Student spotlight on BA (Hons) Costume Interpretation with Design student Ciara Carrington, 25 years old, from Ellesmere Port, Cheshire. After studying a previous degree in Adult Nursing Ciara made the decision to go back to university and study Costume at the Northern School of art as a mature student. This month Ciara will display her work at our degree show after three years of study, we caught up with her to find out more about her work and time at the school. Read on to find out more:

Tell us about your FMP!

My FMP is based on the Netflix animated series, Castlevania Nocturne. It is a dark fantasy anime series set during the French Revolution. I have redesigned the costumes for Richter Belmont  and Drolta Tzuentes, to be used in a live action version of the show.

For my male costume I researched and looked into period accurate silhouettes as well as 18th century French Navy uniforms. I wanted to reinforce skills I learnt in my level five tailoring module but also build on them further. I pattern drafted and cut this tailcoat jacket to fit my model’s measurements and used pad stitching to secure the canvas interfacing, a bespoke tailoring method.  My jacket also features a leather yoke across the shoulders and back, as well as a double breasted front closure with digital embroidery on the front.

My female costume was intended to look more luxurious as the character is part of the rich elite. I used skills learned from my level four corsetry module but again developed these further. The corset I made is exaggerated at the top into large points and has leather hip panels to exaggerate her silhouette, I adorned the corset with lace appliqué and glass beading to infer her status.

This project has been both incredibly challenging and rewarding to put into practice all of the skills I have learnt over my three years of study as well as some new ones, to produce two full costumes made to measure for my chosen models in just nine weeks. I especially enjoyed getting the heraldry on the back of my jacket laser cut with the help of the production design department as well as 3D printing and painting props for my final photoshoot.

You are in your final year can you tell us about a highlight from studying at school?

The highlight of studying at the school has been the variety of skills and modules I have been able to develop which have broadened my portfolio including; tailoring, millinery, leather work, corsetry, and 3D printing.

How have you found your course?

I have thoroughly enjoyed this course and feel it has prepared me for my future work by imbuing me with industry standard knowledge and skills. It has pushed me to be more confident in myself and my abilities. My tutors support and feedback has been great, coming from a larger university previously which had limited contact with lecturers. Smaller cohorts and close links with lecturers has provided amazing opportunities for feedback and development.

Do you feel your course has prepared you for your industry?

Yes, the course has given me the opportunity to work with different specialisms as I would in the industry like acting, textiles and photography. The costume curriculum has given me the option to both learn and refine lots of skills, as well as work with new materials which I can take with me into the industry.

Let us know about any memorable live project or briefs you have worked on!

In level five of my study I was able to be a costume designer for the Durham University Light Opera Group’s Gala Production of Anything Goes where I purchased, designed and hired the costumes for a 35 person cast. This was a great opportunity to get experience in the industry and see the inner workings of a theatre production while putting my skills to work. During production week I was able to work as a costume assistant, assisting with quick changes side of stage, mending and altering costumes and problem solving when something went wrong. It was busy and something was always happening, and this experience helped me realise that this is the area of costume I would like to go into in my future career.

What is your advice for future costume students?

You get out of the degree what you put in, take advantage of additional workshops, collaborating with other courses and attending seminars from industry speakers. Put yourself forward for work experience opportunities even if you’re not sure if you’re interested in that area of costume you may be surprised and end up loving something you had never previously considered.

Students on our BA (Hons) Costume Interpretation with Design degree gain the opportunities and skills needed to progress in to the Stage & Screen industries, find out more here.