A group of students from a leading northern art school have developed links with one of the world’s leading costumiers to film, television and theatre after an industry visit to experience the world of costume.

During a five-day trip to London, 10 Level 4 and 5 students studying BA (Hons) Costume Interpretation with Design at Cleveland College of Art and Design’s (CCAD) university-level campus took a trip to the capital and were invited to a tour of CosProp, whose clients include 20^th Century Fox, the BBC and HBO.

Students were given a personal tour of all the departments at CosProp, which specialises in the hire and making-to-hire of period costume for professional productions, as well as offering an exhibition service to museums and historical houses. They were also given the chance to watch the costume experts at work, creating costumes for a number of films now in production.

As a result of the visit to CosProp, first year student Tina Allenby, 52, from Middleton St George in Darlington, has been offered a chance to work with the company on a freelance basis.

The group also took part in back stage tours at the National Theatre, a look around the National Theatre Costume department and visited a number of exhibitions, as well as experiencing West End theatre productions, including ‘Wicked’.

Following the trip, the students will create a blog based on their visit as part of their Professional Studies module, and will use the research trip to the V&A ‘Undressed: A Brief History of Underwear’ exhibition in their assignment to create corsets. ‘An Inspector Calls’ at the Playhouse Theatre also provided inspiration for their course, which they are studying for their Design assignment.

Jane Havakin, Programme Leader for BA (Hons) Costume Interpretation with Design at CCAD, said: “It’s a great opportunity for students to meet the leaders in the costume industry, putting a name to a face makes it much easier when they are applying for work experience so they feel more confident.”