From the age of three I danced, which I really enjoyed, but my favourite part of it was when we would put on shows – dressing up in so many costumes, ranging from a flower in Thumbelina to a floating lantern in Tangled.
Getting to dress up was so much fun that I roped my sibling into dressing up with me, styling them as lots of different characters. But it wasn't until I joined the backstage programme at the Theatre Royal Bath Theatre School that I got involved. Working on live productions with so many others and experiencing the joy of watching something you've worked on come to life is how I realised this was the right path for me.
My experience at AUB has been enriching, allowing me to explore so many different design projects and approaches. When I first began my journey on BA (Hons) Design for Costume and Performance, I was confident that my sole focus would be on costume design. Yet, I just designed the set for the final AUB Productions show of the year.
Working on Still Here was such a challenging project – to design a set that could transport the audience to three separate times and locations. I had to design in a completely different way to create something that worked, and there were many meetings and redesigns to get it exactly right. But in tech week, when it all came together, I knew it had been worth it.
When designing, my biggest inspiration comes from my mood boards. They are full of colours, textures, patterns, and other specific elements I'd like to include. They act as a central point for me to collage all my inspirations and the best way for me to communicate all my thoughts for a project onto a page for others to see.
I collect inspiration from many different places, scripts, history books and the world around me. It varies for each project. When designing for my grad film Ayomikun, I researched Yoruba culture as I was designing traditional dress, and it was important to get that right. Still Here was different, as I had to research a more contemporary period, based partially in 2019. I mostly did this by looking at my own photos and engaging in media from this time – I even made a Spotify playlist to listen to when I was working.
Outside my creative practice, I love music, especially going to concerts and festivals. I find it to be a good way to let loose and the atmosphere in a crowd is unlike anything else. Concert dressing is a huge part of it, and I've made a lot of fun outfits for me and friends specifically for different artists I've seen. It's a clever way to make sure I'm also being creative for fun and not just work.
After university, I have plans to work abroad at a theatre in Germany, further improving on my skills in a more professional environment. What excites me most about this opportunity is getting to travel and explore unfamiliar places. Outside my placement, I want to travel more and get to explore and use my experiences to aid in my design work.
Thinking further ahead, I want to be open to anything – theatre, film, maybe even concert design. I want to keep evolving my creative practice as I love all aspects of performance, so I don't want to limit myself to just one.
