Course units
Unit 1 - Methods
Unit 1 is an introduction to research methodologies and their application. You will carry out in-depth investigation into existing garments and historical techniques. You will analyse portraiture and costume using visual media moving between 2D and 3D as well as interpreting fabrication. You’ll explore the interrelationship and cross disciplinary skills utilised in both costume and contemporary couture.
Unit 2 - Practice
In unit 2 you’ll explore fabrics and fabrication used in historical garments. You’ll look at how these have needed to be conserved and restored. You’ll discuss and investigate how the contemporary costumier can recreate the past for a sustainable future. This will feed directly into debates within the discipline and industry about the responsibility of the designer/maker to produce responsible costume. There will also be an opportunity to use contemporary digital processes to visualise your ideas and designs.
Unit 3 - Collaboration
For unit 3 you’ll devise and develop a collaborative live brief. This may involve other postgraduate disciplines or industry connections. You’ll draw upon and apply what you have learnt in the previous units. You'll engage with current debate around historical accuracy and contemporary audience expectation arising from the period dramas being produced by streaming channels.
Unit 4 - Realisation
The final unit will allow you to select, design and produce a costume for a specific audience using a chosen narrative. You’ll consider the critical relationship between practitioner, performer and audience. You’ll think about how your costume can communicate a message and the context it will be presented in.