Classes - Lectures

Lectures may be taken by anyone who has registered for Costume College. They have an open attendance policy, restricted only by the space in the room. If a lecture is important to you, get there early to make sure you get a seat.

Examples of lecture classes we have had in the past:

Garments of the Galaxy
Maegen Hensley
This class will review the popular types of fabric creation and manipulation used to create more futuristic looks in popular film and television productions such as Star Wars, Star Trek, Marvel, and other sci-fi features. It will review sublimation, rubberized printing, and different types of common fabrics designers use these days. Be prepared to walk away with swatches to add to your swatch binder. An array of reproduction pieces will be on display.

Simple Intro to Bodice Dart Manipulation
Cristina Donastorg
In this class, students will learn the very basics of flat pattern bodice dart manipulation in order to take two-dart bodice patterns that already fit them and update them for new looks. I'll go over the following techniques: moving darts to any part of the bodice, using dart fullness as gathers or tucks, and creating a princess seam. Using these skills will reduce the number of mockups students will make in the future as well as give them confidence to design and draft their own bodices.

Historical Inclusivity
Trevon Powell
The class will focus on the multiplicity of the different voices, experiences, and perspectives of the past that helped form our present world. We will focus on the 1890s and the Progressive Movement and the many changing political and cultural norms of that time. We will explore how many women, queer, and marginalized individuals helped catapult the fight for equality and inclusion worldwide, while also admiring the beautiful clothing of that era and how fashion played a direct response to the changing world.

The Puabi Project: Clothing Bronze-Age Mesopotamia
Grace Amundsen Barnkow
This class presents a reenactment project that created an outfit and jewelry from Bronze-Age (Early Dynastic) Mesopotamia based on the lavish burial goods of Puabi of Ur. This project included raising heritage fiber goats, carding, spinning, weaving, dyeing, pattern making, felting kaunakes/kunakku, and jewelry making. The class also discusses techniques for making inferences from limited information and useful information recreating other Bronze-Age ensembles (Egyptian, Minoan, etc).

Glamorous Hollywood Portraits -- How to Feel Comfortable in Front of the Camera
Mark Edwards
Let's step back in time of Old Hollywood cinema and learn how they use iconic lighting, glamorous styling, and posing to create some iconic photos. We will go over some key elements of how to achieve this look right here at the portrait studio. I will show you how to strike the right pose with confidence.

For a list of the fantastic lectures offered at this year's Costume College, check out the Course Catalog!   Should you have any questions regarding our teachers, please contact our Program Teachers Chair.