BA Costume for Performance students collab with Liberty to create Bridgerton inspired collection
- Written byTino Matienga and Cecily Marsh
- Published date 20 June 2024
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As a student on our BA (Hons) Costume for Performance you will have the chance to collaborate with industry. This innovative course combines physical and digital forms of costume design for theatre, art, film and design - making it a leader in the field of costume design!
Found in our School of Media and Communication here at London College of Fashion, the BA (Hons) Costume for Performance course gives you the opportunity to learn about the history of costume design, which you can apply together with your creative skills to bring your ideas to life. The curriculum has been curated to not only provide a solid foundation in traditional techniques, but also encourages innovation through a range of learning experiences such as workshops, guest workshops and hands on projects that mirror those in the industry.
This dynamic course offers students the chance to collaborate with students from related fields such as 3D effects, hair, makeup and prosthetics, while also offering providing an opportunity to engage in various industry facing projects and collaborations.
Take for instance, the recent collaboration with Liberty, which saw two students from the course create Bridgerton themed outfits for Liberty’s window which centres around Liberty’s newest collection of fabrics, which celebrates the new season of Bridgeton. Such projects give our students the chance to establish networks, build skills and impressive portfolios that will set them apart in the job market.
We caught up with Mathilde and Sasha from the course to find out more about their experiences creating outfits for Liberty.
Can you tell us about your experience of the collaboration with Liberty?
Mathilde: It was a great opportunity to work for Liberty, who are a well-established department store. As part of the collaboration, Liberty provided me with limited edition Italian silk, as well as providing the outside fabric and pattern to follow. With this I developed a Bridgerton themed jacket with puffy sleeves
Sasha: For this collaboration, I created ‘The Lady Whistledown Cloak’, featured in Lady Whistledown’s writing room at Liberty. With this project, I was particularly excited to use Liberty’s iconic Tana Lawn Cotton, the fabric that they have been developing for years. I love the print of the Posy Corsage Tana Lawn cotton; the small bouquet of flowers is perfect for spring! Despite being tricky to work with, the green velvet was the perfect colour to symbolise Lady Whistledown, green being Penelope’s iconic colour throughout the season, with the darker shade highlighting her incognito alter ego.
What support did you receive as part of this collaboration?
Mathilde: Liberty gave us the pattern and fabric, which I was able to modify and put my own spin on. On this course we have access to a wide range of facilities and machinery in the open space at our campus in East Bank, which we were able to use for this collaboration. We also had technicians on site who were able to provide support and guide us through the creation of our garments.
Sasha: We were able to use all the facilities and machinery at LCF, such as the sewing and pattern cutting machines, which was extremely helpful as making something for a collaboration like this requires so much space! I also got advice and support from the costume technicians, which was helpful in making with bringing my ideas to life.
What skills would you say you gained as a part of this collaboration?
Mathilde: Working on this collaboration with Liberty, was a chance to showcase the skills that I have learnt on my course such as pattern cutting (with a bit of making), gathering material and sewing. Another key skill I learnt on this was the teamwork, from the initial brief to the final window display, which included regular check ins and feedback.
Sasha: I have always been inspired and admired how Bridgeton blends the past and the present, creating its own whimsical era. In my own work, I often take inspiration from period garments and use modern techniques to create contemporary costumes. Collaborating with Liberty was a great opportunity to use this inspiration as well as new, high-quality fabrics that I hadn’t had the chance to use. Working with the visual merchandising team was a nice way to ease myself into a professional setting.
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