Dr MImi

“Trust me, I'm a costume designer...”

I make things.
All sorts of things.
Pretty much all the time.

I’ve been a professional costume designer for theatre, dance, opera, puppetry and large scale events since 1990. The eclectic nature of the work I’ve done has given me a wide range of skills and resources to offer.

As a maker as well as designer, I see projects from their conception right through to performance. I rise to challenge, and I care about doing a great job.

I collaborate well with others, take on the unusual and like to explore unconventional techniques. Around me, I’ve a loyal network of multi-disciplined makers and assistants who I can call upon to bring their talents to the table.

I’ll solve problems no-one else can, and bring my imagination to your project to help make the extraordinary possible!

On large scale productions my role can be as logistic as it is artistic, with my team and budget to manage while staying creative on the ground. For the Paralympic Games in Athens, we produced over 3,000 costumes. As a result, other opening ceremonies came my way and I’ve created costumes for similar stadium jobs in Nigeria (twice), Congo Brazzaville, Libya, Switzerland, Austria, and France.

It’s fun working on Events - they’ve an unapologetic sense of spectacle. Costumes get to show off! They can go out and be fabulous without considering intention of text or psychology of character. Yet this, in turn, is precisely what’s fascinating when costuming for theatre… delving into different personalities and working out the whys and wherefores of their wardrobes.

I’m often called upon to troubleshoot on shows with tricky issues to solve. This has led to regular work on unusual makes for the National Theatre, London, where I’m happy to be considered the go-to girl for curiosities.

I’m an associate of “Gyre & Gimble”, the innovative puppet company created by Finn Caldwell and Toby Olié. My work with them involves “dressing” the bare bones of the puppets. It involves getting creative with textiles to find the skin of the character, be it wolf, elephant or angel.

When I was younger I was advised against making a job of a hobby and being a Jack of all trades. I’m very glad I ignored both warnings and continue to delight in the rich and random nature of my career!