Pei Liu

Costume Designer

2026, she/her MFA, Costume Design

Pei is a costume designer who believes that clothing is a fundamental way we define ourselves. She is captivated by the transformative power of costume—how it allows both actors and audiences to step into character and narrative worlds.

She received her BFA in Fashion from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, where she developed a strong foundation in garment construction and artistic sensibility. She is currently an MFA candidate in Costume Design at Carnegie Mellon University’s School of Drama (Class of 2026), where she continues to explore the role of costume in storytelling.

Her work spans film, television, theater, and dance. Her theater design credits include Arcadia, Love and Money, Accidental Death of an Anarchist, and various dance works. She has worked as a production assistant on the Chinese television series She Is That Girl (Youku). Her recent film, Inversion (dir. Linzhe Zhang), won Best Sci-Fi at the 2024 New York Shorts International Film Festival.

Pei views costume design as a continuous act of decision-making. Shaped by years of studying art history and fashion, she approaches costume not merely as period clothes or silhouette, but as a method of revealing humanity—allowing character, emotion, and narrative to emerge through form, texture, and material.

In addition to her work in grounded, reality-based costume design, she is currently exploring the use of AI in costume design, focusing on how intentional decision-making can guide and shape costume work in AI-driven short films.

Work Samples

Love and Money

By Dennis Kelly
Directed by Pria Dahiya
Costume Design by Pei Liu
CMU School of Drama – Apr 2024
Photo by Louis Stein

Dance/Light 2024

Choreographer Kiara Lee
Dancer Joshua Lewis, Kiara Lee
Costume Design by Pei Liu
CMU School of Drama – Feb 2024
Photo by El Wolhardt

Arcadia

By Tom Stoppard
Directed by Kyle Haden
Costume Design by Pei Liu
CMU School of Drama – March 2026
Photo by Louis Stein