The trip to ‘Strictly Behind the Seams’ last Thursday was extremely enjoyable. Firstly, we tried on costumes from the live television show (worn by professionals and celebrities such as Oti Mabuse and AJ Odudu) which was great fun! We then had a talk about the different costumes made by the company for television, shows and other Hollywood productions whilst also learning about the different materials and techniques used to make them. Then the owner of DSI explained to us how they don’t just make costumes for Strictly Come Dancing in the UK but also for other countries like France and Sweden. We were able to look at the dresses close up and ask any questions we had. After that we explored the upstairs studio where they have thousands of materials and trims, in a huge range of different colours and saw some of the costumes being made. Whilst looking round the studio we were lucky enough to see some sneak peeks of the costumes being made for the Moulin Rouge West End show, the Netflix programme Stranger Things and the upcoming live action Hercules movie. We also learnt that each rhinestone is individually stuck on by hand! Overall, we thoroughly enjoyed the experience and would advise anyone who gets the opportunity and has an interest in textiles to go!

By Imogen and Chloe