Neil Sheriff
Design Consultant - 21 Hearts: Vivian Bullwinkel and the Nurses of the Vyner Brooke by Jenny Davis
Neil Sheriff
Design Consultant - 21 Hearts: Vivian Bullwinkel and the Nurses of the Vyner Brooke by Jenny Davis
British born but raised in Australia, Designer Neil Sheriff began his training age 9, when his Mother taught him to sew.
A fashion scholarship at a vocational high school for gifted students ensued , before becoming the youngest applicant accepted into West Australian Academy of Performing Arts Theatre Design Course.
Upon completion of his degree, Sheriff returned to London where he embarked on a career in stage design and design education.
Career high-points during this phase of Sheriff’s career included lengthy tenures at world-renowned institutions The Victoria & Albert Design Museum as Theatre Design Lecturer and Content Creator, MTV as Creative Events Designer, The Almeida Theatre, Glyndebourne Opera, and The Courtyard Theatre (all as Set/Costume designer) City Of London as Creative Events Designer and award-winning production house Beau Productions as Head of Design.
After tiring of the incessant touring, Sheriff retrained in Commercial Fashion Business and Brand Management at the prestigious London College Of Fashion, working for brands such as Paul Smith and Nicole Farhi counting actors Naomi Watts, Rufus Sewell, Alan Rickman singer Adele and play write David Hare among his personal clients.
Feeling the call of home in 2010, Sheriff returned to Perth to set up his studio and continue his career in both theatre and fashion, working for luminaries such as Perth fashion icon Ruth Tarvydas and becoming National Brand Manager for Sydney label, Saxony, as well as launching and sustaining his own label Hoodedwept in 2015, securing international stockists, national press coverage and runway shows for Melbourne Fashion Week, StyleAid Ball, Schwarzkopf Sydney Hair Show 2017, Perth Fashion Festival and Paris Fashion Week 2018.
2019 saw Sheriff re-connect with his stage design roots alongside his fashion career, completing a major West Australian touring show as Set and Costume Designer on F.I.F.O (Fit In Or F**K Off) with the Iconic Yirra Yaakin indigenous theatre company.
In 2020, mid-pandemic, Sheriff was engaged as Art Director for the 2021 Season campaign for Black Swan State Theatre Company, as Art Director, Designer and Producer of all 7 photoshoots and media packages to accompany the 2021 season “With Love”
Sheriff was Costume Designer on THEATRE 180’s productions of Blue/Orange by Joe Penhall and Taking Liberty by Ingle Knight.