J. Scout Isensee, BA (Hons) Costume for Performance and Verity Pitt, BA (Hons) Hair, Make Up and Prosthetics for Performance collaborated to create ‘Unnamed Soldier 627’, receiving Second place in the WETA section and winning the Booker Spalding First Time Entrant Award.

Hana Amer, BA (Hons) Costume for Performance, claimed the UK/International Award with her design ‘Slave of War’.

Both designs were inspired by the satirical play ‘Oh! What a Lovely War’ and were entered into the WETA Workshop Costume and Film Section, which is sponsored by WETA Workshop in Wellington; the company behind ‘The Lord of the Rings’ trilogy and ‘The Hobbit.’

Scout and Hana travelled to New Zealand to witness the spectacular WOW Awards and receive their prizes, with funding support from LCF.

Scout spoke about the award show, “It was such an amazing spectacle and such an honour to be a part of it. There were no words to describe seeing my costume come to life on stage in such an extraordinary environment.”

Verity spoke about the collaborative design that she and Scout created, which made a cutting, satirical critique of the games of war by presenting the soldier as a child’s toy, “Our character was a tin monkey circa 1910. Together we worked to design a human tin monkey where the wig and prosthetics matched the texture and colours of the costume perfectly.”

All of the students spoke of their excitement at being recognised by such a prestigious awards body, especially against the incredible costumes they saw on stage at the ceremony. Hana said, “After seeing all the amazing costumes on stage, I honestly didn’t think I stood a chance against such innovation. But when I won, I felt like my hard work was appreciated.”

The young designers went up against 156 designs, entered by 175 costume creatives, and will receive cash prizes to reward their winning skill and creativity.

London College of Fashion