Cornwall’s Creative Hub

This Research & Innovation Doctoral Project brief summarises our priority areas of research interest under the heading of: Cornwall's Creative Hub: harnessing the Global Potential of Local Costume Design

We welcome all research degree applications aligned with and in response to this brief.

Project brief details

The UK has recently seen an exponential growth of the film and TV industry, and in Cornwall, screen output produced by student, independent and commercial filmmakers and production companies has reached global audiences. Local identity and tradition is a recurring theme in Cornish filmmaking, with Cornish language, diaspora and heritage explored in many narratives.

This theme is echoed in the holdings of the Fashion and Textiles Institute's Textiles and Dress Collection, which comprises over 3,000 items of everyday clothing dating from c1840 to the present, with connections to the local area, its culture and community. Costume design is a valuable aspect of production design that has traditionally relied on metropolitan museum and commercial services.

The only dedicated textiles and dress collection in Cornwall, FTI's is a unique and valuable resource for primary research, for the exploration of local narratives in film and television through dress. It will work in conjunction with a commercial wardrobe facility from which filmmakers can hire and commission costume currently in development in the FTI, providing a creative community hub, fostering positive local identity and de-centring production practices.

Proposals employing a transdisciplinary methodological approach to exploring the potential of these resources in the development of local culture and the routes to its global dissemination would be welcomed.

Strategic alignment

Projects deriving from this brief are expected to sit within the following Research & Innovation programme and department:

Programme	TBC
Department	Fashion & Textiles Institute

As successful research degree project proposals must emphasise a clear alignment between the project idea and one or more of our Research & Innovation programmes, we recommend that you review details of the programme aligned to this brief before you complete the application process.

Project brief lead

Julie Ripley

Proposed supervisor: Dr Julie Ripley

Julie Ripley studied history of modern art, design and film at Northumbria University, where she went on to teach design history whilst completing her masters at the University of Sunderland and writing and editing a local cultural magazine, Vane. She subsequently taught at London College of Fashion, providing academic input into practical courses such as Fashion Design, Fashion Photography and Fashion Styling, as well as at Middlesex University on Textile Design.

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We welcome all research degree applications aligned with this Doctoral Project brief. To apply in response to this brief or learn about the application process click the button below.

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