Patterns of Fashion Award Winners 2026

The Costume Society’s Patterns of Fashion Award 2026 winners were announced on 4th July 2026.

This year, the standard of entries was exceptional, with the largest number of applications from the widest variety of institutions around the world that the awards have ever seen.

The award ceremony took place on 4th July 2026 at Trinity Chapel, De Montfort University, Leicester.

The entries were judged by multi-award winning costume designer Joanna Eatwell, known for her work on Wolf Hall, Taboo, Carnival Row, Venom, One Life and The Radleys.

Winner: Kate Bashford is a third year BA Costume Interpretation student at Wimbledon College of Arts and she has made the complex Jacket of a Riding Habit c.1730-50 – Patterns of Fashion 1 c1660-1860.

Kate is a third year BA Costume Interpretation student at Wimbledon College of Arts. Her work frequently touches on women's tailoring and blending pattern cutting techniques to form outcomes with a historical grounding. Through a meticulous interrogation of tailoring, she aims to produce refined garments, blending the two epochs of contemporary construction technique with that of its past remnants. Through exploration of different cloths, she aims to create a contrast with more unusual materials to push historical narratives within each costume she produces. Kate’s considered application of past social politics allows an insight into historical construction techniques at a deeper level, which is something she values highly in her practice.

“It’s been an incredible opportunity and I’m so grateful to have entered. It’s unfathomable how much one can learn when you’ve been so immersed in a historically based way for so long making one costume. It pushed my making abilities in a way I thought I would never achieve, and for that I’m incredibly grateful. Thank you costume society!”

Highly commended: Tallulah Lawson is a BA Costume Design and Construction student at Nottingham Trent University, and her project is a striking recreation of Doublet with Peascod Belly in Pinked Satin, c.1610 from Patterns of Fashion c1560-1620.

Tallulah is a final year BA Costume Design and Construction student at Nottingham Trent University, and she chose to recreate the ‘Doublet with a Peascod Belly in Pinked Satin’ from Patterns of Fashion 3: The cut and construction of clothes for men and women c.1560 - 1620. (Arnold et al., 2023).

Whilst not being able to access an original peascod doublet for her primary research, she studied other contemporary garments at the V&A and Newstead Abbey archives, documenting construction techniques and hidden internal details through notes, photographs, and drawings to inform her process. Dissatisfied with mass-produced satins, Tallulah decided to dye her own silk, prioritising the drape before hand-dyeing it to attain the desired shade of green, then meticulously pinking the surface by hand using a scalpel. To complete the look, she learned how to handcraft passementerie buttons, individually twisting each silk strand over a wooden base.

“To have made the Patterns of Fashion final has been exciting enough, but to now say I have a Costume Society Award has been a dream. From this competition, I have made friends, branched out to places I never thought I would and not to mention the knowledge I have gained, challenging some of my preconceived notions about historical garment making.”

Runner Up: Qianrong (Rory) Huang is a BA Costume Interpretation student at Wimbledon College of Arts who has made the stunning Walking Dress from 1890-91 featured in Patterns of Fashion 2 c1860-1940.

Qianrong Huang (English Name is Rory), a third year BA (Hons) Costume for Theatre and Screen Interpretation Pathway student at Wimbledon College of Arts. The original garment is in the Fashion Museum Bath now which was unavailable for close examination during the research period of the project, however Qianrong has sent emails to the museum and asked for detail photos of the original garment and made an appointment to see it in person only for examining this dress in April. She was able to research examples of similar period garment in her college archive, V&A collection and Fashion and Textile Museum. She made good use of the increasing number of good quality books and online collections as well. She measured the spacing between each cord of the fabric. And bought a top fabric with a very similar texture and light weight, then dyed it into pale grey colour described in the book. She made detailed toiles twice to ensure the construction and drape were correct to achieve the perfect period detail.

“I feel incredibly honoured to have received a Highly Commended award from the Costume Society. As a recent graduate, it means a great deal to have my work recognised by such an experienced panel. The recognition has given me confidence to continue developing my skills and pursuing a career in costume, while continuing to explore historical dress and craftsmanship. The competition challenged me in every stage of the process, from historical research and pattern development to construction and finishing. It encouraged me to slow down, pay attention to every detail, and continually refine my work. Beyond the making itself, I also had the opportunity to meet inspiring makers, students and industry professionals, which made the experience even more rewarding.”

All garments shortlisted have been completed to an excellent standard of craftsmanship and the shortlisting panel were particularly impressed with the inclusion of extensive research material for each entry. The level of cut, construction, research and decorative skill in all three demonstrates an exceptional understanding of period dress.

The Patterns of Fashion Award honours the work of dress historian Janet Arnold (1932-1998), a founder member of the Society, through the recreation of historical extant garments that feature in her seminal book series in their original and subsequent editions. The award promotes Arnold’s methodological approach to historical dress research and now also includes Norah Waugh’s key publications. The Patterns for Performance award enables students to design and make a theatrical costume for a character in a performance using one of Arnold’s or Waugh’s original patterns as a starting point. The awards are an important part of the Costume Society’s output that promotes the legacy of Arnold and Waugh through their impact on the standard of craft and artistry within costume.