BA (Hons) Costume Design and Making

Why study this subject?

The costumes you design and create form a key part of an audience’s appreciation of a production. The costume design industry is a global one, with the right knowledge and skills, your career within this profession could take you all over the world, working on a range of scripts and performances.

This course is also offered as a four-year programme, including an initial Foundation Year. The Foundation Year will allow you to develop your academic study skills and build confidence in your abilities, identifying your own strengths and development needs for progression onto an undergraduate programme.

Why study at Buckinghamshire New University?

With a history of delivering expert craft, art and design education for more than 130 years, Buckinghamshire New University is the perfect place to start your creative career.

As part of the Art, Design and Performance School at BNU, you’ll benefit from a practiced-based course, supported by contextual studies. You’ll also have the opportunity to work collaboratively across the school with other courses, ensuring during your studies you are building a varied network, like you would in the real world.

Led by a dedicated and experienced course team, you’ll benefit from their industry knowledge and the industry links they bring to the course. You’ll get direct access to guest lectures, who are specialists in the sector, and can benefit from live project briefs, master classes, and networking opportunities. We also have links with the National Theatre and the British Fashion Council.

The University also has a teaching base at the iconic Pinewood Studios, which means there could be opportunities to engage with the community there. You’ll also be able to put your learnt skills and craftmanship to practice, whilst being in the hustle and bustle of the world-renowned studio.

As well as this London is only a 30-minute train ride away, enabling you to visit exhibitions, galleries, shows and watch emerging styles, to help you gain inspiration and ideas.

Our fashion and textiles programmes are ranked 3rd best in the UK (The Guardian University Guide 2023) and we celebrated 95% overall student satisfaction in the 2022 National Student Survey.

Stay updated with all our latest BA (Hons) Costume Design and Making news by following us on Instagram @bnu_costume.

Opportunity modules are a key part of the BNU curriculum. You’ll choose modules in both your first and second year from a broad selection in areas such as sustainability, entrepreneurship, creativity, digital skills, personal growth, civic engagement, health & wellbeing and employment. Opportunity modules are designed to enable you to develop outside the traditional boundaries of your discipline and help you to further stand out from the crowd to future employers.

What facilities can I use?

We’ve spent a lot of love and care making the Fashion and Textile Studios the perfect creative space and one of the best-equipped workshops in the country. You'll be working on industry standard equipment, learning latest techniques and future focused methods of costume craftsmanship.

You will master materials, both through traditional methods and using digital software. This includes an in-house fabric and yarn store, screen printing facilities, a dye laboratory and sewing and garment production facilities.

We also have specialist technicians and demonstrators on site to support and share their knowledge with you, when and if you need it.

As well as this you may also have the chance to access to our photography, film and tv and drama studios where you’ll be able to work collaboratively with photography, performance and hair and make-up students to build your portfolio, and network like you would in the industry.

What will I study?

With this course you can expect a whirlwind of briefs, from period dresses to futuristic and modern-day costumes - immerse yourself in the scripts, and bring performances to life with your creations.

Creativity, innovation, critical, independent thinking, and the development of your personal design philosophy are at the core of this Costume Design and Making degree. The course aims to develop your knowledge and skills in costume design on both an artistic and professional level. You’ll apply your knowledge and understanding to the range of professional environments where your practice can be developed, from film and television productions to theatre and media performances.

Across the duration of your course, you will learn approaches that will enable you to understand the design process from concept, through design to production and product placement.

On the course you’ll start with the core fundamentals, including contextual studies, 2D and 3D, pattern cutting, manufacturing, illustration and applying your knowledge to character representation through script and story interpretation. 

As you progress through the course, you’ll begin to investigate the fashion, theatre, and film industry, through a series of design and live industry projects, advanced pattern cutting, manufacturing, processes and materials workshops. You will also begin to develop your aesthetic style, leading to the completion of a final collection, an industry ready portfolio and promotion package.

Upon graduation you’ll be able to solve problems and make creative and professional decisions, using your skills and talent to create show-stopping designs. Your portfolio will be well-rounded, ensuring you have what current employers are looking for.

How will I be taught and assessed?

The BA (Hons) Costume Design and Making degree encompasses a wide variety of teaching and learning methods.

Most of this degree is studio-practice based, here we aim to create the ethos of a professional real-world environment. As Costume Design and Making student you’ll have to complete a series of modules and projects during your time spent studying with us. Projects are designed to present new challenges to you as you progress through the course. By the end of your time with BNU, you’ll benefit from a full portfolio to go to employers with.

We also aim to provide masterclasses and industry brief opportunities for you to apply your knowledge, skills and understanding into real-world contexts, whilst gaining feedback from current industry-leaders. For previous projects, we've collaborated with the V&A Museum and the British Fashion Council.

You’ll also be assessed though; 1:1 or small group tutorials, Portfolio and presentations, written assessments, sketchbooks, group critiques and self-directed study.

By being based at Pinewood Studios for some of the programme, you are exposed, daily, to real world experiences and opportunities.