Hello

My design journey originally started in a Year 7 textiles class, making Christmas cushions and drawing clothes on top of templates. My mother, who was always supportive of my creative career,  originally suggested I look into fashion which is a pathway I pursued into my last year of sixth form. It was during this time, I found myself drawn to the work of Alexander McQueen, in particular his stunning  "Irere" collection of Spring/Summer 2003,

 and realised I was more interested in more eccentric fashion that was almost costume like rather than the fast moving trends. Also a bit of a history buff, drawn to all eras of corsets, crinolines and petticoats, one of the more enjoyable aspects of fashion was the historical influence research. As a result, I realised that costume was a marriage of both design and history and allowed me to give life to beloved characters and travel back in time and across the world.

 

Moving into my foundation year at Art University Bournemouth, I wanted to use this time to focus on my blossoming relationship with costume. With more freedom, I grew in confidence as I directed and designed my own personal project with the final outcome being a fully realised costume, photographed on site at Lulworth Cove (Lulworth's Ghostly Dancer, see on 'Projects' page) . This project allowed me to experiment with anything and everything, from recycled materials to digital design which I then carried into my BA in Costume and Performance Design. I used my first year to become well versed in prop making, set design, model making, tailoring, fittings and pattern drafting. Despite practicing all of these in- depth I was adamant on being a costume designer and so followed that pathway into my final year. Designing for plays such as Treasure Island (Stevenson, 1883) and We Burn Brightly (Tunney, 2020) I eventually settled into film design taking the role of costume director and wardrobe supervisor on the grad film Passenger. My grad film, allowed me to gain valuable on-set experience working fast pace and adapting quickly to script changes while also allowing me to practice continuity observation and manage a costume and make-up team. I would say this was one of the more challenging aspects of my degree as we had to navigate creating a safe environment for the actors and ourselves amidst  COVID regulations, as well as negotiate with the directive team on the importance of certain costumes and costume doubles.  

 

After finishing my BA degree I found that I depended more on my making skills to complete freelance work such as alterations and personalised pieces. As a result, when joining the MA in Historical Costume I made the decision to challenge myself as a maker and wanted to ensure that my final outcome would be a finished garment. I also wanted to research into an area that was completely new to me and learn about a culture of dress that I knew nothing to very little about. After reviewing my portfolio, it was clear that I had unintentionally drawn a focus to western based fashion. This, to me, is a clear indication that I need to push myself to follow projects that were further than my knowledge base. As such, I set out to create a research book detailing the traditional dress of different Asian cultures: Japan, China and Thailand. Which led me to my final project of my MA Historical Costume – recreating a Jūnihitoe. 

 

This allowed me to become a stronger maker, but also made me realise my passion for historical costume research which I would eventually like to develop through a PHD study. However, I would like to spend the next few years in industry following either design or making pathways, and continue to grow my skills. 

​