A costume design graduate from The Northern School of Art has won the award for Best Costume Design at this year’s Jane Austen International Film Festival.

Meg Wallace, who studied at the School’s university campus in Hartlepool, received the accolade for her work on a film about the early life of Queen Elizabeth I.

Torn, directed by Luke Bradford, written by Lucy Flanagan, produced by Katherine Whetton and starring Murray McArthur, Bethan Williams and Patrick Roach, is a short film released this year that looks at the early life of Elizabeth I and how she was born to be Queen. It also features her relationship with both her parents, Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn.

Meg said she was delighted by the news which was announced at the competitive film festival that happens every year during the Jane Austen Festival in Bath and focuses on short form filmmaking to promote the genre to larger audiences.

“The win was an absolute surprise. I was in the queue for a water ride at Chessington when the director called me to let me know.

“I was over the moon as the Tudor period is a great love of mine as are Elizabeth I and Anne Boleyn as historical figures. To win for a short film in a time period I’m passionate about and with characters I love was quite special.

“I was brought onto the project quite last minute but because of the source material it became a passion project for me.”

Meg explained that the film was shot over two days in March this year in a Grade 1 listed manor house in Surrey with a small team. “I was lucky enough to have two standbys and an assistant with me to help create, dress and look after the actors while shooting.

“The costumes were from a range of sources including Angels the Costumers, The National Theatre, my own stock as well as certain pieces that were bought.”

She added: “When we went into filming I knew it was the director and producer’s aim to take the film to multiple film festivals. It’s currently going around the film festival circuit but so far has been to Cheltenham Film festival, the Jane Austen International film Festival, LA Independent Women’s Film festival and New York Short international film festival.”

Meg, from Hertfordshire, graduated with a BA (Hons) Costume Interpretation with Design in 2017 and has worked in the industry since.

Her first job was at the central London fancy dress location of Angels, the second biggest costume house in the world, where she used the extensive stock to dress the public for a wide range of events and parties including Goodwood Revival, Secret Cinema and Venice Carnival.

Since going freelance in 2019 she has worked on several productions in film, TV and theatre including Bridgerton, The Walk-In, Holby City, Grantchester and multiple operas with English National Opera.

Having carried out a range of roles in the industry such as trainee, daily, costume assistant, dresser and principal standby, Meg has also had the opportunity to design a couple of docudrama pieces, adding “these can be quite small projects where you end up sourcing, designing, dressing and standby on set all by yourself.

“Most of my work has been for TV, where I have worked my way up from trainee to principal standby over a couple of years so, primarily, I work on set. Day-to-day work includes putting costumes in trailers, working closely with the costume supervisor and designer to make sure actors are dressed and styled correctly, continuity of the costumes from scene to scene and standby for any costumes changes that happen throughout the day.

“One of the biggest jobs of a costume standby is continuity. Episodes and films are never usually shot in order so one scene that leads on to another, perhaps in a different location, could be filmed weeks apart so it is the responsibility of the standby to make sure the costume is kept in the correct position and style for the filming of each scene so once it makes it on the screen everything is the same.”

Reflecting on the advice she would offer to anyone taking their first steps into the industry Meg said: “Be eager. When you are just starting out and are not sure how things work on set or how to do certain things, a positive attitude and a want to learn is a must.

“When starting out as a trainee in the industry you’re not expected to know everything or how specific things are done but the openness to learn and take things on board is what gets you recommended for your next job.”

To find out more about Meg Wallace’s work visit her Instagram page @mcw_costumes

Further information about the BA (Hons) Costume Interpretation with Design degree at the Northern School of Art’s university-level campus in Hartlepool is available HERE