Behind every great character lies a grand costume – and London theatre’s costume designers year after year prove their sartorial prowess in rising to the challenge.

Lending their dab hands and sharp imaginations to the sheer variety that productions have demanded – in this year’s Olivier Awards with Mastercard Best Costume Design category alone, nominees have transported audiences to the sparkle of the 60s and 70s soul revolution, invited them to a glittering regal Midnight Ball, wrapped them up warm in winter-crested Pennsylvania, and immersed them in the magical majesty of Hogwarts – costume designers’ imaginations have truly known no bounds.

To celebrate, some of the incredible original costume designs have been shared with us by this year’s nominees, granting us an intriguing glimpse of the vision behind the threads. Who’ll take home the award? Gregg Barnes (Dreamgirls), Hugh Durrant (Cinderella), Rob Howell (Groundhog Day) and Katrina Lindsay (Harry Potter And The Cursed Child), along with the rest of us, will find out at the Royal Albert Hall on Sunday 9 April.