Costume Design (15–18yrs)

Ages: 15–18
Term: Summer
Length: 2 weeks

Costume Design

Bring characters to life through costume design!

Are you fascinated by the costumes you see in films, theatre productions, television and performance? Do you love imagining characters, creating visual stories and exploring how clothing can communicate personality, mood, history and identity?

This immersive two-week summer course is designed for creative students aged 15–18 who want to discover the exciting world of costume design and develop their own ideas.

You can also sign up to our newsletter for summer course updates.

What you need to know

Summer 2027

Monday 2 August – Friday 13 August 2027 (including Saturday)

09.00–17.00 weekdays (Monday – Friday)
10.00–16.00 Saturday 7 August

Accommodation

12.00 Sunday 1 August – 10.00 Saturday 14 August

Teaching times

09.00–17.00 Monday – Friday

10.00–16.00 Saturday 7 August

Age

All students must be aged between 15–18 years at the time of attending the course. 

Experience or qualifications required

There are no formal academic entry requirements or qualifications needed to study this course. We only ask that you come with a passion for creativity and plenty of enthusiasm to develop your knowledge and skills!

English language

This course will be taught in English. We don't require you hold an English language qualification; however, we recommend you have an intermediate level of English to benefit fully from your experience and be able to communicate with your tutors and fellow students. 

If you'd like to discuss if this course is suitable for you, get in touch with us: academy@aub.ac.uk or call via +44 (0)1202 363222.

Package	Price	25% deposit
Course fee only	£1,899	£474.75
Course fee, accommodation and catering	£2,825	£706.25
Course fee, accommodation and catering plus airport* taxis	£3,160	£790.00

*Applies to London-based airports only.

Optional extras

You can choose to add the following optional extras to your course fee:

Accommodation and full-board catering
Accommodation and full-board catering plus private return taxi transfer to/from any London airport

The residential package includes full board catering, offering an engaging environment to learn, collaborate and thrive in a multicultural and international setting.

See below for further details about our residential package.

Deposit

You can secure your place on the course today with just a 25% deposit of your total fee. Choose this option when you book your place. Refer to the table above for prices. 

A camera or mobile phone to record evidence of personal work
Suitable clothing for creative activities
Notebook and pens/pencils to take notes
Plenty of warm clothes (it's the UK and although it’s the summer, it can still get cold) – there will be outdoor activities throughout
We advise bringing any personal portfolio work you may wish to be reviewed by AUB tutors
You'll receive a welcome pack containing more detail of what to bring if you're a residential student

About this course

During this two-week course, you'll explore the creative process behind designing costumes for characters and stories. Through practical workshops, research activities and individual projects, you'll develop your understanding of how costume contributes to storytelling, character development and visual world-building.

Join us at Arts University Bournemouth (AUB) for a hands-on creative experience that introduces you to the art of designing costumes for characters, stories and imagined worlds. Whether you're inspired by historical dramas, fantasy films, contemporary theatre, animation or period costume, you'll explore how designers transform a creative brief into compelling visual concepts.

Guided by experienced tutors, you'll learn how to research characters and settings, develop ideas, create mood boards and produce costume illustrations. You'll experiment with colour, shape, silhouette, materials and surface detail, discovering how these elements can communicate a character's personality, status, emotions and journey. Through practical workshops and design challenges, you'll explore the relationship between costume, storytelling and performance, while developing your drawing, research and presentation skills. 

Throughout the course, you'll develop an original costume design project, taking your ideas from initial inspiration through to resolved designs and samples or three-dimensional explorations where appropriate. You'll learn how professional costume designers approach a brief, research a world and create a visual identity for the characters within it.

The course culminates in a presentation or showcase of your work, giving you the opportunity to celebrate your creative development and bring together a collection of designs that could form the starting point of a future portfolio.

Whether you dream of working in film, television, theatre or performance, or simply want to explore a new creative discipline, this course offers an inspiring introduction to costume design and the opportunity to experience studying at a specialist arts university.

Character and story development: Explore how costume helps communicate who a character is, where they come from and the world they inhabit.
Research and inspiration: Investigate historical costume, contemporary design, film, theatre, fantasy and other visual references to develop original concepts.
Costume illustration: Develop drawing and visual communication skills to bring costume ideas to life.
Colour, shape and silhouette: Discover how design choices influence the way characters are perceived.
Materials and surface detail: Experiment with textures, layering, embellishment and accessories to enhance costume concepts.
Creative design projects: Develop original costume ideas in response to a brief, from initial research through to resolved designs.
Portfolio development: Document the creative process and compile selected work to demonstrate imagination, research, experimentation and design development.
Final presentation: Share and celebrate completed designs in a student showcase.
Portfolio review: Receive feedback and guidance to help you consider your next steps in creative education.
Residential experience: Enjoy a programme of evening activities and a weekend cultural excursion at no additional cost, providing opportunities to explore the local area, meet fellow students and make the most of your summer at AUB.

This course aims to:

Introduce students to the principles and creative processes of costume design for film, television, theatre and performance.
Develop skills in visual research, character analysis, concept development and costume illustration.
Encourage students to explore how costume communicates character, narrative, setting, mood and identity.
Build confidence in using colour, shape, silhouette, materials and detail to develop distinctive costume concepts.
Develop creative problem-solving, experimentation and the ability to respond to a design brief.
Encourage students to evaluate and refine their work through feedback, discussion and reflection.
Provide an introduction to costume design practice and potential progression routes within the creative industries.
Support students in developing a portfolio that showcases their creative thinking, research and design development.
Provide an opportunity to present and celebrate their work in a final exhibition 
By the end of the course, students will have explored the creative journey from character research to original costume concepts, developed practical design skills and gained a clearer understanding of how costume designers bring stories and characters to life.

Will I be assessed?

You'll be continually assessed in a variety of ways including practical tasks, observations, assignments, presentations, and portfolio work.  

Work produced during the course will be collated into a portfolio and/or digital journal for students to add to their portfolio or for future development.

Your course tutor(s) will offer guidance and support you with your creative applications, as well as feedback on your work and offer advice for your future creative studies.

All students with 100% course attendance will be issued with an official AUB Summer Course Certificate

Banner reads 'join our summer community' with a sun in the background

Book your place today

Book now

Course gallery

Five fashion mannequins display avant-garde dresses made from layered paper or fabric, arranged in a bright gallery room with white walls and a tiled floor.

Two women adjust a dress on a mannequin in a clothing studio, with garment racks in the background.

A young man in a white T-shirt works on a large white wing-shaped fabric or paper piece in a studio, with a dressmaker’s mannequin and tables in the background.

A fashion designer adjusts white fabric on a dress form in a bright studio, with worktables and sewing materials in the background.

A woman in a blue T-shirt adjusts fabric on a dress form, while another person stands beside her holding a large sketch or sample sheet in a classroom with a projector screen.

A sketchbook page shows two colourful fashion illustrations of dresses with bold blue collars and pink panels, surrounded by handwritten colour notes and small accessory sketches.

A sketchbook page with rough pencil and blue pen drawings of two fashion figures, lying on a wooden table.

A display of fashion sketches and fabric samples arranged on a table, with drawings of dresses and colourful striped swatches on white paper.

A hand-drawn fashion sketch of a woman in a fitted off-the-shoulder dress with a flared skirt on white paper, outlined in black and blue crayon.

Residential packages for 2-week summer courses (15–18yrs)

Experience life as an AUB student by booking a residential package as part of your Summer Course. You can even stay in AUB accommodation...

Six lengths of fabric of different patterns and colours hanging next to each other.

FAQs for 2-week summer courses

These FAQs have been carefully curated to answer any questions you may have about studying a creative summer course with us here at AUB.

Man kneeling on beach at sunset, holding a flaming torch above his head as a light shines down on him from the sky.

Terms and conditions for 2-week summer courses (15–18yrs)

Please read our terms and conditions before booking a summer course and contact us if you have any questions.

Safeguarding and student support on summer courses

At AUB Academy, we aim to provide the best possible experience for all students.

Future options to study at AUB

This could just be the start of your creative journey! After this course, you could further your creative skills with another summer course or look to the future and explore our creative qualifications that can prepare you to further your current career, enable you to retrain to an alternative career path or prepare you for future creative arts studies.