Community Costume Emporium opens in The Ridings shopping centre Wakefield offering free fancy dress to local people

The Emporium, which was created by Wakefield’s Empath Action CIC, had its grand opening as a part of the city’s Arthouse’s Artwalk Festival.

The new costume shop is funded by a grant from the National Lottery Community Fund, and so has been directly enabled by National Lottery players, as well as being (non-monetarily) supported by the Ridings Shopping Centre and the Arthouse's Makey Wakey scheme.

The Emporium features a wide range of costumes, most of which are donations, that are able to be loaned out to those in need.

The loaning requires a small deposit for the upkeeping of the item, but the shop is willing to waive the fee for non-profits and those who are unable to afford it.

Steven Busfield, Co-director of Empath Action CIC, said: "We want the Emporium to be a place people visit and dare to dream about the possibilities these costumes unlock for them -- whether that's a small production to friends and family, or a bigger production they are exploring as part of their creative practice.

“We want to make it easier for people in our community to access costumes so they can put on productions without the financial and logistical barriers of having to put costumes together themselves. In this way, we hope to contribute to making theatre a little more sustainable.”

The Community Costume Emporium will open every Monday and Tuesday from February 6 in The Ridings Centre.