Emma Belli

Role

Emma is the Main Module and Year 2 lead for Costume Design & Construction, where she oversees the creative direction and coordination of second-year projects in close collaboration with specialist tutors in costume construction. As a design specialist, she plays a central role in delivering lectures, leading design tutorials, and facilitating workshops. She is also responsible for managing Year 2 assessments.

Emma teaches on Year 3 individual projects, providing tutorial support that guides students through design process reflection and revision. She works closely with students to develop their final design submissions, with a strong emphasis on professionalism and the acquisition of industry-ready skills.

Beyond her teaching duties, Emma is actively involved in enhancing the student experience by developing internal work-based learning opportunities, building and maintaining industry partnerships, and contributing to the ongoing administration and evolution of the course and curriculum.

Career overview

After graduating from Bretton Hall University (Leeds) in Theatre Design and Technology, Emma worked extensively as a designer, associate, and design assistant in the theatre and opera industries before relocating from London. She also has experience working in costume for television and film. She now combines freelance design work with her academic career.

Her teaching experience includes leading Theatre Design workshops at the Globe Theatre, London, mentoring and managing design assistants for major studio projects in London for national and international projects, and contributions to a range of university-level programmes through visitor lecturing (York University, RADA) and mentorship. She has taught on the Foundation Course and on the Interior Architecture courses at the University of Lincoln, and served firstly as a mentor and Hourly Paid Lecturer at Nottingham Trent University before joining the Costume Design & Construction academic team. Emma recently completed the APA/FHEA (Advance HE Associate Fellowship) with distinction through NTU.

External activity

Emma began her career in the costume departments of TV and film after winning Vision, a national BBC costume design competition. After several years working in screen costume, she returned to live performance, where she has since designed sets and costumes for a variety of productions. Often collaborating with Giuseppe Belli, her design work includes productions for Northern Broadsides, Opera Holland Park, Pimlico Opera, Improbable, Scottish Opera, the Guildhall School of Music & Drama, and the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland.

Alongside her own work, Emma has developed lasting collaborations with a number of prominent theatre designers, contributing to projects across the UK, Europe, and the US. Notably, her working relationship, as an associate and assistant designer, to Olivier and Tony Award-winning designer Lez Brotherston OBE has lasted over 20 years.

Her model and design work has been exhibited at the National Theatre and features in the V&A (War Horse). She was also included in the National Centre for Craft and Design’s Making a Stage and Staging Places exhibitions (SBTD). As a former East Midlands Ambassador for the Society of British Theatre Designers, Emma continues to advocate for regional design excellence.

In addition to her work in performance, she collaborates with Transported Arts to deliver creative projects and workshops in underserved communities. Her practice has also evolved to include broader design challenges such as adverts, placemaking, city branding, installations, and public events.