As Studies in Costume and Performance celebrates its tenth volume, this editorial reflects on the journal’s evolution and contributions over the past decade. Since its inception, the journal has served as a vital platform for advancing costume research, fostering interdisciplinary dialogue and expanding the understanding of costume across cultural and performance contexts. Through open and themed issues, it has highlighted costume’s material, conceptual and performative dimensions, publishing groundbreaking research on costume’s role in live performance, film, media, identity, heritage, technology and embodied practice. This issue continues this legacy, featuring diverse perspectives and methodologies that underscore costume’s significance in shaping narratives, constructing identities and challenging social norms. Contributions explore costume’s agency in biomaterial performance, costume’s psychological and social symbolism in film, its role in folk dance theatre and experimental video art, site-specific design processes and interdisciplinary connections of costume with architecture, Black solidarity networks in costume design, and the collaborative efforts behind costume creation.

The daunting task of swiftly transitioning to sustainable modes of living presents a formidable challenge, particularly at individual and household levels, where entrenched consumption and disposal systems exhibit strong path dependency. This research investigates how individuals and households can contribute to sustainability transitions through grassroots innovations. Specifically, we ask: How do digital gift economies facilitate changes in household consumption practices and contribute to broader sustainability transitions? To address this question, we present an instructional case study of the Buy Nothing Project (BNP), a globally scaled yet locally focused digital gift economy, as a grassroots innovation enabling citizen agency within domestic spaces. BNP is a socio-technical network of hyperlocal, digital gift-giving groups that advocate for community reliance and generosity to reduce household consumption and waste and build neighbourhood bonds. Our analysis reveals that BNP's most revolutionary aspect lies in the embedded everyday sustainability practices it facilitates, particularly the social learning to reduce consumption at individual, household, and community levels through group participation and ongoing membership. We argue that this grassroots innovation enables citizen agency within domestic spaces, contributing significantly to sustainability transitions. Paradoxically, the ordinariness of these practices, combined with the gendered composition of members and that acquiring and disposing of household goods is usually considered “women's work”, may hinder recognition of BNP's potential as a powerful catalyst for sustainable transitions. This study contributes to our understanding of how digital platforms can support household-level innovations in sustainability practices and highlights the importance of recognising and valuing diverse forms of contribution to sustainability transitions.

As professional practice and tertiary education face unprecedented challenges, this Special Issue explores the evolving landscape of costume pedagogy. Climate change, social inequity and technological advancements are just some of the issues which are challenging costume educators to create and implement innovative teaching methodologies and approaches. Their focus includes the decolonization of curricula, emphasizing non-western perspectives and re-emphasizing the importance of critical thinking, problem-solving, collaboration and co-creation in educational settings. Additionally, this Special Issue examines efforts to de-gender costume education, reflecting cultural shifts towards more fluid understandings of gendered identity. The integration of digital technologies in costume design is also illuminated as an emerging learning outcome, recognizing the balance between traditional craft skills, embodied awareness and technological proficiency in engaging students. Contributions come from educators across the globe, working in Australia, Canada, Finland, Italy, New Zealand, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), the United States and the United Kingdom, who offer diverse insights and practices aimed at invigorating costume pedagogy. This global reach is emphasized by the inclusion of practices inspired by the costume-related activities at Prague Quadrennial (PQ2023), demonstrating the enduring impact of such international exchanges. This Special Issue presents a snapshot of current trends and future directions in costume education, ultimately advocating for a dynamic, inclusive and responsive educational environment.

There is increasing pressure on young consumers to practice sustainable consumption. With young women being key agents in fashion consumption, switching their purchasing to secondhand clothing over new is instrumental to reducing textile waste. This study applied the Theory of Planned Behaviour and Prototype Willingness Model to identify key drivers informing young women’s secondhand clothing purchasing decisions. Young Australian women (N = 48) completed qualitative surveys assessing their underlying attitudinal, normative, and control beliefs and perceived images of typical secondhand clothing shoppers. Thematic analysis indicated the main benefits of secondhand clothing purchasing to be the environmental impact and cost savings, with drawbacks being quality issues, reduced shopping experience, and greater effort required. Clothing diversity was both positive (‘unique finds’) and had a downside (limited sizes). Approvers of secondhand purchasing were mainly friends and family, with older relatives being less supportive. Key barriers were increased prices for quality items and the time required to locate them. Images of typical secondhand clothes shoppers were generally positive (‘cool’, ‘thrifty’, ‘unique’, ‘eco-friendly’), while ‘materialistic’, ‘upper-class’, and ‘ignorant’ but also ‘trendy’ indicated mixed perceptions about those who did not. Crucial in our findings was clarifying the intersections and contextual context of participants’ responses. Identifying the nuances in the underlying beliefs driving young women’s fashion choices assists in theory-informed strategies to encourage sustainable consumption of clothing.

Hanging on racks and squeezed into shelves, past performances’ ghosts are visible in the costumes left behind. The costumes held in stock by most theatre companies are material memories of previous productions. They hold traces of the performance, have eased and shaped to fit performers’ bodies over weeks or months of daily wear, have been stressed by a consistent action or absorbed stains from ‘blood’ despite diligent washing. These traces, and the costumes themselves, provide a history of the performance that contradicts the routine complaint of theatre as an ephemeral medium. However, despite, or perhaps, because of these traces, costume stock is often regarded with misgivings. A pejorative attitude to stock costume reflects a significant change in its valuing over the last two centuries, one that does not reflect its active role in producing new works. This article contrasts costume stock’s position in the theatrical imagination with the many and often overlapping roles it plays in the costume workshop, rehearsal room and onstage to develop a taxonomy of costume stock use. It argues for a revaluation of costume stores as a creative tool in theatrical design and performance making.

This editorial summarizes the content of Issue 8.2 ofStudies in Costume & Performance. Taking the theme of ‘Costume Connections’, in response to theCritical Costumeconference held online in November 2022 which took this same theme, the issue presents a dynamic collection of items. Approximately half of the issue is devoted to research originating and developed from the conference presentations, but the balance represents new practice-oriented research endeavours. The conference questioned how costume establishes connections, receiving diverse responses from global scholars, artists and practitioners. Contributors delve into the multifaceted nature of connections formed by and with costumes, emphasizing their dynamic, non-linear and collaborative essence. Sub-themes emerge; research on historically informed costume and performance practices, the impact of digital technologies on design, how costumes can be used to destabilize norms and provoke critical thinking in practitioners and audiences, and the sociocultural dimensions of costume. The issue concludes with reflections on the societal and performative implications of costumes, marking a transition for the journal’s editorial team and expressing gratitude for the contributions of outgoing member Donatella Barbieri. Overall, the contributions underscore the pivotal role of costumes in fostering networks of experiences, practices and ideas within the realms of storytelling, performance and creative expression.

Australian design group the Stitchery Collective uses clothing and carefully design and curated space as transportive tools within their immersive installation works. The Stitchery Collective draws upon multiple design perspectives through their diverse collections of skill sets. Individual members work across fashion, theatre production and performance design and all bring their unique approach to designing and curating space, clothing and immersive environments. This chapter explores two audio-based immersive installations by the Stitchery Collective, Collective Collection (2014), a site specific work held in an historic Queenslander-style building in Brisbane and From Home, With Love (2015), a site-generic work that was purpose built for a commission in a gallery setting.

As the Prague Quadrennial of Performance Design and Space 2019 (PQ19) drew to a close, Australian designers, researchers and educators gathered to discuss the impact of PQ on our scenographic communities while querying the evolutions and challenges facing design practice. Australia’s vast geography made this event a unique opportunity to bring together leading experts from multiple states and capture contemporary perspectives. At the midpoint between the 2019 and 2023 gatherings – a time of global pandemics, political unrest and educational transformation – this article offers the outcomes of this roundtable as a unique snapshot of the state of design practice within Australia through the lens of the Quadrennial. The roundtable was themed around Australia’s presence at PQ19, the effects of PQ19 on those present and the ripples to be felt by those at home, and what attendance illuminated about current developments and concerns in practice, teaching and research. Led by practitioner-researchers Tessa Rixon and Madeline Taylor, the roundtable featured both the curators of Australia’s country and student exhibits; award-winning set, costume and lighting designers with diverse experiences from national opera to independent theatre; and educators and researchers from the nation’s top universities. The resulting discussion presents a unique perspective on the gaps and weaknesses in the design education, practice and research; first-hand insights on the challenges and opportunities available in both exhibiting and participating in the PQ; and the need to actively promote and privilege diverse voices and a multiplicity of representations in the process of claiming a ‘national’ scenographic identity. The roundtable was the first to capture multiple expert first-person Australian perspectives on the PQ while simultaneously contributing to the ongoing international discussion of performance design through the lens of artists, educators and researchers.

The costume fitting room has long been considered an essential space in developing a character, with many actors crediting the fitting as a critical stage in creating or understanding their character. In these spaces, characters and costume designs emerge and evolve. This article argues that active in this emergence are actors, designers and costumers and the costume itself. This research explores the costume’s agentic nature in the performance-making process, using ethnographic observation of Australian theatre costume fitting rooms. It evidences the multiple, disparate and sometimes surprising elements that impact character portrayal and design development. The agency of the costume as a creative partner is currently a topic of debate in costume research. Leaning into this conversation, this article draws on Karan Barad’s perspectives of new materialism to argue for greater consideration of the costume’s influence and value in forming a performance work. Recognizing this contribution and the affective power of costume prompts a challenge to the structures and practices surrounding actors and costumes and how they intra-act. The article concludes by reflecting on the implications for current industry rehearsal, production and costume practices.

This visual essay explores the creative practice of The Stitchery Collective, which uses costume as a strategy in their participatory works. Inspired by performance artist, queer icon and costume lover Leigh Bowery, The Stitchery Collective has created The Bowery Party, a series of events encouraging radical dress up. These immersive occasions emphasize the significance of costume as enabling joy, community and extravagant social performance. The essay discusses the importance of Bowery as a figure in designing the party in terms of the nature of participant responses, as his legacy provides a subversive approach to costuming the self. The analysis focuses on strategies for and the importance of making and holding space, both physical and virtual, for alternate visions of the body – an empowering ethic that celebrates diversity and inclusivity. The costumes created by the attending public are challenging, often both to wear and to social, gender and body norms. This essay offers a brief example of the costumes created by participants in direct response to Bowery as a radical, slippery and chaotic aesthetic target.

This article argues for the consideration of the lecture-performance as a genre that offers rich possibilities for critical fashion discourse, one that is uniquely suited to the material, embodied nature of clothing.The article recounts a lecture-performance by Australian-based design group The Stitchery Collective, which explored moments in history that demonstrate fashion's capacity to resist, rebel and turn the political into the fabulous. From Amelia Bloomer's bloomers to the sans-culottes of revolutionary France, fashion has acted as a tool and medium for great social protest and momentum for change. In contemporary fashion, local designers in Australia embed counter-fashion ideology into their business practices to offer a counteraction to the more negative effects of capital-F Fashion. The lecture-performance aimed to reframe personal consumption choices in the now, via the political fashion of the past, as politically motivated and most of all, capable of contributing to real change. The Stitchery proposed that in fashion, the personal is political and the political is personal, both throughout history and in the present day. The creative work combined public lecture, historical dress up, contemporary fashion showcase and call to action in an engaging lecture-performance format.

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The Stitchery Collective, founded in 2010, is a group of fashion, art and performance practitioners based in Brisbane, Australia. Our work draws on our diverse individual interests including installation, costume design and making, fashion, art exhibitions and curation, research, innovative fashion design, education and performance making. Collectively we are inspired by the potential of creative design practice to connect individuals and develop vibrant and inclusive communities. Since 2016 The Stitchery Collective has been creating a series of events inspired by Leigh Bowery. The events incorporate dancing, performances, posing, a costume parade and crownings for the best costumes. The critical potential of Bowery’s practice speaks clearly to our collective ethos, with his work being simultaneously challenging and joyous. Recognising the event’s performative nature, and place in the queer cultural scene, we prioritise showcasing the creative work of Brisbane artists, and the attending public. The events emphasise the significance of costume in enabling joy, building community and radically questioning dominant paradigms around gender and the body, an empowering ethic that celebrates diversity and inclusivity. Creating a space where people can explore and publicly present new subjectivities, an essential aspect for the event is the imaginative and physical space held to celebrate participants and their costumes. This is done through the costume parade – the highlight of the night’s program - and the extensive documentation collected of the event. As paraders emerge from the crowd, perform for a time while an MC provides commentary and guidance, and then melt back into the audience, the ‘performers’ and the ‘public’ at this event can be understood as one and the same, further enabling a sense of belonging amongst all attendees, and drawing attention to the creativity and diversity of their costumes. This costume parade noticeably charges the energy, cohesiveness, and community feel of the event. Photographers, videographers and selfie walls make up a significant part of the entertainment and experience of the party. This extends the event boundaries, by capturing the performances, interactions and experiments and later sharing it via social media, an archiving important not only in its own right in recording queer culture, but also to prompt community discussion, reflection and further connection. This public sharing also taps into the potential of the selfie, photos and social media as a place of political and social resistance: for those who have been the objects of the gaze of the privileged, to assume agency and fashion a gaze of their own choosing. The visual documentation also connects these costumed participants deeply to Bowery’s own image-making practice and legacy.

Inspired by performance artist, queer icon and costume lover Leigh Bowery, the stitchery collective, in collaboration with musician and producer Sullivan, has curated a series of events encouraging radical dress up. These immersive and celebratory occasions emphasise the performativity of dress, and the significance of costume as a way to enable social risk taking and experimentation. In the lead-up to the events a series of visual and video provocations are distributed to attendees. These are intended not only to inspire individual costume creativity, but also to highlight Leigh’s continuing influence in the fashion imaginary, contemporary media and drag culture, a lineage often unacknowledged by the former two. The costumes created by the attending public are challenging, often both to wear and to social, gender and body norms. They are a reflection of queer cultures of costume, emphasising the aesthetics of artifice and the drag tradition of “hairarchy” (Edwards 2014, 150), the explicit referencing of previous performances and costumes. This photo series highlights moments of costumed joy, community and extravagant social performance. An indicative selection of images for the exhibition are below, and video content is also available for display. Reference: Edward, Mark. 2014. ‘Council House Movie Star: Que(e)rying the Costume’, Scene, 2: 1+2, pp. 147-153, doi: 10.1386/scene.2.1-2.147_1 The stitchery collective is a group of Australian creative practitioners, researchers and best buds who explore the social, cultural and experiential aspects of clothing. Working at the border of performance and fashion their creative design practice aims to build communities and challenge dominant expectations of the culture of fashion. They partner with a range of Queensland institutions and have represented Australia at the Venice Children’s Biennale.

Inspired by performance artist, queer icon and costume lover Leigh Bowery, the Stitchery Collective, in collaboration with musician and producer Sullivan, has curated a series of events encouraging radical dress up. These immersive and celebratory occasions emphasise the performativity of dress, and the significance of costume as a way to enable social risk taking and experimentation. In the lead-up to the events a series of visual and video provocations are distributed to attendees. These are intended not only to inspire individual costume creativity, but also to highlight Leigh’s continuing influence in the fashion imaginary, contemporary media and drag culture, a lineage often unacknowledged by the former two. The costumes created by the attending public are challenging, often both to wear and to social, gender and body norms. They are a reflection of queer cultures of costume, emphasising the aesthetics of artifice and the drag tradition of “hairarchy” (Edwards 2014, 150), the explicit referencing of previous performances and costumes. This photo series highlights moments of costumed joy, community and extravagant social performance. An indicative selection of images for the exhibition are below, and video content is also available for display. Reference: Edwards, Mark. 2014. ‘Council House Movie Star: Que(e)rying the Costume’, Scene, 2: 1+2, pp. 147-153, doi: 10.1386/scene.2.1-2.147_1