From the time I was at school, I loved anything creative, whether that was drawing, small sewing projects, painting and embroidery. I was able to develop my love for art through studying textiles at school, which eventually led to me looking at AUB.
My love for both storytelling and history really fed into me choosing BA (Hons) Design for Costume and Performance as a degree. I think it is so incredibly important that everyone should learn and understand the stories of the past, because it allows us to be better people in the future. The way I feel a lot of people understand these stories is through film, theatre, TV and costume design; it is a huge part of that. I think that my love for storytelling has really helped me become a character-focused designer.
My creative process starts with a script or concept. For me, I like to really read and understand who the characters are from what is written on the page. I try to put myself in the characters’ shoes and understand them like they are people I know well; like a close friend. I often find myself analysing strangers by what they wear and making up stories for them in my head, which I feel like really helps my process.
When I was designing for AUB Productions' Still Here, there were some characters like Roy who felt so fun to design for because he had become like a doddery, old, loving uncle to me. Still Here was a fantastic opportunity to design for the 1960s period and for each of my characters I really looked into who would they be looking at for fashion influence at the time.
I try to draw as much visual influence for my designs and mood boarding is a great way to do this. Across all of my projects at AUB, I have created initial mood boards to begin with to get a real feel for the characters. This was especially helpful for designing for two graduate films (Milk Candies and Your Life Sucks, Heres Why) alongside Lula Hedger. They were a wonderful way to communicate our ideas with our directors and the rest of the crew. I understood throughout designing for the films how important collaboration is within costume design.
My experience at AUB had been amazing for my development as a designer and as a person too. I feel like my confidence in my work has grown incredibly over the last three years and that is down to being surrounded by like-minded, passionate individuals. I think moving away from home for study is a huge thing that can be nerve-wracking and at times it can be really difficult. I have been supported so well by my friends, family and lecturers, and I have come out of my experience at university feeling excited for the future and that I have gained a wealth of skills and tools for life.
Outside costume design, I love keeping my mind and body busy and I try as much as I can to keep a healthy balance between uni work and normal life. I go to the gym as much as I can and tend to spend a lot of my weekends charity shopping with friends. I also love drawing and hand embroidery, which is a lovely hobby to do to relax during a busy week.
After I graduate, I am looking to jump right into work. I would love to work as a costume designer for film and theatre and will use all the skills I have gained to do this. I am excited to see where the future will take me.
Want to see more of Molly’s work?
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