Costume Design and Construction

This specialist degree focuses on developing both your costume design and costume construction skills. You’ll learn how to translate your creative ideas into professional costumes for theatre, film and television, dance, opera and other performance areas.

Key features

• Focus equally on your designing and construction skills.

• Work in a dedicated studio fully equipped with professional design, sewing, and costume construction equipment.

• Take part in live industry projects. This has recently involved designing and making costumes for Curve, Leicester, Working at Lichfield Garrick Theatre on Cinderella, working with Bruce Asbestos and Nottingham Contemporary on live art catwalk.

• Receive support for work placements, gaining experience with national organisations such as Scottish Opera, Birmingham Royal Ballet, and Manchester International Festival.

• Visit design exhibitions at venues like the V&A Museum in London, and the National Theatre costume department.

• Go on national and international study trips, visit exhibitions and see opera, ballet, theatre and dance performances.

• Opportunity to apply for an international exchange to one of our partner institutions, such as RMIT in Australia.

• Opportunity to be selected to exhibit graduate events in London.

• The course is accredited by The Textile Institute at Associateship (CText ATI) level, reassuring employers that our students graduate with a high standard of professional skills as well as their degree.

• We're ranked 12th best University for Art and Design in the UK. (The Complete University Guide 2021)

• NTU is ranked the top 15 universities in the UK for Design and Crafts (14th). (Guardian University Guide 2021)

• NTU is ranked joint 30th in the UK for Art and Design. (Times and Sunday Times Good University Guide 2021)

Assessment

Assessment is 100% through coursework. You will receive feedback throughout each module and will be awarded a grade.

Employability

Graduate destinations have included costume designing and / or making for prestigious companies such as Angels Costumiers and the BBC, and freelance or in-house costume designing, making and assisting for a myriad of stage and screen companies, events and performances both large-scale and small-scale. These include everything from Outlander to Not Just Fish & Ships, Lichfield Garrick Pantomime to wardrobe on a cruise ship, and making props on the latest Marvel feature.

Your space to create at NTU

We’re committed to helping you explore, expand and refine your craft, as you discover new creative horizons with some truly great tools, equipment and workspaces. Visit our facilities hub at www.ntu.ac.uk/artfacilities to find out more.

Our students’ work – ‘We Are Creatives’

Explore our online showcase ‘We Are Creatives’ - celebrating the work of the School of Art & Design students. You will find a sneak peak of some of our students’ work and gain a real insight into what it’s like to be part of the NTU creative community at wearecreativesntu.art

[Year One]

• Design for Stage and Screen: Introduction (80 credit points)
• Contextual Studies: Introducing Research (20 credit points)
• Skills Passport (20 credit points)

[Year Two]

• Exploration (Costume Design and Construction) (60 credit points)
• Contextual Studies: Research and Impact (20 credit points)
• Co Lab: Research, Exploration and Risk-taking (20 credit points)
• Optional module (20 credit points). You will also choose one module from below:
  Millinery: Object and Narrative
  Telling Stories
  Character Ideation
  Materials and Making
  Material Stories
  Storyboarding: Visualising the story, enhancing the narrative
  Ethical Design Model Making: Object and Narrative

[Final year]

• Exposition (Costume Design and Construction(100 credit points)
• Contextual Studies: Research and Professional Practice (20 credit points)