Spotlight on Jane Petrie
Jane Petrie is a Scottish Costume designer, best known for her work in independent film and television. She has designed costumes from productions such as Moon (2009), Suffragette (2015) and The Essex Serpent (2022). Her costume designs from The Crown (2018) received an Emmy and Costume Designers Guild awards for best period costumes.
Jane was born and grew up in Newport-on-Tay, Fife Scotland. She became interested in historical costume design after a visit to the Victoria and Albert Museum at the age of ten, and after a short spell as a youth worker, she studied costume design at Wimbledon School or Art. After graduation, Petrie worked at Sands Films in Rotherhithe as a costume maker before moving into freelance film costume work and the rest is history.
Starting out as a Costume Mistress, Petrie was responsible for dressing actors, costume logistics and maintaining continuity through filming. As Wardrobe Mistress for Notting Hill there was an incident with Hugh Grant and some orange juice – not all spills look the same!
2009 saw a breakthrough year in costume design working on both Moon and Fish Tank. Television credits include Top Boy (2011) and episodes of Black Mirror (2011 and 2016).
In 2015 Petrie designed for the film Suffragette, the costume was praised for its authenticity and representation of working-class women of the period. In 2017 Petrie took over on Season 2 of The Crown, which saw a shit from 1950s to 60s fashion. This achieved a nomination for Best Costume design at the 2018 BAFTA TV Craft Awards and went on to win A Costume Designers Guild Award for Excellence in Period Television along with winning the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Period Costume, both 2018. Petrie was later to win The BAFTA TV Awards, Best Costume Design with costume design for The Essex Serpent.
We have several of Jane’s memorable costumes from The Crown (Season 2), Outlaw King, The Essex Serpent, and Suffragette.
- Jackie Jennedy, The Crown (Season 2) worn by Jodi Balfour (2017)
- Queen Elizabeth II, The Crown (Season 2) worn by Claire Foy (2017)
- William De Lamberton, Bishop of St Andrews, Outlaw King worn by Paul Blair (2018)
- Cora Seaborne, The Essex Serpent worn by Claire Danes (2022)
- Will Ransome, The Essex Serpent worn by Tom Hiddleston (2022)
- Emmeline Pankhurst, Suffragette worn by Meryl Streep (2015)
- Robert the Bruce, Crowned King of Scotland look, Outlaw King worn by Chris Pine (2018)
- Prince Edward, later King Edward II of England, Outlaw King, worn by Billy Howle (2018)
“I didn’t know you could be a costume designer where I grew up in Dundee...It was just like, oh, you know, pieces just landed out the sky and fit. And I was like, that’s exactly what I want to do, because I didn’t know what I wanted to do with myself.”
Jane Petrie
Costume Designer
“Jane Petrie’s career is a powerful reminder that inspiration can begin anywhere, even a childhood visit to a museum. We’re delighted to showcase her work and celebrate her connection to this part of Scotland.”
Anna Day
Head of Culture and Libraries at Leisure & Culture Dundee
