BA (Hons) Costume Interpretation with Design student Ella Taylor is exhibiting her work at Ormesby Hall as part of their Future Creatives exhibition following an internship with Preston Park Archive all whilst studying her BA (Hons) Costume Interpretation with Design degree last year.

Ella’s role at Preston Park was in their Costume Collection Archive and came through a connection with the school, included helping to, she explains “The opportunity came about from by being mentioned by one of my tutors Ian. I put my interest forward for and was very appreciative to have got selected.”

Her main role was to “organise their archive after a relocation from storage. I handled and treated archival pieces, to ensure their longevity, as well as logging the inventory of the collection; noting the objects style, condition, fabric properties, era and location details within the Costume Store. This experience has really helped my confidence for working in the industry, through liaising with professionals; as well as expanding on my historical costume and archival skills through being able to explore the detail of such a variety of pieces – some that are centuries old- and learning how to handle the costumes correctly to protect the garments.”

Ella said her “biggest take away from working with Preston Park, is the conservation skills and process, along with historical research that I have learnt. I feel privileged to have had the opportunity to handle and look into the detailed garment construction of costumes in a collection with much historical and cultural significance, especially in the North East.”

The opportunity allowed Ella to explore another aspect of the costume industry in the heritage sector, “My time with Preston Park has definitely influenced my career aspirations, as previously I was mostly interested in costume for theatre, but this experience has opened my mind to a wider variety of costume paths. It helped me to hone more into my enjoyment for historical elements of costume, which I can relate to research throughout my projects.”

Ella also had the exciting opportunity to displayer her work at another iconic North East historical institution Ormesby Hall, she explains “The opportunity to display my work came about from an email from the Marketing & Recruitment Manager Liam Bradley, stating the school had an invitation by National Trust at Ormesby Hall, to share the opportunity to apply for the chance to exhibit- where they would showcase a select number of student’s work in their historical setting.”

Speaking of showcasing her work she said “When I found out my work would be displayed, I was honestly in disbelief, I felt so overjoyed and honoured that I had been selected to exhibit. I feel so grateful for all the techniques and skills I have learnt and developed throughout my course, from my tutors, who enabled me to create my submitted piece and forthcoming projects!”

“My project that is displayed at Ormesby Hall is an adaptation of a gold stomacher, from France, between 1700 and 1750, using various techniques including: passementerie, appliqué, couching, beading, foiling, free motion machine embroidery and hand sewing- with an internal layer made from buckram, to provide structural integrity; I created this piece for my Embellishment module, during my first year of study.”

“The petals within the design are significant to the Rococo Influence throughout the middle of the 18th Century where floral patterns were a symbol of a fashionable gown and a staple of upper-class attire, which is also suggested through the heavily embellished gold composition, to promote the idea of association with wealth and the stomacher being worn by an aristocratic woman. The stomacher would be positioned in the front opening of a woman’s bodice; worn to be sewn or pinned in the lacing, have boning in it to become part of the stays, or to cover the front of a corset.”

Speaking of new projects coming up she said she is working on “the release of a Sci-Fi inspired micro-short, filmed at PROTO- which was a collaborative project for students across Stage and Screen courses. I worked on the costume making and on-set dressing team- which was such a valuable time, by experiencing immersive technology in film production and it was great to see all the work come together from every department, after many production meetings prior!”

Ella’s work will be on display from now until the 23rd September in the dining room of Ormesby Hall, as part of the ‘Future Creatives’ Exhibition in Middlesbrough.

See more of Ella’s work on her Instagram: @ellataylor.costume

If you are interested in studying costume at degree-level make sure you check out our dynamic and industry focused degree programme here.