Costume design for the English National Ballet School, Professional Trainee Programme, 'Mixed Bill'.

For this piece, the choreographer, Kristina Paulin, was inspired by the Baroque era and wanted the costumes to feature some references to this epoch combined with contemporary elements; the piece uses Baroque music but the choreography is in a contemporary style.

Traditional Baroque dance costumes were restrictive, but I aimed to create a costume that allowed the body total freedom for movement. I was really interested in playing around with the concept of restriction and freedom. Inspired by the square neckline, typical of the Baroque era, I inverted the area that is covered and uncovered. I created a neck piece using this squared shape, featuring exposed, elongated seams which appeared as frills, as a nod to ruffs worn in the 17th century. The wide leg trousers referenced the full length skirt of the period, but enabled all of the leg movements to be clearly expressed and seen, and the light material flowed with the movements.