Nina Ayres is a costume designer whose work is defined by a commitment to immersive world-building through costume. Blending meticulous research with intuitive storytelling, she creates wardrobes that feel lived-in, culturally authentic and intrinsically connected to the worlds and characters they inhabit.
After graduating with First Class Honours in Theatre Design from the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama in 1997, Nina began her career designing for theatre, dance and large-scale outdoor performance. She is also the author of Creating Outdoor Theatre, published by Crowood Press, reflecting a longstanding interest in visual storytelling and the relationship between costume, performance and environment.
Transitioning to film and television over eighteen years ago, Nina has worked across every discipline within the costume department—including design, styling, construction, textiles, costume props, crafts and breakdown. This breadth of experience informs a collaborative and highly practical approach to design, allowing creative ambition to be realised with precision from concept through to screen.
Her work includes five seasons of Game of Thrones (HBO), contributing to productions honoured with Emmy Award nominations and wins, alongside The Crown (Netflix), Fortitude (Sky) and The Great (Hulu). As Costume Designer, her credits include The Last Kingdom (Netflix), Outlander (Starz), earning a Costume Designers Guild Award nomination, Carnival Row (Amazon Prime), Atomic (Sky/Pulse Films), and most recently A Tale of Two Cities (Federation Stories, BBC & MGM).
Whether creating the visual language of a medieval kingdom, a fantastical society or a richly observed period drama, Nina approaches costume as an essential element of world-building. She is fascinated by the anthropology of dress—how geography, culture, trade, resources, climate, politics and history shape the way people clothe themselves—and translates these influences into costumes that reveal character long before dialogue begins. Every garment is considered not only for its aesthetic qualities, but for the life it has lived, the hands that made it and the story it tells.
Known for combining artistic vision with calm leadership, Nina enjoys building and leading international costume teams in complex production environments throughout Europe and beyond. Her collaborative approach, attention to detail and ability to unite creative concept with practical execution have earned her a reputation for delivering sophisticated, richly textured costume design on productions of every scale.
For Nina, costume is never simply clothing. It is a narrative language—one that quietly communicates identity, belonging, aspiration and history, enriching the worlds audiences believe in and the characters they remember.
Visit Nina’s IMDB page
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