Annie Symons

Born Edinburgh 1960 Annie was taught to sew by her mother and became interested in costumes whilst at school, designing clothes for school plays. She also developed a keen interest in film costumes whilst very young. In 1976 she went to London to the National Youth Theatre, from where she studied fine art at Hornsey Art College, where she got her degree, augmenting her student grant by designing clothes for acts at the London Palladium. Whilst dating the record sleeve designer Malcolm Garrett she also designed clothes for rock bands such as Culture Club before moving to Italy to work in a design factory. On returning to England she met the costume designer Sandy Powell, who was looking for an assistant to work with her on Derek Jarman's 'Caravaggio'. Since then she has worked on numerous film and television shows, frequently period pieces such as 'The Hollow Crown', Da Vinci's Demons' and 'The Crimson Petal and the White'.