In the same year that it celebrates an impressive 170th anniversary, Arts University Plymouth has made an exciting new appointment to its teaching team.
Costume specialist Katharine Harrison has joined as Lecturer in Costume Production, strengthening the university’s specialist teaching in costume design, construction and historical interpretation.
Background
Katharine joins Arts University Plymouth with screen, theatre and bespoke fashion experience. She has provided costume work on the 18th century Hulu series The Great, and the feature film Little Women. She has also undertaken stage costume development for The Duchess of Malfi, including bespoke garments for Jodie Whittaker. Costume sourcing and design support for the BBC are also among her credits.
Katharine is a multidisciplinary creative and educator whose practice spans costume construction, fashion design and the embodied histories of dress. Her work explores how historical undergarments and structured forms can be understood as both garments of construction and forms of support, care and bodily awareness. Her work has also been included in the Museum of London permanent collection.
As an educator, she has taught across higher and further education institutions. Her experience includes UAL Wimbledon College of Arts, Central Saint Martins and London Metropolitan University. At Arts University Plymouth she teaches on BA (Hons) Costume Production, supporting professional practice and contextual work.
Katharine said:
“I’ve always been drawn to the hands-on approach to making clothes and handcraft skills that are not always taught formally. My background in tailoring, corsetry and historical dress comes from wanting to understand how garments are built, how they shape the body and how they function in practice. What I really enjoy in teaching is giving students a real-world context for those skills. When they can see how a pattern, a reference or a brief has to become a finished piece for performance, it sharpens their focus. I’m enjoying bringing that industry experience into costume production teaching at Arts University Plymouth.”
Read more about Katharine and her work here.
AUP has been the top-scoring specialist arts university in the UK in the National Student Survey for four years. It was ranked 5th in the UK for student satisfaction in the Complete University Guide 2026.
Find out more about BA (Hons) Costume Production and upcoming Open Days.
