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Notes from the UAL MA Costume Show 2026

A display wall of printed portfolios and photographs showcasing costume design work. The shelves feature images of garments, accessories, textile samples, illustrations, and production photography, including historical-inspired costumes, embroidered details, and character costume designs.
  • Written bySofia Bernal
  • Published date 22 September 2026
A display wall of printed portfolios and photographs showcasing costume design work. The shelves feature images of garments, accessories, textile samples, illustrations, and production photography, including historical-inspired costumes, embroidered details, and character costume designs.
2026 MA Costume Show, Wimbledon College of Arts, UAL | Photograph: Sofia Bernal
Post-Grad Ambassador Sofia Bernal reports back on Wimbledon College of Arts' MA Costume show that took place 17 to 19 September 2026.

Fantasy cosplay, family dogs, monarch dresses, ghosts. Last Friday I went to the show for UAL's MA Costume final projects. I arrived early, which meant I got to chat with students and even a few teachers before the crowds arrived.

Every final project starts with choosing a topic and bringing it to life through a costume. To my surprise, this has more in common with my own master's than I expected. I'm in a very different corner of UAL (Creative Computing), yet 2 things hold across both. Students (mostly) build their final ideas through experiments in earlier projects, and those ideas are deeply personal. The result is that every costume is as distinctive as the person who made it.

A mannequin displays an elaborate performance costume under pink and purple lighting. The outfit features a sparkling bodysuit, knee-high platform boots, dramatic translucent wing-like structures extending behind the figure, and a decorative headpiece. Beside the mannequin stands a lit dressing-room mirror adorned with small photographs and feathers.
Little Bird, Emma Taulli, 2026 MA Costume, Wimbledon, UAL | Photograph: Sofia Bernal

And yes, there was a ghost. The Ghost of Jacob Marley was on display, and since my thesis deals with the spectral and with haunting, it felt providential. The costume is hand-sewn from deadstock wool cashmere, cotton voile and upcycled fabric remnants, so it's a haunting with a lower carbon footprint than most of us.

Talking to students and teachers, I picked up a few house rules. First, real human dimensions only; standardised measurements are out. Second, comfort and representation both have to survive the making, and neither gets sacrificed, with critical and creative thinking always included. Third, making isn't linear, and the whole thing may only make sense at the very end. Anyone who has written a thesis knows this feeling.

There's another parallel: students come from different fields, so everyone has a different idea of what comes next. Some think of museums, others of theatre. I guess that the biggest difference with my MA is that I don't need to find a home for my final project after submission, whereas these students do (Jacob Marley's ghost included).

A theatrical costume featuring a turquoise skull-like mask with exaggerated teeth and hollow eyes. The figure wears a distressed pale blue coat and trousers, a white shirt, a neck scarf, and metal chains draped across the body. The costume is lit by a spotlight against a dark background.
The Ghost of Jacob Marley, Lee Meyer, 2026 MA Costume, Wimbledon, UAL | Photograph: Sofia Bernal

The show was founded on the principle of "embracing the past to inform the future," with climate, social and racial justice, cultural diversity and sustainability all in the mix. I asked whether any costumes would enter competitions, and apparently some may go for the Patterns of Fashion Award, an international competition run annually by the Costume Society, a UK-based charity and academic body dedicated to the study and preservation of historic and contemporary dress.

Overall, the designs blew my mind. The longer I looked, the more patterns and deeper meanings surfaced. The fantasy cosplay draws on Britain's folk history, the dog costume was inspired by a real family pet (wholesome brief, 10/10), the royal dress has words embroidered into its skirt, and Marley's ghost would look right at home in the Dickens Museum. Oh, and the knight model turned out to be a friend from the CCI. Hello, Nico!

Wrapping up: incredible experience. I learnt plenty about a programme I thought was quite different from mine, and found layers I didn't know existed. I hope to see more MA final projects, and I wish the costume MA students the best of luck in what comes next!

A large rabbit character costume is displayed in an exhibition space. The costume features a white furry rabbit head with oversized black eyes and a blue gingham dress trimmed with lace and pastel fabric patches. One paw is raised to show pink paw pads. In front of the display, a table holds illustrated postcards and a book titled “Winnie Got a Map”, with a painted backdrop of stars and greenery behind.
Winnie Got a Map, Wenxin Tan, 2026 MA Costume, Wimbledon, UAL | Photograph: Sofia Bernal
A display of theatrical costume pieces in an exhibition space. In the foreground, a mannequin wears an ornate embroidered jacket decorated with colourful floral patterns and gold trim. Behind it, a pedestal displays a decorative shoe, while a mannequin dressed in a pink performance costume with large translucent wings stands in the background. A framed portrait hangs on the wall, illuminated by dramatic exhibition lighting.
17th Century Pink Silk Moire Stay with Sleeves, Kat Bianco, 2026 MA Costume, Wimbledon, UAL, UAL | Photograph: Sofia Bernal

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