My final costumes are for the characters Coppelia -the doll, and Dr. Coppelius -the inventor, from the ballet story Coppelia. I reimagined the story as if it was a Disney style fantasy story, with heavy inspirations from traditional folk costume and story book illustrations. My friend, Rosie Durrance, has collaborated with me on this project and created a set of the inventor’s workshop (which can be seen in the production design display).

One of my big interests within costuming is incorporating technology with my sewing to create fantastical and magical things come to life. Prior to this project I had created costumes which incorporated lights, but this was much more of a challenge than that. To create the ‘ticking key’ for the clockwork doll, I learnt 3d sculpting and printing, figured out the electronic circuits, programmed it to ‘tick’, and custom designed the mounting plate and strap system. This was then a big element to consider within my design and construction processes. As well as the main sewing construction of the costume, I also added details of hand embroidery and fabric painting to help pay homage to the Disney princess inspiration and folk wear. 

For Dr. Coppelius’ costume I also learnt new skills and developed another big costuming interest of mine. To create the embroidered cog design on the lapels of the waistcoat I learnt how to use the digital embroidery machine and created a custom design, which I then embroidered in a metallic gold thread. Another area I am interested in is leather work, having done multiple prior projects with this as a key element,  creating this apron was a new challenge in this area and helped me develop my skills in this further. The rest of the costume is littered with small details, such as the cog buttons, and I took pride in making the apron and shirt sleeves look messy and like he had built this doll whilst wearing them. 

My favourite part of the costuming process is the construction and complicated problem solving and I would like to do this as my job. I have interest in cosplay, theatre, and film and tv and am hoping to work in whichever one of these allows me to create the things I love.