Alan Cumming and Downton Abbey stars Hugh Bonneville and Michelle Dockery have backed calls to save an Edinburgh degree that has trained costume talent for major films and television shows.
They are among more than 600 people who have signed an open letter urging the University of Edinburgh to reverse plans to close its performance costume degree at Edinburgh College of Art.
Game of Thrones actor Iain Glen and Oscar-winning costume designer Jenny Beavan, whose credits include Cruella and Mad Max: Fury Road, have also added their names.
Bonneville said: “Closing down a course that has been a crucible for creative talent in our industry is as shortsighted as it is destructive.”
The programme is one of three undergraduate courses due to close to new admissions from 2027, alongside textiles and jewellery and silversmithing.
Existing students will be able to complete their degrees, with the courses being taught out over the following four years.
Campaigners said costume graduates had gone on to work on productions including Downton Abbey, Outlander, Bridgerton, The Crown, Game of Thrones and Barbie.
Dockery said costume played a crucial role in helping actors develop their characters.
She said: “Throughout my career, I’ve come to see costume as far more than a visual expression of character. It is an essential part of building one.
“Some of my most significant discoveries as an actor have happened in the fitting room. It’s there that someone who previously existed only in words begins to feel tangible, and where I often find myself truly understanding them for the first time.”
The open letter argues that specialist costume training combines artistic development with practical skills, including interpreting scripts, researching historical clothing, pattern cutting, making and fitting costumes.
Its supporters said those skills could not be adequately taught through a short course or elective within another degree.
They warned that losing the programme could force aspiring costume professionals to leave Scotland for training and weaken the supply of skilled workers to film, television and theatre.
Kevin Loader, producer of The Death of Stalin, said: “The Creative Industries are one of the key employers in British business today. We’re crying out for trained specialists with ambition and talent to join the workforce.
“At a time when the talk of graduates’ prospects seems full of woe, it would seem insane to be cutting courses that actually prepare people for work in one of our most vibrant, and AI proof, sectors.”
A separate public petition opposing the closure of all three courses has attracted more than 14,500 signatures.
Scottish Greens MSP Q Manivannan has also lodged a Holyrood motion calling on the university to halt the process and publish the case behind the closures before taking further irreversible steps.
The University of Edinburgh previously said the decision followed a detailed analysis of multiple measures and was intended to support the resilience and sustainability of the college’s wider operations.
It said specialist skills, expertise and technical facilities associated with the programmes would be retained, with some specialist courses continuing as electives for students on other degrees.
