Callum's decision to study at ECA was down to the fantastic reputation of the course and the beauty of the City of Edinburgh.

Since graduating Callum has taken on a number of interesting roles including being a part of the costume department for Netflix’s Shadow and Bone.

Why I chose to study Performance Costume - BA (Hons)

I chose to study at ECA for its industry-connected reputation and vibrant community of creative people and places. Edinburgh is steeped in history, architecture, landscape and several other attributes to any person pursuing creative studies. No matter where you are in the city you are constantly being inspired by your surroundings, whether it’s the diverse city or the dynamic culture. ECA is situated in the heart of all this, with its excellent facilities and highly experienced tutors who are industry professionals. The Café at ECA is also fantastic.

My time at ECA 

From our first year, we gained practice in sewing, historical dress and puppetry. We had the opportunity to make a corset from drawing the pattern from scratch until the final finishings which was a fantastic garment to construct and learn from. In our second year we had a number of projects, ranging from designing and making a costume for the live annual ECA show, designing and constructing a small scale set build, sourcing for a contemporary TV project and also working alongside fourth-year film students in designing costumes for their final year short films. In our third year, the construction and sewing was intense, working with historical dress ranging from the 1600s to the 1950s. This was an excellent part of the course where we got to design and construct a historical costume from a unique chosen colour and material palette. The third-year course also had an unconventional material project where we used categories from Australia’s renowned World of Wearable Art Competition. In the fourth and final year, the course enables you to decide your projects with a very intense list of deadlines. The fourth-year part of the degree is the most important and is the place where you truly discover who you are as a creative. The year involves numerous presentations, fittings, one-to-one tutorials and many hours of work for you to complete your costumes for the degree shows. I would happily undertake the course all over again in a heartbeat as it is simply the most enjoyable, crazy, creative and energising time!

My experiences since graduating

When I left ECA at first I felt an overwhelming sense of being unstable and lost. This was totally natural, the unknown is the daunting part - I knew I had to get networking in order to get on with the graduate life. The year I graduated I had interviewed for a few jobs where I got rejected again and again. I decided to undertake a short course with NFTS to gain some insight into the film industry. Soon, from taking part in networking groups within costume, I was starting to get my name out there and things began to work out.

My first job after graduating from ECA was working in Budapest in the costume department for Netflix’s Shadow and Bone. ECA had prepared me for the dedication it takes to work in film and television and equipped me with the skillset of the costume department to succeed during my time in Budapest. From there I have worked on several film productions in London, Manchester and Scotland. My greatest achievement since leaving ECA is getting to work in productions like Shadow and Bone and really grasping the life of a freelancer.

My advice for new and current students

For students entering their first year at Edinburgh College of Art I would tell them to attend every workshop and tutorial with your classmates - the relationships you build with the tutors and your fellow class is important because it becomes a friendly environment  for ideas to bounce around - we often inspired each other!

For students who are graduating this year I would tell them to get involved with as many costume networks as possible whether it is film and television, theatre, dance or opera. The costume industry is incredibly small so by putting your name out there after you graduate you will eventually get noticed!