Harumi Hirata

Costume Designer

2026, she/her MFA, Costume Design

Harumi Hirata is a Japanese costume designer whose work spans theatre, film, and television across Japan, the United States, and the United Kingdom. Her practice is rooted in a cross-cultural perspective shaped by training and professional experience within Japanese, American, and British theatrical traditions. Harumi’s designs have been seen on stage in productions such as Antigone, Oleanna, Transformation, and Dance/Light in the United States, alongside major Tokyo and Osaka productions including Fall Guy, Legend of the Flying Dragon, and Island of the Ghost and the Eternal Key.

Her screen work includes film and television projects in Japan and the UK, notably Doll Woman, which received the Best Drama Award at the Women Over 50 Film Festival, as well as Figure, an award-winning dance film recognized at multiple international festivals. Additional credits include BBC and ITV productions in London, where she worked in both assistant and supervisory roles, gaining a strong foundation in screen-based costume practice.

Harumi’s design philosophy centers on the intersection of cultural identity, historical literacy, and contemporary storytelling. Drawing from cultural studies, visual anthropology, and dramaturgical research, she approaches costume as a narrative tool that communicates character, power, and social context. Her work is deeply material-driven, with particular expertise in fabric dyeing, distressing, and textile manipulation—processes she uses to embed lived history and emotional texture into garments.

Currently, Harumi is pursuing her MFA in Costume Design at Carnegie Mellon University’s School of Drama, where she continues to expand her research-based practice through collaboration and experimentation. She previously earned a BA (Honours) in Costume Design for Theatre and Screen from Wimbledon College of Arts, University of the Arts London. Fluent in Japanese and English, with additional intermediate proficiency in Spanish and Russian, Harumi brings an ethnographically sensitive and globally informed perspective to her work as a designer and storyteller.

Work Samples

Transformations

By Conrad Susa
Directed by Karina Aviva
Costume Design by Harumi Hirata
CMU School of Music – October 2024

Oleanna

By David Mamet
Directed by Andrew Paul
Costume Design by Harumi Hirata
Kinetic Theater – July 2025

Antigone

By Sophocles
Directed by Fangran Li
Costume Design by Harumi Hirata
CMU School of Drama – October 2025