stoles and things, that we think a film might possibly want."
She enjoyed looking over the pieces and seeing them on the mannequins, despite the hard physical task of 200 costume changes.
There was a lot of work in running a wardrobe, from helping people find what they wanted, to making sure items were in good condition and stored properly.
The collection ranged from intricate handmade Victorian costumes to "wild" pieces from the Swinging Sixties.
The next stage was to put the photos online along with information about the pieces and other available items.
