Costume Design
Discover the best information, whether you’re a new Costume Design student starting your first assignment, or delving into a research project.
Library essentials
Reading Lists
These are set up by your tutors to guide you to good quality, relevant and useful materials to help you with your studies. They're a great starting point before doing your own research.
Library Search
Did you know? The citation tool in Library Search can help you create references! Learn how to make the most of Library Search through our short, interactive guide: Use Library Search to find academic information for your assessments.
Subject specific resources
Key resources for costume design students
Databases
Databases are searchable collections of good quality, academic material, particularly journal articles. They can be small subject specific or large collections covering a wide range of subject areas. Most databases provide access to full-text items.
| A key resource for anyone studying fashion or costume design. It contains two substantial book collections (Berg books and Fairchild books), a photography archive, video archive and more. | |
| A collection of books covering Fashion and Textiles, Design and Illustration, Photography, Film and Animation, and more. These provide inspirational images, and practical advice on research techniques, and portfolio development. | |
| Provides scripts for many modern and classic plays from a huge range of authors. It also includes books providing analysis and criticism of plays and playwrights, as well as a small collection videos of specific productions. | |
| Contains journals and magazines covering the arts and entertainment industry. . | |
| Features hundreds of magazines and journal on all aspects of art and humanities. | |
| A collection of arts databases that can be accessed via ProQuest. | |
| Millions of quality, peer-reviewed articles covering a wide range of topics in the sciences and humanities. | |
| A great place to start a search on most subjects, providing access to both books and journal articles. |
Video
Videos offer a dynamic way to absorb information. They often present complex ideas in an easily digestible format.
| Provides videos of more than 300 classic, contemporary and international theatre productions. There are more than 230 interviews exploring the theatre-making process as well as essays, documentaries, lectures, and study guides relating to all aspects of theatre. | |
| Video streaming service from the British Film Institute, streaming acclaimed, landmark and archive films. | |
| Contains performances, documentaries, interviews, and instructional videos covering a range of dance styles, including ballet, jazz, tap, and hip-hop, as well as coverage of dance traditions from around the world. | |
| An archive of more than 2.2 million radio and TV programmes that have been broadcast in the UK. You can search for, and watch, anything already in the archive, as well as making use of the TV scheduling service. This allows you to record TV and radio programmes that are scheduled to be broadcast over the next seven days. | |
| Drawing on ten years of NT Live broadcasts, alongside high-quality archive recordings never previously seen outside the NT's Archive, the National Theatre Collections provide over 60 filmed performances. | |
| A large, curated catalogue of more than 30,000 educational documentaries and classic films from leading producers. |
Market Research
Use these resources for:
- market trends and sizes
- consumer research
- analysis of industries and the companies operating within them.
| Contains details for influencers and media, PR and brand contacts, as well as fashion industry news. | |
| Predicts consumer, lifestyle and product design trends. It’s a key industry resource for designers working in a wide range of areas, from fashion, beauty and home interiors to hospitality, travel, finance and more. | |
| A trend forecasting company. You can follow upcoming trends, get inspiration, and build concept boards, and colour palettes with their workable tools. |
Digital Archives
Digital Archives predominantly contain digitised primary sources.
These are original documents and objects that give first-hand accounts of a topic or event. They're created by people who had a direct connection with the topic or event. These can be:
- government, company or personal papers
- newspapers
- books or magazines
- films
- works of art.
| Prompt books for more than 90% of Shakespeare’s plays, including editions owned by notable actors and directors such as Charles and John Philip Kemble, Henry Irving, Ellen Terry and Laurence Olivier. A prompt book is the main copy of a production script. | |
| A comprehensive insight into performance practice in this unique theatre space. Documenting more than 200 productions from 1997-2016 | |
| A collection of primary sources exploring 100 years of youth culture from Rave, Punk, Rockabilly to Grime. | |
| Preserves one of the fashion industry's most influential reads. |
Magazines
The library subscribes to many high-quality physical and digital magazines which you can use to strengthen your assessments. Magazines are a unique source of information, containing state-of-the-art professional perspectives, practitioner insight and creative works.
For guidance finding and using magazines in the library, look at the Magazines webpage.
Here are magazines for your subject area:
| A digital library that lets you read thousands of global newspapers and magazines using your local library membership. It provides full-content access to over 7,000 publications from more than 120 countries. | |
| A bi-monthly British lifestyle magazine founded in 1991. It covers music, fashion, film, art, and literature. | |
| London based fashion and retail magazine involving market trends, industry news and developments. | |
| An international photography magazine published three times a year around a specific theme. | |
| British biannual magazine dedicated to fashion, music, art, film and youth culture. | |
| French contemporary children's fashion and lifestyle magazine | |
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The official quarterly membership magazine of the UK creative industries union, BECTU, covering industry news, workers' rights, and technical developments in theatre, film, and broadcasting.
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| Independent magazine covering fashion, art, culture, politics, and architecture through in-depth interviews and features under the motto "Elitism for All." | |
| Focuses on fashion and design forecasting, with an emphasis on ethical product solutions and exploring innovations in color, materials, textiles, and fashion concepts. |
Newspapers & Magazines
Newspapers are a great source for reviews and comment on:
- film
- television
- theatre
- performances.
The Library gives students and researchers access to wide-range of Newspapers.
LinkedIn Learning
LinkedIn Learning offers more than 9,000 professionally produced online courses covering a wide range of technical, creative and professional skills.
Always use our institutional link to log in. You'll need your University email address and password. The first time that you log in, you'll be taken through a setup process to discover courses tailored to your interests.
Print Books
You can borrow print books from the Library. The location details below are a guide. It's best to use Library Search for exact location of items:
| Classmark | Subject area |
| 390 | Costume Design |
Inclusive Collections
Expand your research with diverse voices and perspectives using our Inclusive Collections initiative. Explore school-based collections to find high-quality, inclusive resources.
Develop your skills
Finding information skills
Developing information skills saves time and gives you stronger sources for your assessments. Finding information covers everything you need to learn how to search for resources effectively.
Further support
The Skills website has eLearning to help you achieve your study goals. We cover:
- academic writing support
- referencing guidance
- help with presentation skills
- using generative AI
- time management and much more
You can also attend our academic skills workshops. Contact the Academic Skills Team to ask a question or request a one-to-one appointment.