I am a costume designer and illustrator working under the artist's name Coriander. I am skilled in traditional illustration using watercolours and coloured pencils on paper. The format I use is A3. My favourite topics are folklore, fantasy and magic, as well as researching and designing historical dress. I am fluent in English, German and Polish and I have basic Wendish/Lower Sorbian language skills.

My work during the MA Historical Costume course focused on costume design and illustration. The biggest project I was a part of was Fit for a Queen in collaboration with Kingston Lacy and the National Trust. As the designer and creative director for the project, I worked together with my team to create a mid-18th century gown that is part of Kingston Lacy’s exhibition, Rani Lacy, Revealing an Indian Treasure. I created the costume illustrations to be exhibited alongside the dress.

Another project I have focused on during my degree is creating costume designs based on Tarot cards. My work focuses on translating the meaning and symbolism of the Major Arcana into a costume and illustration that capture the spirit of the cards. I will continue to work on this project in a personal capacity after finishing my degree.

The final images are from my project researching Wendish folklore and traditional dress. The Wendish people are a nationally-recognised cultural minority in eastern parts of Germany. Working closely with local museums and experts to research the traditional dress of the region around Cottbus, I created unique designs for folklore characters and illustrated my designs. The examples in this exhibition are part of a collection of twelve designs.

After finishing my degree, I will be moving to Germany, near Berlin. There, I am planning to work towards being a freelance costume illustrator as well as becoming a costume designer.

Note: images of the actual gown are not part of my digital exhibition, as I am only showcasing my illustrations which were made fully by me. The entire project was collaborative.