Firstly, in the morning, we went to the Hand and Lock exhibition where we saw all of the entries and winners of the 2025 embroidery competition. We saw different peoples’ interpretations of the theme of ‘Artistry and the Archive,’ where entrants had taken inspiration from pieces revived from various archives.

My favourite piece was a jacket where we met the designer and she told us it was a fusion between an old Cornish mermaid myth and graffiti. She also told us how she used different embroidery techniques and beading, with small pieces of recycled drinks cans included, to convey her interpretation of the theme.

Next, on the walk from the Hand & Lock studio to the Royal Opera House, we saw many famous monuments and beautiful buildings linking to our current textiles theme of ‘Structures.’ This was a great opportunity to take photos for our research! At the Royal Opera House our tour guide showed us around the backstage areas telling us about its intriguing history and how all the different elements such as costume, set design, technical and the props department all worked together to produce amazing works of art.

My favorite part of the trip was when we went to the fabric dying room and saw how they created different textures to age or add more depth to the costumes. I particularly enjoyed it when we saw how they made costumes for different types of performers with different requirements, from opera singers to ballet dancers. By Osa and Arya, Lower V