By Louise Fellingham, Head of Fashion Design

Old Bedalian and professional costume designer Natasha Blackley returned to Bedales on Monday to set an industry-style brief to 6.1 Fashion Design students.

The brief – which will be worked on over the next five weeks – will see students design characters for a live pop-up performance event to promote the launch of Blade Runner 2049 by Denis Villeneuve based on a character, scene or theme of their choice.

Although the pop-up event is hypothetical, the project provides an opportunity for students to try out ideas and demonstrate their knowledge and creative skills, while working to a brief under the guidance of an experienced costume designer.

Natasha, who has worked on Netflix series The Crown as well as for fashion designer Alexander McQueen, will visit Bedales three times to support the students as they work on the project.

On Monday, Natasha spoke to students about her degree from the London College of Fashion and her professional experience to date. She also allowed students to view her portfolio and pieces from her final collection.

The first week of the project saw students complete a task analysis, carry out research (including watching Blade Runner 2049 and the original Blade Runner, completing a character analysis, choosing a period of dress history to inspire elements of their designs and the work of contemporary costume/fashion designers) and create a mood board on Adobe InDesign.

Next week, they will move onto designing. They will write a detailed design specification based closely on their research, produce a range of initial design ideas and communicate their design ideas through a mixture of sampling and sketching.