Ruby Nex (She/Her)
Costume for Theatre Film and Television (BA Hons)
Ruby began at BOVTS with a passion for corsetry and has since developed her making skills in tailoring, stretchwear, millinery, metalwork and leatherwork. She has also successfully adapted to the role as Costume Supervisor, working with both contemporary and period themes. In her final year, Ruby has explored the design process with a study in fantastical womenswear.
BOVTS credits:
Costume Supervisor – Romeo and Juliet (The Redgrave Theatre) Great Expectations (West Country Tour)
Costume Maker – Far from the Madding Crowd (Redgrave Theatre), Troilus and Cressida (Redgrave Theatre), The Last Days of Judas Escariot (The Station), Macbeth (Bristol Old Vic, Western Studio), Emilia (Circomedia)
Costume Standby – It had to be you, The Prang (Christchurch Studios)
Costume Assistant/ Dresser – Three Seagulls (Bristol Old Vic) Romeo and Juliet (Redgrave Theatre)
1700s inspired bodice
1700s influenced bodice, heavily inspired by Phoebe DeGaye’s designs for Milady DeWinter in the BBC’s The Musketeers. This bodice was made with a combination of nylon, steel and spiral steel boning, hand bound with piped straps. Ruby learned how to drape her fabric on the stand to form herringbone pleats at the Costume Symposium at BOVTS in September 2022, and used this technique to recreate the character’s signature conical silhouette.
Photography credit:Â Ruby Nex
Gold Laurel wreath crown made for Troilus and Cressida
Gold laurel wreath crown made for Troilus and Cressida. This is one of a pair made from brass, tin and wirework with over 80 hand shaped leaves and pearl accents. Working closely with Meriel Pym, the head of BOVTS props department. Ruby learnt basic soldering techniques and metalwork. Alongside armour, Ruby used this as an opportunity to expand her skills to explore collaborations between props and costume.
Photography credit: Ruby Nex
Ching Shih - The first female pirate.
Ching Shih- The first female Pirate. Combat dress with pleating connected to an 8 panelled skirt with a hand embroidered seasnake. In order to create the unique shape in the shoulders, Ruby meticulously drafted a pattern so she could recreate the exact drapery on the stand on both sides of the bodice. This is paired with a black leather breastplate with gold detailing taken from a portrait of an empress from the Qing dynasty. Ruby thoroughly enjoys the research process and this project allowed her to explore the culture and ancient history of the east coast of China in the golden age of piracy.
Photography credit: Ruby Nex
