Why study Costume Design and Making at BNU
Why study Costume Design and Making at BNU
If you’re hoping to study Costume Design and Making at degree level, there is no doubt that you want to make sure you choose the right place for you. Maybe you’ve spent hours scouring UCAS or the University Guide trying to find out what place has the best grades on graduation, which town has the best nightlife, or even what your networking opportunities will be. You’ve come to the right place!
Hi! I’m Soufriere Etherington and I’m a Costume Design and Making student just about to enter my third year here at BNU. In this article, I’d like to talk about why BNU was the right place for me to study - and why it could be the right place for you, too.
Quality of Teaching
BNU’s Costume Design and Making (CODM) course is mostly practical based, with lessons taking place in a studio and learning outcomes consisting of a portfolio/sketchbook and up to 2 separate garments. Throughout your 3-year course, you’ll be supported by your Course Leader, a team of experienced and dedicated Costume Technicians and your Personal Tutor, who offers pastoral support and academic advice. All staff in the CODM team are previous or practicing industry professionals, with experience ranging from opera and theatre to TV and film companies around the world. Whatever industry you hope to dedicate your practice to, they will be kind and supportive while offering helpful advice on how to hone your craft to your desired field.
Facilities
BNU’s art and design classes have smaller class sizes than other creative universities, which means that facilities aren’t spread so thinly among students and are more easily accessible. Which is wonderful, because BNU’s workspace is a creative playground of new skills to learn and master. From screen-printing to machine embroidery, shibori dyeing and even armour making, if you can dream it, there’s equipment and a technician to help you do it. The costume rooms themselves are fitted out with a wide range of modern domestic and industrial machines, regularly serviced and kept in full working order - as well as industrial-grade steam irons and an eyelet press, perfect for corsetry.
Curriculum
BNU’s CODM curriculum has a huge scope, covering everything from the bread and butter of any designer/maker’s toolkit to millinery and advanced men's’ tailoring - an essential skill most theatres and production companies look for on your CV. The CODM course takes in freshers of all skill levels - but with the support of tutors and a huge collection of masterclasses like figure drawing and embroidery, even those who’ve never sewed a full garment before starting CODM have produced fabulous final pieces, including Rococo sack-back gowns and hoop skirts dripping in lace and crocheted hearts, to name a few. The best part of the curriculum here is that it encourages uniqueness. Every student has their own unique passions and skills, and sometimes it’s the most unlikely mixes that can turn out to be the most successful. Rather than trying to stamp out this personality to create a class who produce completely identical results, the costume tutors encourage students to embrace their passions and use them effectively to create breathtaking and characterful garments that tick every box on the marking criteria while being innovative and refreshing takes on characters.
Career and networking opportunities
Studying costume at Buckinghamshire New University provides many exciting opportunities to collaborate with students for other departments. Every term, CODM students will get together with hair and makeup students to dress and style a model for a photoshoot with the film and photography students. It’s always an exciting day of sharing our passions and making new friends that you may end up working with in future - and the best part is seeing all the photos at the end of the photoshoot and feeling that little glow of pride knowing you helped bring it to life. And there’s many more opportunities to come - last year in the final term, the Film students and CODM students produced a wonderful fashion film featuring some of the stunning Rococo costumes and wigs produced by students.
Due to our proximity to London, there are also plenty of chances to get involved in a placement with an employer independent of the university - tutors often share and signpost job postings or work experience forms to help students get that leg up and fill in their CVs. I myself spent last summer sourcing costumes and doing alterations for a school play in Bermondsey - an opportunity I wouldn’t have had if I wasn’t local to London.
Last year, I was lucky enough to take part in a puppet making workshop with an animator and propmaker who makes puppets and costumes for Aardman, and who also worked on films like Fantastic Mister Fox and Corpse Bride!
And what would I be doing if I didn’t mention the Graduate Show? At the end of your third year, you have the chance to take part in the fabulous Art and Design showcase, where all the work by creative students at BNU is gathered together in a celebration of our university’s talent and passion. The newly renovated Brunel Shed, right by the train station, is our new venue for this graduate show, and it is a spectacular opportunity to bring friends and family to show off your work. As well as this, the Graduate show is also frequented by employers looking to take on new talent, so you never know - it could also be the start of something brilliant…
Outside the classroom...
Of course, not all your time at BNU will be spent in the studio. Your life outside lessons is just as crucial to consider - things like cost of living, student life, activities and facilities in the town centre. So, what are some of the benefits of attending Buckinghamshire New University as a whole?
Well, for a start, we’re ranked in the top 5 Students’ Unions in the UK (NSS 2025) for our incredible cost of living support and value for money. With the Bucks Student’s Union’s Big Deal, all students can receive mental health support, free club and society memberships, free food, free and confidential advice and access to a huge range of free extra-curricular activities and days out - just by being enrolled. As well as this, we were in the top 10 for Teaching Quality in the Sunday Times’ Good University Guide 2025, and we won University of the Year in the South East England Category in the 2025 WhatUni Awards. All these rewards show that BNU is making sure students have what they need to not only succeed academically, but to feel happy and fulfilled.
As well as this, Buckinghamshire New University is nestled in the peaceful Chiltern Hills, with excellent rail links to London and Oxford - perfect for impromptu museum trips to research any costume projects! This best-of-both-worlds location means you’re never far from peace and quiet, either - surrounded on all sides by rolling hills and country houses, with perfect walks along the River Thames in picturesque Henley or Marlow only a bus ride away. High Wycombe has a wonderful selection of nightclubs and bars, as well as our very own Students’ Union Venue - with a full calendar of amazing live music and fun themed nights as well as free entry for all students, get ready for an evening to remember! Or if you’re not really a club person, there are plenty of more relaxed and alcohol-free events to get involved with - why not join one of the SU trips to the theatre, or even take the minibus down to London to visit the botanical gardens, go skating at Winter Wonderland…whatever you’re into, it will be in the calendar!
