Costume Designer & Illustrator

In the Summer of 2021, as part of my Masters in Design for Performance I was assigned to design the costumes for Lynn Nottage's popular American play "Sweat", depicting the tragic breakdown of a Philadelphian community of steelworkers during the early and late 2000s.   

The play came with some challenges that we were very eager to tackle, heavily researching and sourcing 2000s USA fashion and depicting heavy and current topics such as racism and poverty.

The impact that the play itself had on the real  communities it was inspired was very clear, written with respect for it's source, so avoiding cliches, stereotyping and following accuracy was key. Luckily I already had some research into how American Philadelphians dressed, some close sources who were from the US and were present in the north east around the time to consult with and director Patricia had experience living there during the turn of the century. 

To my realisation while writing this, almost every item of costume used onstage was sourced in the UK! Either directly from the RWCMD wardrobe department or local businesses and donations from friends, family, students and cast.