Emma Brackenbury, Corset Maker

Heritage Crafts Trainer of the Year Award 2024 

Emma Brackenbury has won the 2024 Heritage Crafts Trainer of the Year Award supported by the Marsh Charitable Trust, including a £1,000 prize awarded at a special presentation at Eltham Palace on Tuesday 26 November 2024.

The award celebrates those who have gone above-and-beyond in the last twelve months to pass their craft skills on to a new generation of makers.

Emma Brackenbury spent the first eight years of her career working as a costume maker in film, with credits including Fantastic Beasts, Artemis Fowl and Jurassic World. In 2023, she set up the Corsetry Retreat, a residential course held over several days in which she and other guest tutors coach attendees through the creation of a made-to-measure corset or set of stays. The course has proved to be immensely popular over the last two years and students have gone on to work in costuming for TV, film, theatre, opera and ballet.