The first project of my third year at university was a collaboration between the Costume Deign course at WCA and the third year drama students at the Academy of Live and Recorded Arts (ALRA). Our course worked together to design and create the costumes for the school's winter showcase production of Alice in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass. 

This was an exciting, fast-paced project that allowed us to work with a director to build the show's aesthetic and work toward a live production with trained actors. The end result was a colorful contemporary production, and overall a huge success. 

The process of compiling the costumes was a combination of styling and editing existing garments as well as making original designs. Almost every student had a part in the design and styling process, and it was all hands on deck to successfully create all the costumes. It was very humbling; in the process of editing final designs to make the show more cohesive, and many students learned that sometimes one's artistic vision has to be sacrificed for the sake of the production. 

I personally co-designed the costume for the Gryphon with another designer on my course. I was also responsible for making the costume's trousers, embellishing the jacket, and overseeing the making of the accessories. I also assisted with all of the fittings with the cast, as well as finishing details/edits as we got closer to the show's opening. I was also on the team of backstage dressers during the show's runtime, helping the actors out with backstage quick changes and making minor repairs. 

It was a very fast turnaround compared to previous projects we'd worked on, and the amount of costumes in the production (about 70), meant that our budget amounted to about ￡17 per costume. This project was definitely the most "realistic" that we've worked on, in that the time frame and budget were close to what can be expected in the working world. 

This was an incredible collaboration to be a part of, and I'm happy that we were able to help create a fresh and exciting production of Alice In Wonderland. 

Photography credit: Ali Wright (Instagram: @aliwright_photographs)