TEACHING AND LEARNING 

2009-2026

My teaching practice at Birmingham City University and the London College of Fashion is grounded in the belief that costume is an embodied design discipline — a place where research, making, and performance intersect. I teach costume as a process that moves fluidly between concept, cutting table and stage, encouraging students to understand how design decisions are realised through skilled construction and material sensitivity.

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At Birmingham City University, where I have taught since 2010, I have led learning across Costume and Performance pathways with a strong emphasis on design development, historical menswear, pattern cutting, construction, and collaborative making for performance. My pedagogic approach is shaped by the discovery of an undocumented archival dress collection on campus, which allows students to encounter historical garments firsthand and learn through their structures, stitching and wear. Live and knowledge‑exchange projects — including Positively Red, Off Our Trolley, Motionhouse’s Wondrous Stories, and collaborations with the Gres Portela School of Samba — offer students opportunities to design and realise work within real performance and community contexts.

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At the London College of Fashion, I am Course Leader, where I have recently reapproved and completely rewritten the course to strengthen its integration of design thinking, technical making, and research‑led practice. My teaching supports students in developing confidence in both their creative concepts and their technical execution, recognising that costume design gains meaning through the precision and intelligence of its construction.

Across both institutions, my teaching philosophy centres on nurturing designers and makers who are thoughtful, skilled and critically engaged — practitioners who understand that costume is not only crafted but communicates narrative, identity and embodied experience.