Arts University Bournemouth (AUB) is set to host a new collaborative exhibition titled Missing Pieces: Making Archive Costumes Complete.
Curated by MA Historical Costume student Martha Grubb, Missing Pieces: Making Archive Costumes Complete showcases the innovative work of postgraduate students from the MA Historical Costume course, alongside historic garments from the AUB dress archive.
Missing Pieces, led by Associate Professor Rebecca Pride, Course Leader for MA Historical Costume, challenges successive MA Historical Costume students to engage with historic dress through a practice-as-research methodology.
In response to an incomplete garment in the archive, students meticulously craft a lost component of the historic artefact – the ‘missing piece’ – or reconstruct an entire costume from a surviving fragment. Missing Pieces explores the delicate boundary between preservation and creative interpretation.
“For the past seven years, the Missing Pieces project has challenged our students to engage deeply with historical dress. By treating these archival fragments as both historical evidence and creative inspiration, they bring historical garments into a renewed, vital dialogue with contemporary making practices.”
The exhibition also celebrates the generous bequest of the late, highly respected costume historian and AUB Honorary Fellow, Jean Hunnisett, whose legacy facilitated further expansion of the dress archive at AUB, improved student resources and offers ongoing funding for the Missing Pieces project. Jean's authoritative books on pattern cutting and garment construction remain essential reading for costume professionals worldwide.
Following her passing, the Jean Hunnisett Foundation was established to support future generations of costume creators, funding the prestigious Jean Hunnisett Prize for Costume Design at AUB.
The prize continues to recognise outstanding student achievement in costume making, design, and supervision – celebrating those who, like Jean herself, ground their creative designs in rigorous historical research and exceptional craftsmanship.
Missing Pieces: Making Archive Costumes Complete will be displayed from 12 June until 31 July in University House, AUB Campus.
