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Tuesday, November 05, 2024
Inside a tailor’s shop that makes Oscar-worthy costumes
Mint: For nearly six decades, the Tirelli atelier in Rome has woven itself into the fabric of Italian and international film history, earning the nickname the “Oscar tailor’s shop” for its contribution to cinematic costume design.
“You can’t make those costumes in a factory. In a factory you can make films with robots, futuristic or fantasy. But these things have to be made by hand”. I love this quote as an artist who loves to sew and would love to be a costume designer one day. Making costumes by hand, with the craftsmanship that is clearly visible in such decadent gowns and historical pieces, has a different impact than making them in a factory where you can get pieces like mass-produced shirts and fast fashion. There is a certain kind of love for the work that goes into making such pieces, and an integrity and care that robotics and machines cannot replace. Each of those pieces probably has small imperfections, things that are noticeable to viewers but that make the costume appear so powerful and add to the beauty of them. I think that that's why shops like this can be accredited to so many awards and nominations- they put a certain amount of love into the craft that other costumes do not have. I hope that in the future, even with technology growing and changing each day, businesses like this stay open and continue to bring life into a designers vision.
There are so many specialized shops in the world that do amazing stuff and have it transported all over the world. Historically wise, Italy has always been a place of fine craftsmanship– especially in the textile industry. Even today they are still the headliners in the fashion industry– along with France, of course– for obvious reasons. Of course this would extend to film. It is amazing that all of their costumes are hand-cut and hand-sewn. They are obviously a very respected shop– being involved in multiple Oscar winning costumes. And even though the film industry is driven by American and British productions, it is cool to see that they do not give in: “Trappetti remembered him saying: ‘I’m not going to America. If America wants, America will come looking for me.’” I especially liked how the article was wrapped up– nothing historical and grand like their creations can be churned out by machines. In fact– that is the magic of them. That they are uniquely and ornately human.
Pulling from a stock like Tirelli Atelier (although few stocks even come close to Tirelli Atelier) can be a great way for designers to understand what exactly they want. When costume designers visualize costumes, they often visualize in broad shapes and ideas before narrowing in: you might decide you want a flared pant leg long before you know whether you’ll use godets or panels to achieve the effect. Because designers do not sew their own costumes (most of the time) the construction-based details are often left to the tailors and seamstresses who do make them. These minor details (like stitching and sewing techniques) can be important—and when you’re able to go to a stock and see them yourself instead of leaving them to the mercy of the costume production team, I think you gain a lot more control over the creative process. Beyond that, there’s also a chance that you’ll find a perfect (but completely unexpected) costume piece when you’re pulling from a stock that completes your vision in a way you hadn’t before pictured.
Tirelli Atelier's success from a small costume shop to a powerhouse in the fashion and film industry is crazy. From Oscar-winning films to historical epics, their attention to detail is on another level, and it’s clear that their work plays a huge part in making these films Oscar Worthy. What I love about Tirelli is how they’re still evolving and staying relevant in a world where fast fashion dominates. It’s relieving to know that there’s still a place for skilled artisans to take pride in their craft. It’s crazy that they’ve made over 300,000 costumes by hand, but with their mindset, doesn’t shock me. Their journey shows that with passion and hard work, even the smallest beginnings can lead to some truly extraordinary achievements. I like when he says that “America will come to me.” It shows that if you just work hard at advancing with what you do, people will come to you. Very inspiring!
From my perspective, having little experience with costuming in theatre, I often forget that it also exists in film and is a really big industry for them. Being able to accurately recreate periods, looks, fashion trends, etc. is super important for film and TV, where they are trying to rebuild an entire world on the screen for the viewer. I was super interested to see how this tailor shop grew into such a large name in the film industry both in Italy and internationally. I am pleased by the fact that it started with a small passion with little supplies and workspace. I believe that with hard work and creativity, a small passion can become a thriving business like the Tirelli Tailor Shop. What’s more, I’m glad that the founder didn’t every sell out to huge companies in America or similar, keeping focused on his passion and work, saying that if they wanted him and his shop, they would come looking and make an offer with him.
I have always admired tailors because from the point of view of a carpenter, I have no idea how they make the things they do. Fabrics is an area of theatre where I know shockingly little, and it always horrifies me to see a fabric that I might have to work with on stage or in the shop. I have always been quite amazed at what people can make from just a roll of fabric, and it is a youtube rabbit hole that I love to visit every once in a while. Tailors require such similar but different skills to that of carpenters, because the finest work we ever have to do is still considered gigantic compared to the level of detail they can achieve. Dealing with individual threads, individual sequins, it's all just amazing how they can take these flat rolls and turn them into something so visually stunning for a person to wear. Articles like this one always help remind me of the fact that what I am used to doing can not even begin to compare to the level of attention and detail to that required of tailors.
6 comments:
“You can’t make those costumes in a factory. In a factory you can make films with robots, futuristic or fantasy. But these things have to be made by hand”. I love this quote as an artist who loves to sew and would love to be a costume designer one day. Making costumes by hand, with the craftsmanship that is clearly visible in such decadent gowns and historical pieces, has a different impact than making them in a factory where you can get pieces like mass-produced shirts and fast fashion. There is a certain kind of love for the work that goes into making such pieces, and an integrity and care that robotics and machines cannot replace. Each of those pieces probably has small imperfections, things that are noticeable to viewers but that make the costume appear so powerful and add to the beauty of them. I think that that's why shops like this can be accredited to so many awards and nominations- they put a certain amount of love into the craft that other costumes do not have. I hope that in the future, even with technology growing and changing each day, businesses like this stay open and continue to bring life into a designers vision.
There are so many specialized shops in the world that do amazing stuff and have it transported all over the world. Historically wise, Italy has always been a place of fine craftsmanship– especially in the textile industry. Even today they are still the headliners in the fashion industry– along with France, of course– for obvious reasons. Of course this would extend to film. It is amazing that all of their costumes are hand-cut and hand-sewn. They are obviously a very respected shop– being involved in multiple Oscar winning costumes. And even though the film industry is driven by American and British productions, it is cool to see that they do not give in: “Trappetti remembered him saying: ‘I’m not going to America. If America wants, America will come looking for me.’” I especially liked how the article was wrapped up– nothing historical and grand like their creations can be churned out by machines. In fact– that is the magic of them. That they are uniquely and ornately human.
Pulling from a stock like Tirelli Atelier (although few stocks even come close to Tirelli Atelier) can be a great way for designers to understand what exactly they want. When costume designers visualize costumes, they often visualize in broad shapes and ideas before narrowing in: you might decide you want a flared pant leg long before you know whether you’ll use godets or panels to achieve the effect. Because designers do not sew their own costumes (most of the time) the construction-based details are often left to the tailors and seamstresses who do make them. These minor details (like stitching and sewing techniques) can be important—and when you’re able to go to a stock and see them yourself instead of leaving them to the mercy of the costume production team, I think you gain a lot more control over the creative process. Beyond that, there’s also a chance that you’ll find a perfect (but completely unexpected) costume piece when you’re pulling from a stock that completes your vision in a way you hadn’t before pictured.
Tirelli Atelier's success from a small costume shop to a powerhouse in the fashion and film industry is crazy. From Oscar-winning films to historical epics, their attention to detail is on another level, and it’s clear that their work plays a huge part in making these films Oscar Worthy. What I love about Tirelli is how they’re still evolving and staying relevant in a world where fast fashion dominates. It’s relieving to know that there’s still a place for skilled artisans to take pride in their craft. It’s crazy that they’ve made over 300,000 costumes by hand, but with their mindset, doesn’t shock me. Their journey shows that with passion and hard work, even the smallest beginnings can lead to some truly extraordinary achievements. I like when he says that “America will come to me.” It shows that if you just work hard at advancing with what you do, people will come to you. Very inspiring!
From my perspective, having little experience with costuming in theatre, I often forget that it also exists in film and is a really big industry for them. Being able to accurately recreate periods, looks, fashion trends, etc. is super important for film and TV, where they are trying to rebuild an entire world on the screen for the viewer. I was super interested to see how this tailor shop grew into such a large name in the film industry both in Italy and internationally. I am pleased by the fact that it started with a small passion with little supplies and workspace. I believe that with hard work and creativity, a small passion can become a thriving business like the Tirelli Tailor Shop. What’s more, I’m glad that the founder didn’t every sell out to huge companies in America or similar, keeping focused on his passion and work, saying that if they wanted him and his shop, they would come looking and make an offer with him.
I have always admired tailors because from the point of view of a carpenter, I have no idea how they make the things they do. Fabrics is an area of theatre where I know shockingly little, and it always horrifies me to see a fabric that I might have to work with on stage or in the shop. I have always been quite amazed at what people can make from just a roll of fabric, and it is a youtube rabbit hole that I love to visit every once in a while. Tailors require such similar but different skills to that of carpenters, because the finest work we ever have to do is still considered gigantic compared to the level of detail they can achieve. Dealing with individual threads, individual sequins, it's all just amazing how they can take these flat rolls and turn them into something so visually stunning for a person to wear. Articles like this one always help remind me of the fact that what I am used to doing can not even begin to compare to the level of attention and detail to that required of tailors.
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