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Costume Designer

Designs clothing for film, theater, and TV productions — bringing characters to life through wardrobe.

Did you know?

Edith Head won 8 Academy Awards for costume design — more Oscars than any other woman in history

How subjects help

Art & Design: Sketch costumes and pick colours that show who each character is at a glance.
History: Research how people dressed in a past century so a period drama looks authentic.
Literature: Read the script for clues about a character's wealth and mood to show in their clothes.

A famous name

Edith Head: Hollywood costume designer who won a record eight Academy Awards for costume design.

Try it yourself: Find the repeat in a patterned fabric

Pick one small shape in the pattern, like a flower or a spot, and look for the next place the exact same shape appears.
The piece between those two places is the "repeat unit". Draw one repeat unit on your paper.
Work out the pattern's framework: are the repeats laid out in squares, in a diamond net or along diagonal branches? Write it next to your drawing.
Check for symmetry: is one half of the shape a mirror image of the other? Draw a dotted line where the mirror would go.

Textile and fashion designers plan the repeat unit and framework carefully so a pattern can be printed or woven across metres of fabric without a visible join.

Adapted from William Morris Gallery: Investigating Pattern: activity sheet.

Also try: Design a logo for a pretend café.

Known for it in

USA, UK, Italy, France, India