Leeds textile firm's major role in Oscar-winning film Darkest Hour

A HISTORIC Leeds textile company's cloths feature in Oscar winning film Darkest Hour.

Pudsey-based A W Hainsworth worked with Darkest Hour props and costume departments to provide an array of different cloths for use in some of the film’s most important scenes.

Darkest Hour, was triumphant at the Academy Awards last night, taking home the coveted gold statue for Best Actor for Gary Oldman. The film also triumphed in the make-up category.

Hainsworth’s baize cedar cloth can be seen in all scenes set in the cabinet war rooms where Gary Oldman’s Churchill is trying to convince his team that negotiation with the Nazis is not an option.

Various examples of Hainsworth cloth can be spotted in costumes throughout the film, including the famous RAF barathea, grebe grey doeskin and ren khaki.

AW Hainsworth, based in Pudsey, West Yorkshire, is a seventh-generation family owned business and has been a market leader for more than 230 years.

Hainsworth’s premium woollen cloths are used in high-quality fashion, costume design, academic uniforms and ceremonial military dress.

Julie Greenough, marketing manager at A W Hainsworth, said: “Being involved with Darkest Hour is a huge honour, and it’s so exciting to have our different types of cloth featured in a film that depicts some of the most pivotal events in British history.

"Our credentials in military, traditional and royal apparel are unrivalled, and it’s fantastic to be associated with a project that fits so well with our 230 year heritage and absolutely represents the very best of British.”

Hainsworth has also supplied materials for costumes in blockbuster films including the Harry Potter series, Titanic, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and Mission Impossible 3. They also supplied costumes for Grand Budapest Hotel, which won the best costume design Oscar.