After a drunken night at a pub in Broken Hill, the three drag artists – Mitzi (Hugo Weaving), Felicia (Guy Pearce) and Bernadette (Terence Stamp) – awake to find their bus defaced with an anti-gay slogan. They leave the city depressed and upset, but Felicia cheers the day by practicing her operatic miming on the roof of Priscilla, their bus. Summary by Paul Byrnes.

Academy Award-winning costume designer Tim Chappel (Mental, Miss Congeniality) discusses the inspiration behind the iconic, Oscar-winning frocks from The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert, and the challenges resulting from the film's low budget.

Ralph/Bernadette (Terence Stamp) in The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert.

Photograph by Elise Lockwood.

Screenshot from The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert. Terence Stamp, Guy Pearce and Hugo Weaving perform on stage in flamboyant emu costumes.

This Polish one-sheet poster for The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert (1994) depicts the vibrant quirkiness of the film.

This costume from The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert, includes a lime green sequined body suit with matching wrap-around skirt worn by Hugo Weaving (as Anthony 'Tick' Belrose AKA Mitzi Del Bra).

Images of Hugo Weaving in this costume - designed by Lizzy Gardiner and Tim Chappel - were used in all promotional material for the film.

It comprises a lime-green sequined body suit, with black brocade strips along boning and cups and black fringe at the base. Above the bra cups sit silver iridescent sequined frill and shoulder straps. A lime-green lycra flamenco skirt with iridescent sequined frills completes the costume.

Click 'View More' below to see a 360-degree view of the costume.

When director Stephan Elliott approached Tim Chappel about creating a salsa-inspired dress, he collaborated with co-designer Lizzy Gardiner to use recycled materials for the sequined corset and fluorescent green lycra skirt. At the time no one could predict that the image of Hugo Weaving as Mitzi Del Bra, with her green skirts blowing in the wind, would ultimately capture the film's glamour and become a key visual motif.

In this scene from The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert, Mitzi dons a green sequined dress and dances in the desert after the beloved 'Priscilla' bus breaks down.

Screenshot from The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert. Hugo Weaving wears a fierce frilled neck lizard costume.

This excerpt from the 1994 Oscars shows Costume Designer Tim Chappel and co-designer Lizzy Gardiner from The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert receiving the best costume award from presenter Sharon Stone. Lizzy wears a dress constructed of gold American Express credit cards.

'The Thong Dress' was one of the most memorable costumes from The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert. The pink, orange and black mini-dress is made of rubber thongs, and was worn by Hugo Weaving (Anthony 'Tick' Belrose, AKA Mitzi Del Bra). 

This mod-inspired costume consists of an arrangement of thongs and clever colour choice, and features Chanel gold-linked chain detailing. Due to a tight budget, costume designer Tim Chappel called on his mother’s staff discount at Target to buy the materials for a total sum of $7.00!

This item includes the dress, a matching pair of platform thongs and a matching handbag with gold chain.

Click 'View More' below to see a 360-degree view of the costume.

Mitzi Del Bra (Hugo Weaving) turns heads when she struts her stuff in the Thong Dress on the main street of Broken Hill in full regalia. 

A scene from The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert featuring the costume designed by Tim Chappel and Lizzy Gardiner. 

In an exclusive interview with the NFSA, actor Hugo Weaving talks about the challenges of wearing the iconic thong dress from The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert (1994) and what the costume revealed about the character. 

Red and yellow feathered headpiece from The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert.

Priscilla, the bus, has broken down in the desert. An Aboriginal man (Alan Dargin) invites the three drag artists to his nearby camp, where they put on an impromptu show. Everyone joins in, including a didgeridoo player. Summary by Paul Byrnes.

'The Wattle Dress' is a costume worn by Guy Pearce (AKA Adam Whitely / Felicia JollyGoodFellow) in The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert. 

The unique costume comprises a lined golden G-string leotard, covered with plastic green foliage and tulle yellow and gold pom poms to replicate wattle. It was designed by Tim Chappel and Lizzy Gardiner.

The yellow pompoms on the costume were produced by inmates of the Long Bay Correctional Complex.

Click 'View More' below to see a 360-degree view of the costume.

The Wattle Dress is only on screen in The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert for a few seconds, but it iconically represents Australian flora.

In this scene Felicia Jollygoodfellow (Guy Pearce) glides smoothly down a high-heel shaped slide, but in reality the 'ride' proved painful and bloody for the bare-cheeked actor.

Tick/Mitzi (Hugo Weaving) attempts to become more ‘masculine’ in the eyes of his son Benji (Mark Holmes), but the boy reassures his father that he accepts him as he is. Mitzi then joins Felicia (Guy Pearce) and Bernadette (Terence Stamp) in full drag for the climb to the top of King’s Canyon, thus fulfilling Felicia’s ambition. Summary by Paul Byrnes.

Australian one-sheet poster from the film The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert. The poster is autographed by members of the crew, including Stephan Elliott (Director), Rebel Penfold-Russell (Producer) and Tim Chappel (Costume Designer).

Screenshot from The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert. Hugo Weaving, Guy Pearce and Terence Stamp perform on stage in a series of dazzling costumes, the most elaborate of which replicates the silhouette of Sydney's famous Opera House.

Lemon headpiece designed for The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert.

Screenshot from The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert. Guy Pearce rides the Priscilla bus through the desert, draped in a shimmering silver train.

Tim Chappel visited the NFSA for the 20 Year celebration of The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert. Whilst on site, he repaired costumes from the film including the pink beaded dress featured.

Green and yellow feathered headpiece from The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert.

Bob (Bill Hunter) in The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert.

Photograph by Elise Lockwood.