Apparel Design and Manufacturing alumna Kimberly Burns brings magic to life through wardrobe design
Kimberly Burns graduated from the College of Health & Human Sciences in 2013 with a bachelor’s degree in Apparel Design and Manufacturing (ADM). Today, Burns is a Technical Designer for Wardrobe Development at Universal Orlando.
While exploring Texas Tech as a potential student, Burns experienced a deep sense of comfort and connection. Soon after enrolling, she became integrated into the ADM program and quickly began to appreciate the sense of community fostered by small class sizes and quality time spent in the lab with her peers and professors. Burns highlights her computer-aided design (CAD) course and undergraduate research in 3D pattern making and design as experiences that established her roots and allowed her creativity to flourish.
Burns now uses her skill, technique, and creativity to bring magical worlds to life at Universal Orlando. Her day-to-day tasks include creating line drawings, technical artwork, and tech packs, reviewing samples, and meeting with internal and external partners to develop garments for park employees.
“We create highly themed uniforms, which is fun because we get to be creative in the design of the looks that help tell the story of whatever environment they are supporting, but at the same time they have to be very functional and take factors such as safety, temperature, and movement into account,” she said.
Her most recent project involved aiding in the opening of Epic Universe, a next-generation theme park featuring lands inspired by franchises like Harry Potter, Super Nintendo, and How to Train Your Dragon. As a Harry Potter fan herself, Burns describes creating garments that appear in the park’s wizarding world as a “pinch-me” moment.
“We’ve worked so hard to create a wardrobe that helps tell the story of the park, and I think we’ve accomplished something great,” Burns said. “Being able to work on an entire park all at once is such a rare opportunity and I’m so glad I was here to work on Epic.”
Throughout the various projects she has worked on, Burns always returns to the way her profession connects her to people.
“My ADM degree gave me the foundation to build a career focused on others,” Burns said. "Creating clothes for people is very personal – we are crafting the things that people touch and connect with every single day. The right clothing has the ability to instill confidence and provide comfort, whether they are performing on stage or operating a ride.”
As she continues to create inspiring designs, Burns’ future has no limits.
“I love working in the entertainment and fashion industries, so I will definitely be continuing with that, but I try not to define my future too much,” Burns said. “My goals for myself are to always be bold, be curious, throw in a little risk-taking, and follow the path that unfolds from that.”