Victoria Adams

I've grown up through AUB, where I studied both my BA (Hons) and MA degrees. Within them, I took a particular interest into the tailoring processes and specialised during my MA on making for non-standard bodies, at first theorising what makes our clothes fit, and how this can be improved on for those that don't fall within standard sizes. I then translated this into the world of historical costume, adapting Dior's infamous 1947 New Look silhouette to a plus-size figure, as well as creating a larger-sized 18th century men's court suit to be displayed in Salisbury Museum, commenting on how often only petite costumes will survive in museum culture. Alongside this, I've created costumes for English Heritage, Angel Exit and SISATA theatre companies.

My interest in historical garments has continued into my role at AUB, and alongside teaching and supporting students, a large part of my responsibility rests within the course archive, where I now help to manage over 1,000 objects of costume history. These objects act as a source of inspiration and construction knowledge on a daily basis for our students, and I'm proud to be a partner in making those ideas accessible.