Do you fancy seeing some creative clothes, but can’t make it to Paris or London Fashion Week? Why not go to Banbury instead?

Banbury Museum’s permanent displays of historical costume may not share the fame of the collections at the V&A, but the museum aims to bring touring exhibitions of a national level to the town as an inspiration for local artists and designers.

The museum entrance is from the Castle Quay shopping centre and manages to draw in visitors who are not otherwise attracted to museums. Exhibitions organiser Dale Johnston seems to have an eye for shows that invite curiosity, from holograms to pub signs. None surely is more unusual than their latest exhibition ‘Worn to be Wild’, which runs until June 14.

The costumes on display are the work of costume designer and maker Kate Plumtree. Kate studied for her BA in costume design at Wimbledon School of Art and after graduating began her career as a costumier on films including Saving Private Ryan.

If you are a West End theatre-goer, you may well have seen her costumes in The Lion King and Wicked or nearer to home she was principal costume maker for the Oxford Playhouse panto Sleeping Beauty, and for the Welsh National Opera touring performance of Verdi’s Otello.

Her versatility is tested in Worn to be Wild, which is inspired by the natural world, particularly mammals and birds.

Kate takes the research seriously, photographing animals in their natural habitat.

At the British Wild Life Centre in East Sussex she took pictures of animals such as the wildcat, otter, badger and hedgehog to inspire her creations.

Kate says another area of interest for her is the history of fashion.

“The 14 costumes on display are based on ideas that have fused between creature and fashion era. The red deer in tie-dyed cotton velvet with antlered headdress and hanging sleeves is inspired by medieval fashion. The Elizabethan Grebe design has a ruff. My otter design I have linked with the 1830s and used dyed silk and taffeta stuffed spikes to create shaggy wet fur.”

There are step-by-step photographs to show how the costumes were designed and constructed. The key element resulting from her observations in the natural world is the texture of the materials. Kate builds an underlying structure which has references to the shape of the animal or bird.

Kate has created a cat suit inspired by the colourful and psychedelic fashions of the 1970s, an era that will be picked up later in the year in the museum’s summer exhibition ‘The Seventies: The Decade That Taste Forgot?’ Coming right up to date, her Hedgehog is in gold lamé with a hoody Puffa jacket over a gold-fringed mini dress, which reflects modern club wear.

I think my favourite is Kingfisher, in beaded chiffon, because of its vibrant colours. It is displayed elevated and swooping like a bird. The fashion era that gave Kate the idea for this one was the 18th century with its nipped-in waist for dancing dresses.

lWorn to be Wild is at Banbury Museum until June 14. For further information about the work of Kate Plumtree, see kate-plumtree.com