Exploring the Extraordinary Fashion Realm of Downton Abbey's Costume Designer Susannah Buxton
Proud Moments in Costume Design: Susannah Buxton and Faye Clements
A sense of accomplishment comes after hours of meticulous work, and this sentiment holds true for costume designers like Susannah Buxton and Faye Clements. For them, the culmination of their hard work is seeing their creations take center stage.
Susannah Buxton, a BAFTA award-winning costume designer, experienced this pride during her tenure on the popular television series, Downton Abbey. The show, which portrays life in early 20th-century England, captured audiences' hearts from 2010 to 2015 with six series. More recently, it has been adapted into three films, with the latest being released in September 2025.
"Designing for Downton Abbey was a dream job," said Susannah. "With new scripts not taken from a classic novel, it was a pleasure to help create the personality of each character, alongside the director and the actors."
Her CV includes not only Emmy and BAFTA awards but also the excitement of being recognized by her peers. "Winning a BAFTA was more thrilling than I expected, it's a career highlight for me," she shared.
Yet, even with her designs displayed on prime-time TV, Susannah remains critical, always feeling she could improve.
Costume design and fashion design may seem similar, but they are worlds apart in their purpose. According to Susannah, the primary goal of costume design is to reflect a character's personality. This is achieved through a thorough process that starts with a deep understanding of the script, character analysis, and historical research.
For Susannah, this process often involves perusing paintings, portraits, and photographic records to study the era accurately. Next, she assembles a moodboard for each principal actor and may use vintage pieces as needed to enhance authenticity. To promote sustainability, costumes are often re-used, re-styled, or re-shaped when possible.
Faye Clements, a costume maker, often works grueling 12-hour days to deliver high-quality costumes. Her dedication to the craft is evident, with sewing being a skill that can be mastered through hard work and practice.
Faye's career took off after diving into education and studying fashion design following a passion for needlework. Her creations have adorned characters in numerous TV productions across BBC, ITV, and most recently, Amazon Prime's Outlander.
Outlander, a large production, highlighted the importance of a cohesive team, with everyone collaborating to create the best possible costumes. "Everybody pulls together to make the costumes the best they can possibly be," said Faye.
Faye's role revolved mainly around menswear for Outlander, an intricate task given the flamboyant clothing style of the 18th century. Her favorite pieces were the heavily embroidered, silk frockcoats, a testament to her passion for meticulous craftsmanship.
The process, from an idea to a fully-crafted, camera-ready costume, is meticulous and involves several stages. The journey begins with a design brief, followed by delegating the sewing to the costume maker. At this stage, a test piece is created using calico, which is then adjusted and cut from the final fabric. Alterations may continue, with three fittings ensuring perfection before the final garment is ready.
For Faye, the pleasure of seeing her work on screen is sometimes tempered by self-criticism, but she reminds herself that finishing is more important than perfection. That may be a lesson we all can take away when embarking on our own creative endeavors.
Sewing is a skill that can be mastered through hard work and dedication, as demonstrated by Faye Clements, a costume maker who works on various television productions. Costume designing and fashion designing, while related, serve different purposes, with Susannah Buxton, a BAFTA award-winning costume designer, focusing on reflecting a character's personality through her creations. This meticulous process involves historical research, character analysis, and a deep understanding of the script. Learning needlework and pursuing education in fashion design can open doors to fascinating opportunities in the lifestyle, fashion-and-beauty, home-and-garden, and education-and-self-development spheres.
