Days 2 and 3 (Saturday 7 and Sunday 8 September)
There will be seven workshops, each taking place over two days, Saturday 7 and Sunday 8 September. Workshop participants should attend both days. Participants will take part in one workshop and should state their first, second and third choices on the registration form. We will do our best to place you in your first choice but this may not be possible for everyone if some workshops are oversubscribed.
Information about what participants should bring with them, e.g. sewing kit, will be sent closer to the symposium dates.
Workshop sessions with a tutor will take place from 9.00am to 5.30pm, and participants will be be able to experiment with materials.
Click on a workshop name below to read more about it.
Corsetry
Workshop tutor: Kunza
Kunza is a corset designer and maker who is based in London and specialises in modern and historical corsetry. Her work has been showcased in the Victoria & Albert Museum and in period dramas such as Bridgerton, Downton Abbey, Emma, Pride and Prejudice and The Duchess, amongst many others.
This corset workshop will give an introduction to the history, design and making of historical corsets for stage, TV and film. Examples of corsets from different times in history (including some antique corsetry and boning such as whale bones, metal and plastic) will be on display to explore together in the classroom. How corsetry/stays created the desired silhouettes in fashion history and costume will be looked at.
The focus this year will be on Victorian/Edwardian corsets. Each participant will have the choice to sew a classic Victorian or Edwardian corset style for film or stage. A pattern will be provided that can be slightly adjusted, with help from the tutor. Participants will then cut the fabrics and start sewing the corsets, using the sewing machines provided. They will learn:
– what fabrics work best
– what stitching to use
– what corset boning to choose
– how to insert/attach the corset boning
– how to secure the boning and finish the corset
– how to insert eyelets
– the best way to lace a corset. If time allows participants will be encouraged to decorate their corsets with laces, ribbons and embellishment techniques such as corset flossing.
When registering, participants will be asked which corset style they would like to make, Victorian or Edwardian, and their size/measurements.
Costume Making for Stop Motion Animation
Workshop tutor: Lucy Sturley
Lucy Sturley has been working as a miniature costume maker within the stop motion animation and live action puppet industry for almost 20 years.
After completing a degree in animation she quickly realised her passion lay in making things and in particular working with fabric to design and create small scale costumes or soft props. During her career Lucy has worked for animation studios such as Cosgrove Hall Films, Chapman Entertainment, Factory Create and Mackinnon and Saunders, working on productions during this time such as Postman Pat, Roary the Racing Car, The Clangers, Frankenweenie, The Furchester Hotel, Norman Picklestripes and most recently The House and Pinocchio for Netflix and The Mixmups for channel 5.
Participants will learn miniature costume making techniques as everything is scaled down to produce some tiny garments fit for a stop motion animation puppet. During this two-day work shop you will be provided with a simple pattern and all materials for you to work with while learning a variety of techniques used within the animation costume making industry to make a miniature garment finished to a professional standard. You will have the opportunity to alter and embellish the pattern using embroidery, stencils and paints, alongside miniature buttons, zips and trims to make each of your tiny creations truly unique.
Dyeing and Enhancement
Workshop tutor: Enda Kenny
Enda Kenny is a prop costume maker, textile artist, leather worker and milliner for theatre, TV and film. He also teaches leathercraft, works as a visiting lecturer for costume at UAL Wimbledon and Nottingham Trent University and is an award-winning costume designer for theatre (Irish Times Theatre Award for Best Costume 2020).
He has worked as HoD in costume breakdown departments on films and TV shows such as The Northman, Game of Thrones Season 1,2 and 6, The Frankenstein Chronicles season 1, Halo-Nightfall, and Your Highness. Other credits include How to Train Your Dragon (live action), Dungeons and Dragons, Krypton S2, His Dark Materials, Outlander S4, The Golden Compass, City of Ember, The Wolfman, Your Highness, Pirates of the Carribbean 2, King Arthur and Ella Enchanted. He has created work for many UK-based theatres including ENO, NI Opera, ROH Covent Garden, National Theatre London, Sadlers Wells and the Lyceum Theatre London to name a few. Other theatre credits include shows at the Abbey Dublin; Lyric Belfast; Opera du Montpellier; Opera NI and Teatro Nacional de Sao Carlos, Lisbon.
The two-day workshop will see students make a pair of leather vambraces (a piece of armour for the arm, especially the forearm) using vegetable tanned leather, exploring surface decoration, dyeing and finishing on leather.
Participants will also look at general costume breakdown including dry brushing, material abrasion/softening, air brushing, fabric manipulation and on set breakdown techniques.
Embroidery Embellishment
Workshop tutor: Michele Carragher
Michele Carragher is a London based author and mixed media artist who utilises the hand embroidered medium in her work. After attending the London College of Fashion where she studied fashion design, Michele worked in textile conservation, which has proven invaluable to her embroidery work on costumes for film and TV. She has worked in costume for over 25 years, initially as a general costume assistant until she drifted towards the embroidery and embellishment of costumes. Her first role as principal costume embroiderer was on the HBO/C4 miniseries Elizabeth I starring Dame Helen Mirren.
Michele has created hand embroidery, embellishment or textile art for various productions such as Assassin’s Creed, Peaky Blinders, The Crown (season 1), The Secret Garden (film 2020), Game of Thrones, House of the Dragon and Lord of the Rings – The Rings of Power S2. Alongside her film work, in 2021 Michele published her first book entitled Trace, showcasing her artwork celebrating the embroidered medium.
This year workshop participants will first being focusing on adding texture to a design, concentrating on how to blend this onto the garments base fabric. Then they will be adding embroidery to a fabric with a woven pattern, using stitch, bead and ribbon work, learning how to enhance any flat print or woven design, as well as looking at finessing the small details such as edge trims, creating frogging closures and embroidered buttons, those vital finishing touches to elevate their costume designs. Michele will also bring along samples of her work for participants to take a closer look at and gain more understanding of the variety of styles and techniques they may be required to achieve for different characters on any given production.
Handmade Gloves
Workshop tutor: Riina Õun
Riina Õun is a multi-disciplinary designer and a materials researcher for her brand Riina O. Established in 2013, the company initially focused on crafting luxurious leather gloves. In recent years the material research and development has emerged alongside, concentrating on traceless biodegradable materials within regenerative design. Driven by the mission to carry on the traditional skill of hand-making leather gloves, whilst combining it with modern technological advantages, Riina O is part of the ethical fashion movement. Alongside seasonal collections of exquisite couture gloves, Riina O offers a bespoke service, catering to the unique needs of clients in film, editorial and commercial industries. www.riinao.com.
In Riina’s workshop, participants will be invited to immerse themselves in the craft of glove-making, learning invaluable skills such as precise cutting and intricate hand-sewing techniques.
Men's Period Tailoring
Workshop tutor: Gillian Carew
Having moved to London in 1997, Gillian secured a position in the Men’s Tailoring department as an apprentice at Angel’s Costumiers. Progressing to head tailor and on to head cutter, she gained an enormous amount of invaluable experience working on a wide variety of costumes for film, TV and theatre. In 2010, she moved to Dublin and set up as a freelance cutter and tailor, continuing her work in the costume industry in Ireland. Alongside this she holds a half-time costume technical lecturer post at the Institute of Art Design and Technology.
Waistcoats are the smallest of menswear pieces and yet often make the biggest impact. In men’s tailoring we often start learning our craft with the construction of waistcoats since they involve many of the essential tailoring components, such as canvasing and pockets. In this workshop participants will be supplied with a waistcoat pattern, a selection of samples at different process stages and comprehensive instruction to guide them through the intricacies of waistcoat construction. We will discuss various styles, the development of the garment, how utterly fabulous they are, and why we should get everyone wearing waistcoats.
Millinery
Workshop tutor: Sean Barrett
Sean trained in theatre design at Wimbledon School of Art and after graduating pursued a career in millinery, working on many film, television and theatre productions. Film highlights have included Elizaneth and Elizabeth the Golden Age, Shakespeare in Love, Interview with a Vampire, Alice, Through the Looking Glass, Cheri, Anna Karenina and the upcoming Barbie the Movie and Nosferatu. Television work includes The Crown, Downton Abbey, Gentleman Jack and the upcoming Disney series The Adventures of Renegade Nell. Theatre work includes Wicked, My Fair Lady, Chitty Bang Bang, Follies and Moulin Rouge.
In Sean’s workshop participants will be making a mid nineteenth century mourning bonnet using a variety of materials, covering techniques like blocking, wiring and adapting a pattern. Basic materials and ribbons will be provided but if anyone wants to bring along any trimming that they would particularly like to use please feel free to do so. Although everyone will be making the same style of hat there will be plenty of scope for personal expression.
