For the last ten years Laura After Midnight has been designing and making costumes for film and theatre across the globe. We welcomed her to Pithay Studios in 2014, and today we popped in to talk about her story prior to joining us.

Laura’s studio is bright and colourful. The walls are lined with shelves of intricate costume parts and props. Some upbeat music and her smiley team give the studio a welcoming vibe. We had a behind-the-scenes peak at her current projects, which include a collection for Chicago, Lady Gaga masks, and Joseph’s Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat.

Laura grew up in Winchester, and then studied Costume Design in London. Work on a feature film took her to Devon, where she met her husband to-be. The pair visited Bristol for a wedding, and fell in love with it. Three weeks later they called the city home.

Demand for Laura’s costumes was continuously on the grow. Her work would take her well into the night, and hence, Laura After Midnight was born. She opened an Etsy store, and started running classes from her home. As her work schedule increased, it became apparent that a studio was required.

Taking a studio was a gamble for Laura. She had three weeks to make or break. In the third week she met with her husband to discuss whether the studio was a good idea. In between contemplating, she checked her phone to find that her vintage dressmaking course had sold out in a day. The studio was a success.

Business has since been booming for Laura. Her team try to make sure she gets enough sleep, though she can easily work for sixteen hours perfecting every detail. One of her recent projects was this 1640s wedding dress for a film:

This was one of Laura’s favourite pieces to make. The dress is made of silk, and to a historically accurate standard. The front has an interchangeable panel, for a scene in which the bride was shot. The clean panel was to be swapped for one covered in blood. At least in theory. In practice, the film team made the mistake of dousing the wrong part with blood, and Laura was called to the rescue.

She also showed us the actress’ day dress, which was machine embroidered to mimic the seventeenth century process of blackwork embroidery. One of the many tricks Laura has up her sleeve to speed up the making of historic designs.

We loved hearing Laura After Midnight’s story. You can find out what she’s working on today over at her blog. Keep an eye on our social media accounts to see this week’s finished costumes!