Course
Overview
Our course provides you with a holistic postgraduate experience that enables you to become a versatile and creative costume maker with advanced design interpretation and technical construction skills.
You enhance your skills through our range of taught modules and then apply these to practical projects and performances, while identifying professional frameworks for collaboration, research and employment. By the end of the course, you graduate as a skilled, resourceful costume maker and researcher with a strong portfolio of practice and credits from fully realised productions.
What You Will
Study
Professional Development, Inquiry and Critique 1
Through this module, you develop the necessary skills to evaluate the complex elements that make a performance or event. You learn to analyse your own professional practice and the work of other professionals, and the critical debates surrounding different approaches. You are introduced to the main concepts of critical assessment and learn how to analyse costume’s role within performance making and facilitation. Through lectures, seminars and group discussions, you learn how creative endeavour can be used to investigate ideas and you are introduced to different methods for designing practice-based research while investigating how to use various concepts and ideas to interpret work. Finally, you apply this understanding to develop a self- reflective analysis of your current practice, exploring influential practitioners and potential areas for research.
Advanced Technique 1
This module teaches you advanced pattern cutting and making techniques associated with different historical periods. You develop skills such as draping on the stand, flat pattern drafting, corsetry and tailoring and learn the key principles of costume construction for historically inspired performance costume. Taught sessions and visiting professional masterclasses will provide you with the opportunity for student led, guided experimentation as you reflect on your prior knowledge and identify your own professional development needs. You will work with a variety of practitioners from diverse areas of the costume industry as you employ their knowledge, guidance and expertise to explore traditional and contemporary costume construction approaches. You will begin to develop methods for recording and analysing your practice and reflect on the competences and capabilities required of a successful costume maker.
Practice 1
In this module, you apply your skills learned in Advanced Technique 1 to a full public LIPA production. Your work forms part of a rehearsal and production process, with your delivery of costume design interpretation taking place in collaboration with directors, designers and the production team. You work under industry conditions with costume designers from our BA (Hons) Theatre & Performance Design course and gain experience of collaborating and communicating with different production departments. Throughout the module, you critically reflect on your work and the overall production process.
Professional Development, Inquiry and Critique 2
This module helps develop your understanding of how costume making sits within the wider performing arts industry and you explore options for paid employment and freelance work in various areas of costume production.
This is supported by workshops and lectures from industry professionals designed to help you expand your skillset and enhance your employability through the development of associated costume skills such as breaking down, dressing, wardrobe supervision and working on a film or TV set.
As part of this module, you also begin looking at your personal development, considering industry demands to produce an advanced, viable career plan and portfolio.
Advanced Technique 2
This module builds on the techniques learned in Advanced Technique 1. You continue to develop a broad range of advanced skills to enable you to create costumes which are reflective of innovative and contemporary approaches, exploring areas such as millinery, dancewear, creative pattern cutting, and structural prop. As a result of supervised practical sessions, demonstrations and masterclasses with visiting professionals, you produce a self-directed portfolio to showcase the techniques you have developed and continue to record and analyse your practice.
Practice 2
As with Practice 1, this module provides another opportunity to apply the technical skills you have developed to a public LIPA performance project. During the process, you apply advanced pattern cutting and costume making techniques learned in Advanced Technique II. You collaborate with the full production team, giving you the experience of working within a complex professional environment. Again, you are required to document and reflect on your practice and process during the production period in order to further your professional development.
Dissertation (Option)
The Dissertation module is an alternative option to the Practice Dissertation, giving you the opportunity to explore an aspect of contemporary or historical costume making or investigate and analyse an area of the costume industry. You reflect on your practice to establish key questions, which will assist with your development and understanding of your craft. You devise your own methodology to explore and debate various arguments regarding your individual practice in the context of the wider performing arts landscape. Your work in this module allows you to reach complex conclusions to inform your future work and will have the potential to influence the development of costume industry practices.
Practice Dissertation (Option)
In this module, you will investigate an area of costume construction through the design and completion of a practice research project as you explore your personal and professional development needs in relation to the demands of the industry. You then devise and deliver a creative practical project, which directly addresses those needs and will inform your development and understanding of your craft through an appropriate methodology that will best support the implementation of your chosen study. Your completed project and analysis will have the potential to make a positive contribution to the future development of costume making by identifying a gap in current industry practice and establishing your own critical voice as a member of the costume making community, contextualising your work within your chosen field alongside that of other academic and industry practitioners.
How You Will
Study
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Workshops
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Lectures
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Seminars
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Productions
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Exhibitions
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Independent study
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Group Work
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Masterclass
How You Will Be
Assessed
Assessment revolves around your development as a creative researcher and practitioner. You document, analyse and defend your work. Assessment includes portfolios, verbal presentations, presentation of made work, as well as critical and reflective analysis. There are also oral examinations. You can undertake a conventional dissertation as an alternative to a final piece of practice.
Practical/written work ratio
80% practical work / 20% reflective work
Alternative formats for written/ reflective work include podcasts, presentations, vivas, videos blogs, journals etc.
Validated By:
Our
Facilities
Costume and Wardrobe Department
Our airy and spacious workshops provide inspirational spaces for making and realising designs.
Our making studio is equipped with industrial and domestic sewing machines and over lockers, industrial irons, a large number of dressmaking mannequins and an extensive range of tools, equipment and haberdashery which is included in the course fees.
Our Wardrobe Store contains a wide range of costumes and accessories, ranging from Medieval to modern day.
We also have a well-equipped Laundry and Dye room with industrial washing machines and tumble driers, a drying cabinet, dye-vats and spray booth.
Performance Spaces
The Paul McCartney Auditorium is a 340-seater traditional proscenium arch theatre and our largest performance space. The George Harrison Workshop Studio is a fully equipped experimental performance space that offers creatives and performers a ‘blank canvas’ for productions.
Technical Services
LIPA’s Technical Services team can help with general technical queries and booking out equipment for short-term loan. Loan equipment includes musical instruments, microphones, various recording and playback equipment, digital video and stills cameras and AV equipment.
Term-time opening hours allow you access to Technical Services from 9am until 11pm every weekday and 9am until 5pm on Saturday and 11am until 5pm on Sunday. Outside of term time it is open on weekdays from 9am - 5pm.
Learning Resources Centre
LIPA’s Learning Resources Centre (LRC) is a specialist creative and performing arts library with an extensive collection of books, e-books, scores, CDs, DVDs, e-resources, print and electronic journals. Whether you are looking for individual songs or scripts, background research or creative inspiration, the LRC Team will be able to help. The LRC offer support sessions in ICT and study skills through subject specific lectures, as well as one-to-one and drop-in sessions, ensuring you get the most out of your study.
The LRC website provides the gateway to LIPA’s online catalogue and electronic resources and includes links to a wide selection of help sheets and video guides. In addition, LIPA’s virtual learning provision which includes Moodle, holds a variety of subject-specific learning materials, such as lecture notes, useful web links and module information. The majority of these services are available off-campus.
LIPA’s integrated learning environment has a variety of study spaces, including individual and group work areas, and an open-access computer suite. Facilities include printing, copying and scanning, plus binding and laminating equipment. A range of stationery is available for purchase to support your studies.
Opening hours during term-time are Monday and Wednesday 9.00am to 6.00pm, Tuesday and Thursday 9.00am to 8.00pm, Friday 9.00am to 5.00pm. The LRC may be closed for some weeks in June and is also closed during July and August.
ICT Services
LIPA's Information, Communications and Technology Department provides the infrastructure and services framework that enable students to exploit the latest information and communication developments.
Industry-standard computer resources are running the latest productivity software on high specification workstations in dedicated computer suites. LIPA also has a colour A0 plotter, ideal for floor plans.
All PCs are installed with Microsoft Windows, Microsoft Office & Project as standard. There is also access to a range of additional specialist software installed on selected workstations. These include AutoCAD, Adobe Creative Cloud applications, EarMaster, Sibelius, MindManager, Vectorworks and WYSIWYG.
All workstations have access to the Internet, email and other electronic resources. There is free Wi-Fi access throughout our buildings for students and staff members via the Eduroam network which provides a world-wide roaming access service developed for the international research and education community.
Specialist ICT staff are available to answer questions, give assistance and advise on ICT issues.
LIPA Bar and Canteen
As well as serving food and drink, the bar and canteen are the hub of social activity within LIPA with both spaces licensed for performances.
The canteen is the venue for LIPA’s weekly gig night, The 2ube. Most Fridays the 2ube features live performances, showcasing musicians from LIPA and Liverpool’s music scene. The event is a collaboration between Management, Music, Sound Technology and Theatre & Performance Technology students.
The canteen also hosts open mic and jukebox shuffle nights, and independent student organised performances and benefit nights. The bar hosts regular quiz nights and Student Event Board parties.
The bar is open Monday, Thursday and Friday from 3pm - 11pm, and Tuesday and Wednesday from 3pm - 10pm, with extended hours for special events.
The canteen is open Monday to Friday from 8.30am – 3pm, serving food and drink at student-friendly prices.
Toni Bate
Course Leader, MA Costume Making
After graduating from Liverpool’s prestigious Mabel Fletcher course in 1994, Toni worked for many years as a costume maker, tailor and wardrobe supervisor for theatre, film and television. Theatre credits include the Olivier Award-winning Shockheaded Peter (Albery Theatre, London) as well as work for Liverpool Everyman & Playhouse Theatres, Theatr Clwyd, Contact Theatre, Manchester, Dukes Theatre, Lancaster, Leeds Playhouse and Derby Playhouse. TV and film credits include Gormenghast (BBC), The Lost Prince (BBC), Pride & Prejudice (Joe Wright), Revengers Tragedy (Alex Cox) and Vanity Fair (Mira Nair).
Prior to returning to LIPA to develop and lead the MA Costume Making programme Toni was a costume construction lecturer on the BA (Hons) Costume with Textiles degree at the University of Huddersfield. Other further and higher education roles include head of wardrobe, wardrobe supervisor and costume maker at LIPA, specialist costume technician at Edge Hill University, costume lecturer at The City of Liverpool College and costume designer and wardrobe supervisor at Arden School of Theatre in Manchester. Toni is also a fellow of the Higher Education Academy.
Toni is an active researcher in the field of costume construction. Her most recent research focuses on historical theatrical costume with an emphasis on reconstruction and the social history of costume making. Her masters by research examined the development of textiles, decoration and embellishment for period costume interpreted for live performance, while other publications have explored the development of allegorical theatrical costume from the Middle Ages to the early European court masques, the concept of the costume store as a living archive and the implications of using historical dress as performance costume.
Publications
Bate, T. (Pending). Ce N'est Pas un Costume: The Absence of the Object in HistoricalCostume Research. Culture Costume and Dress: Proceedings of the 2nd International conference.
Bate, T. (2020). All That Glitters: The Use of Contemporary Textiles in the Interpretation of Period Costume for Theatrical Performance. TEXT: For the Study of Textile Art, Design and History, Vol 46.
Bate, T. (2017). From Morality Play to Court Masque: A Study of Allegorical Performance Costume from Medieval Dramas to Secular Theatre of the Seventeenth Century. The Journal of Dress History, 1(1).
Bate, T., & Garland, L. (2015). Precious? Journal of Writing in Creative Practice: Re-Writing the Archive, 7(3).
Bridget Bartley
Demonstrating Technician
Mitch Fujii-Williams
Visiting Lecturer
What Our
Graduates Do
Graduates from this course will have the skills to work as costume makers in areas such as theatre, TV, film and dance, where they will be able to take on a variety of related roles. These include ladieswear, tailoring, prop costume, historical reconstruction, dancewear and wardrobe supervision. The course focuses on providing a realistic working environment so graduates will be equipped to work as freelancers or within established costume departments with the research skills they have learned also enabling them to contribute academically to the flourishing costume research community.
Yihui Shi (2021)
Designer in a British equestrian costume company in Shanghai, where she designs, researches and develops fabrics. MA Costume Making
Educational qualifications are important but limited in what they can tell us about you.
Your natural ability, your fit with what and how we teach, your growth and your potential are also key factors in our admission process. We can’t evaluate these solely on your educational achievements, so no matter which course you are applying for, we look for the following attributes on your application and at the interview stage.
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"I’m confident LIPA’s course will address key industry skills gaps, especially given that it is being delivered in such a well-respected institution with excellent teaching standards, industry links and an all-important emphasis on collaboration."
Carol Lingwood
Head of Costume, National Theatre, London.
Additional Costs
As part of this course, there are likely to be some additional costs that are not included within your tuition fees. Many of these are optional.
Equipment
We understand that most students have to work to a very tight budget so we have limited the required tools to those that are absolutely essential for you to be able to start work here. Items you are likely to need will include a pattern master, spiky tracing wheel, a good set of drawing pencils, tailor’s chalk, sharpener, eraser, variety of needles, a thimble, straight pins, dressmaking scissors, paper scissors, snips, an unpicker and a tape measure. We recommend that you budget around £250 for equipment and supplies during the year.
At the very end of the course you are required to create a professional standard portfolio and there are inevitably printing and binding costs associated with this task.
Trips and training courses
As part of the various modules on the programme, some class trips may be offered to help support your learning. Some of these will form part of the curriculum but most will be important additions to your work. Some trips may be free or subsidised but you may be required to cover some costs yourself. Please allow up to £100 for these throughout the year.
Seeing shows
You should see live performances as often as you can. This is not compulsory, but it will help your development as a costume maker. Theatre visits are not covered by your tuition fees, so you'll need to cover these costs yourself. We are occasionally offered a limited number of free or discounted tickets for shows in the city. We also encourage you to see LIPA shows and offer discounted Student Friday tickets to make this as affordable as possible. Every year, we organise trips to theatres in Manchester and ticket and travel costs need to be met by each individual.
Additional Costs
As part of this course, there are likely to be some additional costs that are not included within your tuition fees. Many of these are optional.
Equipment
We understand that most students have to work to a very tight budget so we have limited the required tools to those that are absolutely essential for you to be able to start work here. Items you are likely to need will include a pattern master, spiky tracing wheel, a good set of drawing pencils, tailor’s chalk, sharpener, eraser, variety of needles, a thimble, straight pins, dressmaking scissors, paper scissors, snips, an unpicker and a tape measure. We recommend that you budget around £250 for equipment and supplies during the year.
At the very end of the course you are required to create a professional standard portfolio and there are inevitably printing and binding costs associated with this task.
Trips and training courses
As part of the various modules on the programme, some class trips may be offered to help support your learning. Some of these will form part of the curriculum but most will be important additions to your work. Some trips may be free or subsidised but you may be required to cover some costs yourself. Please allow up to £100 for these throughout the year.
Seeing shows
You should see live performances as often as you can. This is not compulsory, but it will help your development as a costume maker. Theatre visits are not covered by your tuition fees, so you'll need to cover these costs yourself. We are occasionally offered a limited number of free or discounted tickets for shows in the city. We also encourage you to see LIPA shows and offer discounted Student Friday tickets to make this as affordable as possible. Every year, we organise trips to theatres in Manchester and ticket and travel costs need to be met by each individual.
