LCF Students Receive Linbury Prize for Stage Design 2023
- Written byUna Lote Andzane
- Published date 24 November 2023
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Innovation, progress, and experimentation are just a few of the characteristics that describe the MA Costume Design for Performance course. The prestigious Linbury Prize for Stage Design 2023 has acknowledged the merit of these ideals by selecting two students from the course, Tiffany Fraser Steele and Nitin Parmar, to be among the twelve emerging designers receiving the award. All prize recipients will receive a bursary prize of £5,000, a design placement with an established industry designer or producing organisation and take part in an exhibition at the National Theatre from 13 November 2023.
The MA Costume Design for Performance course is known for developing confident and experimental practitioners who push the boundaries of the discipline, but finding the way to it is a journey in itself. Nitin Parmar had been working as a designer and creative director for many prestigious brands for years across the world, but when he started craving a change of direction in his career, the creativity-driven course seemed to be the ideal option. “Fashion and its mechanisms have changed. As soon as you start feeling slightly removed from what you do, that’s when you need the change,” he reflects on his journey.
For Parmar, the most compelling aspect of the course is the creative freedom it offers. “In fashion, you have certain restrictions because the main premise is to sell something, a product, whereas performance design is a much more creative process because there's no boundaries to what you can design because it’s about storytelling,” he says.
Tiffany Fraser Steele is not a newcomer in the fashion world, either. “I've been a fashion editor for 20 years, having worked at British and American Marie Claire, American Glamour, British Elle, and then back to British Marie Claire again until the paper magazine folded and went online,” she says.
Having completed a fashion design course at the start of her fashion journey, it was during the Covid-19 lockdown that Fraser Steele turned back to crafts and started making costumes for her daughter’s school productions. While fashion shoots had completely fallen of the cliff at the time, Fraser Steele was busy making costumes for five high-school productions in which the cast required costume pieces in different shapes and sizes. “Art direction for commercial fashion brands had become very distant from what I'd originally wanted to do which was to be involved in making truly creative things,” she reveals her motivation to go back to university.
The return to studying provided an ideal backdrop for venturing into new realms of artistic expression. Parmar’s work is characterised by absence of boundaries, ever-present otherworldliness, and merging of the digital and physical. At times difficult to describe, his designs belong to neither fashion nor costume. “There's this fusion of whether something is real or unreal because what we see on screens is becoming more and more realistic,” he explains. “There’s a bewildering essence to them that you then try to work out.”
Fraser Steele finds her dose of fantasy in haute couture fashion shows and art galleries, but for her, the ultimate source of inspiration is hiding somewhere in a junk shop. “I spend my time in Oxfam or Hospice shops because I love making my costumes out of recycled things,” she says. “I'd rather buy old things and reuse them because I'm quite keen on minimising new things where possible.”
When considering favourite projects, Fraser Steele talks about the Beauty and the Beast production where she made costumes mostly from old curtains. “It’s about people turning into objects, so, for a costume designer, that was really good fun,” she recalls. The school parents had donated a load of old curtains which were turned into a Mary Antoinette-like wardrobe for teacups and candlesticks.
Parmar is most proud of his reinterpretation of Alice in Wonderland – Reimagined which is based on Colonial India during The Partition, with most of his projects exploring topics of migration and cultural identity. “In a way, it’s like educating a younger audience about tales of Empire and Imperialism. She's growing up through The Indian Partition of 1947, and all the imagery, creatures, and everything else that happens is in her imagination, but the characterisation are steeped in mythical ancient Indian tales,” he explains.
Considering the high level of their artistic ventures, it comes as no surprise that LCF invited both Parmar and Fraser Steele to submit their work for the Linbury Prize. “They thought that my work went beyond costume because I consider the bigger picture: the set, lighting, and how the costumes fit in the context around them,” Parmar shares why he was encouraged to apply.
After going through an intricate interview process akin to speed dating, Fraser Steele was thrilled to discover that all prize recipients would also secure an industry placement. “Working for a year is a fantastic opportunity because it means you can start putting into practise the things you've learnt,” she says.
Moreover, all twelve prize recipients are participating in the exhibition at the National Theatre opening this November. “My work is unusual because it falls somewhere in between costume and installation art. It will be interesting to show it to a breadth of people and meet industry professionals,” Parmar shares his excitement for the upcoming showcase.
“It’s hard work, but the course is truly fantastic, and you learn all aspects of costume and the performance within it,” Fraser Steele reflects on the 15-month long MA course. Having come from a more traditional fashion background, she’s enjoyed exploring the ways in which clothing must convey a character yet allow uninterrupted movement for the performer.
When reflecting on his journey at LCF, Parmar credits course director Agnes Treplin and tutor Dr Donatella Barbieri as incredibly important in the discovery of his creative potential. “The best kind of tutors,” he says, “are not necessarily there to just teach you, but inspire you, too.”
Written by LCF Newsroom Content Creator, Una Lote Andzane - BA (Hons) Fashion Journalism and Content Creation
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