Emily Stevens

The dress of a character projects their personality to the audience. What I love about costume and dramatic fashion is that the inspiration can come from anywhere, such as nature, architecture, and artworks. I view creating a garment for stage, film, or the catwalk as a piece of artwork that can take you into another world. I take great pleasure in mixing historical and modern silhouettes and designing textiles into a one-off garment.

This approach to design is demonstrated through my interpretation of ‘The Night Circus’, written by Erin Morgenstern. I transformed the production from a Victorian adventure into an ethereal ballet. I explored ways to bring together Victorian floral illustration with 1950’s fashion and traditional ballet silhouettes. I loved introducing 1950’s glamour to the look, along with the hairstyles and accessories.

My passion is for design and illustration. I see the design itself as a piece of artwork along with the finished product. Working with designer Suzie Turner within my university experience, I understood the detail of a garment to be one of the most important attributes of a final piece. This ethos is one I intend to promote within my future work.