About us

With the epic period films of the 1920s and 1930s, Theaterkunst grows to international size. Fritz Lang chooses to use the support of Theaterkunst in the costuming of METROPOLIS (1926) for the star Heinrich George. Marlene Dietrich (THE BLUE ANGEL, 1930) and Henny Porten (ANNA BOLEYN, 1920) are also perfectly costumed by Theaterkunst. The lead actors travel by ship from America for the fitting of armor and robes of the monumental cinematic work BEN HUR (1925).
Development of the Theaterkunst trademark, still striking today, by commercial artist Otto Arpke

Die Theaterkunst hat internationale Dependancen in New York, Amsterdam, London, Kopenhagen und Stockholm. Zeitweise widmen sich 300 Mitarbeiter der Ausstattung von Filmen und Theaterstücken.

Theaterkunst operates international offices in New York, Amsterdam, London, Copenhagen and Stockholm. At times, the firm employs over to 300 employees devoted to the production of films and plays.

During the Second World War, the collection of Theaterkunst is seriously damaged and is rebuilt only after the end of the war. The company is then divided into two parts – the management must relocate to West Berlin, and the location Schwedter Straße becomes the VEB Fortschritt Theaterkunst. The two companies compete in postwar Berlin.

The large film productions that are costumed during this decade include the 1940 made-in-Venice award-winning adaptation of Pushkin’s THE STATIONMASTER and the adaptation of Gottfried Keller’s KLEIDER MACHEN LEUTE (1940).

The West Berlin branch of Theaterkunst moves to the Eisenzahnstrasse.

In 1953, the VEB Theaterkunst in East Berlin is closed.

In the following years, the costume collection, the library, and the print collection undergo a targeted expansion in the West Berlin branch. Award-winning films such as THE DEVIL´S GENERAL (1955), LOLA MONTEZ (1955), THE BRIDGE (1959), Billy Wilder’s ONE, TWO, THREE (1961), as well as the Karl May and Edgar Wallace films are provided with costumes from Theaterkunst. In the 1960s, Theaterkunst’s costume collection holding reaches its pre-war standing.

In the 1970s and 80s, Theaterkunst influences film and television history with projects including SPACE PATROL ORION (1966), TADELLOESER & WOLFF (1975), DAS BOOT (1979) and the Fassbinder films, including BERLIN ALEXANDERPLATZ (1980). Through the development of private television broadcasters, a new marketplace develops which in turn brings a greater need for modern costumes and current fashions.

In the 1990s, two more locations in the new media captials Hamburg and Cologne are opened. In addition to cinema films – including THE HOUSE OF SPIRITS (1993), SAVING PRIVATE RYAN (1998), RUN LOLA RUN (1998) – Theaterkunst now provides costumes for current TV productions, commercials, photo shoots, music videos, and events.

Theaterkunst again focuses on its main location in Berlin. In 2002, the collection in Munich closes and in 2008, the location in Cologne is closed. The headquarters in Berlin is continuously expanded and is the starting point for great national and international film productions, including INGLORIOUS BASTERDS (2009), SHUTTER ISLAND (2010) or THE WHITE RIBBON (2008).

Photo and video productions, including music videos for WIR SIND HELDEN, ROSENSTOLZ, PETER FOX and RAMMSTEIN are outfitted with costumes from Theaterkunst.

The location in Munich is closed.

Opening of the Berlin Uniform Hall at Forckenbeckstraße 9-13.

In 2007 the Deutsche Kinemathek – Museum für Film und Fernsehen opens a special exhibition of film costumes on the occasion of the 100th anniversary of Theaterkunst. Original movie costumes, photos and drawings are presented, ranging from the 1910s through contemporary German film.
The exhibition was conceived together with Theaterkunst. It can be seen at the Potsdamer Platz in Berlin and is also shown in Hamburg, Hanover and Düsseldorf in the following years.

The location in Cologne is closed.

Opening of the historical costume hall, right next to the uniform hall at Forckenbeckstraße 9-13.

At the end of 2013 the company also closes the location in Hamburg. Over 25,000 costume pieces and accessories from the 50s, 60s, and 70s to the present are moved to the Berlin headquarters. The new pieces are integrated successively into Germany’s largest collection of historical and contemporary film costumes.

Kerstin and Christoph Giulini become new owners of Theaterkunst.

Responding to changes in the market, Theaterkunst opens branches in Warsaw in Poland and in Cologne in 2019

Another branch in the Hungarian capital Budapest in 2020 opens. The digital selection will be expanded to include the Theaterkunst Showroom. Costumes, uniforms, accessories and shoes in different views provide an insight into quality, variety and volume of the unique costume collection of Theaterkunst.

Andreas Peters takes over as managing director of Theaterkunst GmbH and replaces Susanne Franke, who had been managing director since 2018.

Our Team

Renamed to Theaterkunst Hermann J. Kaufmann after the owner at the time.

1952 a further collection is established in Munich, the new German film capital.

Theaterkunst opens its doors in the Oranienburger Straße as a costume house for theater, opera, and cabaret and outfits the large Berlin theaters. Thanks to its dedicated and detailed work, Theaterkunst also supports the emerging cinema in the following decades and provides large national and international film productions with costumes.