A budding costume designer, she works part-time for Opera Australia and has put the finishing touches on all their recent productions, including A Midsummer Night's Dream and Bliss.

This week her costumes will be exhibited on the runway as part of the Ultimo Science Festival.

Ms McKinlay is in her second year of a diploma of costume course at Ultimo TAFE.

``The runway show will feature everything from Victorian undergarments and petticoats to crazy lycra punk outfits,'' she said. ``There will be a lot of range. Everything I've made this year will be in the show.''

Helen McKinlay became involved with Opera Australia when they needed casuals to help with costume design for their production of Cosi Fan Tutte. ``They needed someone to bead a jumpsuit,'' she said. ``The jumpsuit took me 2 weeks and I had no fingers left at the end of it.'' She has been working part-time with Opera Australia since then. ``I love working there,'' she said. ``It's amazing. I've been labelled the `jack of all trades'. They teach me every aspect of creating a costume tailoring, millinery, maintenance. From doing that job I've learnt all the tricks of the trade.'' Ms McKinlay originally wanted to go into fashion design, but spent a week doing work experience at a fashion house and hated it. ``I found fashion very standard,'' she said, ``whereas with costume you get to be very creative and make really weird and wacky things. It's more interesting in my books.''

Details: The Theatre Costume Showcase will be held over Wednesday and Thursday nights at Turner Hall, Ultimo TAFE.