Marilyn Monroe's 'Seven Year Itch' dress to go on show at V&A The ivory, halter-neck dress with a plunging neckline was designed by the celebrated Hollywood costume designer, William Travilla, a long-term collaborator of Monroe's who dressed her for eight of her films. It was bought in 1971 by the actress Debbie Reynolds, a friend of Monroe's, to add to her collection of Hollywood costumes and has never been seen outside of the United States. But after Reynolds sold much of her collection last year, the dress, which was auctioned for £2.8 million - the highest price ever paid for a Hollywood costume - disappeared into a private collection. The V&A located its whereabouts last month with the help of the actress Meryl Streep, who has collaborated on the exhibition which will also feature one of the blue suits Streep wore to portray the former Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher in The Iron Lady. Deborah Nadoolman Landis, professor of costume design at UCLA in California and lead curator of the exhibition, said: "The dress captured Monroe with all her contradictions - naive and calculating, vulnerable and courageous. Wilder created a comedic and sexy scene that became the lasting image of Marilyn Monroe. Hollywood Costume will feature more than 100 of the most memorable costumes from film history. They include the blue and white gingham pinafore dress worn by Judy Garland as Dorothy in The Wizard of Oz, the green curtain dress worn by Vivien Leigh playing Scarlett O'Hara in Gone with the Wind and the "little black dress" designed by Hubert De Givenchy for Audrey Hepburn, which she wore in the opening scene of Breakfast at Tiffany's. Costumes from Charlie Chaplin's early silent films will also be on display, alongside Harrison Ford's original leather jacket and hat that he wore in Indiana Jones: Raiders of the Lost Ark and costumes from the Batman and Harry Potter films.