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- Undergraduate Courses
- BA (Hons) Costume
- Careers and industry
BA (Hons) Costume
- Duration: 3 or 4 years full-time
- Placement year: Optional 1 year
- Course code: W452 (UCAS)
- Institution code: A66 (UCAS)
Meet our Industry Patron – Carol Lingwood
Meet the Industry Patron for BA (Hons) Costume – Carol Lingwood.
Carol is a freelance costume production manager, costume supervisor and assistant designer who works across theatre, film and events.
Her career started in the workroom at BBC TV and then she worked as a costume maker and then costume supervisor in rep theatre in the UK. In 1989, she assumed the position of costume supervisor and later Deputy Head of Costume at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden and, most recently, as Head of Costume at the National Theatre, London (1999–2022).
Career destinations
Graduates from BA (Hons) Costume are employed at some of the most prestigious organisations in the UK and internationally, including the BBC, Channel 4, ITV, Pinewood Studios, Sky, Netflix, Glyndebourne, Royal Opera House, the Royal Shakespeare Company and the National Theatre. Some graduates have careers as:
- Costume supervisor for theatre or film
- Head of Running Wardrobe
- Costume maker
- Costume prop maker
- Costume buyer
- Costume standby for film
- Costume assistant for film
- Costume tailor
- Alteration hand – film and theatre
- Curator
- Museum conservator
- Costume academic
- Textiles teacher
- Teaching assistant
- Dresser
- Stylist
- Milliner
- Couture dressmaker (bridal and fashion)
Alumni
Our graduates have gone on to make costumes and costume supervise shows for theatres and film studios all over the world. Discover more from the below alumni stories and profiles.
Mary & George: Cutter and costume maker David Wood discusses working on Sky period drama
Of the many elements of bringing...
Lucy Anderson – BA (Hons) Costume
Lucy was one of several AUB alumni to work on the costumes for the 2015 Disney blockbuster, Cinderella...
Eleanor Bull – BA (Hons) Costume and Performance Design
Eleanor Bull is a set and costume designer based in the UK across London and Brighton. In 2017, she won the Linbury Prize for...
Sophie Canale – BA (Hons) Performance Design and Film Costume
Sophie Canale is an acclaimed costume designer with credits including Saltburn and the award-winning...
Jay François-Campbell – BA (Hons) Costume
A third-generation tailor born into a family of tailors and seamstresses, Jay François-Campbell began her garment...
Jessica Hawkes – BA (Hons) Costume and Performance Design
Jessica Hawkes runs her own business – Jessica Patricia Limited – based in West Totton on the outskirts of the New Forest...
Kate McStraw – BA (Hons) Costume and Performance Design
Kate McStraw is an independent creative producer working across the arts and cultural sector...
Maudie Whitehead – BA (Hons) Costume and Performance Design
Maudie is a freelance costume designer. One of her recent projects saw her work as costume stand-by on...
Awards
Our BA (Hons) Costume students and graduates have gone on to win great things.
- Winner | Costume Society Patterns of Fashion Award (2007, 2015, 2020, 2022, 2023)
- Finalists | Costume Society Patterns of Fashion Award (2012, 2019 (x2), 2025)
- Highly commended | Costume Society Patterns of Fashion Award (2018, 2023, 2025)
- Silver | Podium Awards, Creative Cultural Project
- Bronze | Podium Awards, Successful Student-Led Activity
- Brancott Estate World of Wearable Art Awards, New Zealand
- Prime Cuts Festival; Free Range, Best Costume