Love and War Meet on Exciting Trips

Fashion and Textile students and Media Make-up students have recently participated in a number of exciting visits to support their learning as part of a project entitled Love and War.

Visits to The Royal Armouries Leeds, Leeds Discovery Centre, The Peace Museum at Salts Mill, and the 62 Group Exhibit at Salts Mill have given students a wealth of research opportunities to begin their courses.

Love and War is a collaborative project between the departments which begins with research visits, and then in their own specialisms students will develop ideas and final work (e.g. Media Make-up students might examine two different character looks linking to film and television, whilst Textile students might make a fashion look, costume, or textile art to adorn the body).

The project will culminate in a photoshoot of the joint project and an exhibition in November.

Fashion and Textile students will develop skills in pattern cutting and garment construction, as well as developing ideas for surface pattern through sublimation printing and machine embroidery.

Media Make-up students will be tasked with creating diverse characters inspired by WW1/WW2 and the impact on society. Students will develop skills in special effects makeup, including the creation of wounds, bruising, and burns in order to bring a soldier character to life to effectively convey the essence of war. This project will also introduce traditional period hair and makeup techniques to accurately depict a historically correct female character, symbolising the theme of love.

Chloe Malik, Lecturer in Media Make-up said, “Our time at the Royal Armouries and Discovery Centre has been important to develop the student’s knowledge on the topic of war and different time periods, we have explored the used of trench warfare which will influence our use of special effects makeup application.

“Additionally, the Discovery Centre provided an excellent opportunity to explore historical hair and makeup trends, as well as examine makeup artifacts from different eras. It was interesting to look at the emotion and love element, which the Peace Museum offered us. The guided tour was wonderful and gave us personal back stories about the artifacts curated there.”

LauraLee Brennand, Lecturer in Art and Design (Fashion and Textiles) added, “Both trips were fantastic. Really inspirational! We are so lucky to have these amazing museums, galleries and resources in the local area that are free for anyone to access and would like to thank the Royal Armouries in Leeds, Leeds Discovery Centre, and The Peace Museum at Saltaire for supporting our students on the research trips.

“Fashion and Textiles students were able to collect a wide range of research from the trips, including photographs, notes and sketches of armour from around the world, chainmail, historical uniform, textiles, graphics and objects relating to peace, love and war.”

Find out more about our Fashion and Textiles and Media Make-up courses!