The Winston Churchill Memorial Trust of Australia Report by EMMA SHAKES: 2013 Churchill Fellow To gain a greater knowledge and experience of the craftsmanship of men's costume tailoring I understand that the Churchill Trust may publish this Report, either in hard copy or on the internet or both, and consent to such publication. I indemnify the Churchill Trust against any loss, costs or damages it may suffer arising out of any claim or proceedings made against the Trust in respect of or arising out of the publication of any Report submitted to the Trust and which the Trust places on a website for access over the internet. I also warrant that my Final Report is original and does not infringe the copyright of any person, or contain anything which is, or the incorporation of which into the Final Report is, actionable for defamation, a breach of any privacy law or obligation, breach of confidence, contempt of court, passing-off or contravention of any other private right or of any law. Signed: Date:
Index 1.0 INTRODUCTION 1.1 Objective 3 1.2 Acknowledgements 3 2.0 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 2.1 Personal details 4 2.2 Project description 4 2.3 Highlights 4 2.4 Major lessons and conclusions 4 3.0 PROGRAMME 3.1 Summary of organisations visited 5 4.0 MAIN BODY 4.1 My background in costume making 7 4.2 The costume industry in Australia 8 4.2.1 Opportunities for training and skill development 8 4.3 Aims for this Fellowship 9 4.4 Where I travelled 9 4.4.1 What I learnt along the way 18 5.0 CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS 5.1 Summary 19 5.2 Information and skill sharing 19 5.3 Recommendations for practice in Australia 20 2
1.0 Introduction 1.1 Objective The objective of the fellowship was to gain greater practical and theoretical knowledge into men s costume tailoring construction, with a specific focus on techniques and cuts for different time periods. Working within the film, opera, theatre and ballet industries within Australia and internationally over almost twenty years has highlighted the need for a close practical understanding of how to create costumes that closely portray an authentic sense of time and place to the audience. The fellowship supported me to travel to various museums, galleries and fashion districts, as well as meet with key people in the costume industry in both England and the United States. The key areas I explored in my fellowship were: Costume history, including design and costume collections Clothing construction methods from the 18 th to 21 st centuries The history of tailoring techniques and traditions Sociocultural anthropology 1.2 Acknowledgements I would like to thank the Churchill Trust for providing this unique opportunity to me to travel and further explore this aspect of my career, and to gain knowledge that I believe to be of particular valuable to the costume industry in Australia. I was fortunate enough to be mentored by a previous Churchill Fellow who supported me in my application and in planning my journey. Family and friends were instrumental in providing continuing support to me in my career choices and making the most of the opportunity to explore this area more fully. I would also like to thank the many individuals and organisations who were so positive in their response to my request to visit them during my fellowship. In particular I would like to thank the Bath Fashion Museum for allowing me to examine and photograph the works featured in this report. I feel that I have gained an amazing amount of knowledge and insight from this experience, and am grateful for the opportunities it provided to me. I am looking forward to implementing and sharing this knowledge in my future work. 3
2.0 Executive Summary 2.1 Personal details Emma Shakes: Freelance Costumier 218 Buckland Road, Nundah, Queensland 4012 Phone: 0419 707 502 Email: emmashakescostume@gmail.com 2.2 Project Description The objective of the fellowship was to gain greater practical and theoretical knowledge into men s costume tailoring construction, with a specific focus on techniques and cuts throughout different time periods. To fulfill the aims of my fellowship I travelled to various museums, galleries, costume archive centres, suppliers and garment districts in both the United Kingdom and United States. 2.3 Highlights Attending the Fashion Museum in Bath, and having the opportunity to examine the construction methods of a range of men s costumes from the 1800s to the 1950s Visiting the Victoria and Albert Museum and the Clothworkers Centre (run by the V&A) in London. They have the most extensive range of costumes and historical clothing items on display and in storage Accessing the research library at Western Costume Company in Los Angeles. The knowledge of the librarian is extensive and her passion for her work meant she was able to recommend the most appropriate reference books for my area Exploring the garment district in New York with the guidance of a locally-based colleague. This gave me an understanding of the suppliers available as well as the long history of costume and garment making in New York. 2.4 Major lessons and conclusions It was interesting to observe the construction techniques of different craftspeople throughout time periods. While time period does influence construction methods, the influence and style of each maker is evident. Walking through the streets of London and New York I felt that the population density supports the diversity in historical and contemporary traditions in both the arts and every day life. This in turn creates greater support for industries that are an extension and reflection of this. 4
3.0 Programme Organisation Location Description and details Clothworkers Centre www.clothworkers.vam.ac.uk London Centre for the study and conservation of Textiles and Fashion Examined several men s clothing items from the 1800s to early 1900s Victoria and Albert Museum London World s largest museum of decorative art and www.vam.ac.uk designs. It features the largest and most comprehensive collection of clothing Viewed costume hall which features hundreds of Fashion Museum www.museumofcostume.co.uk Platt Hall Gallery of Costume www.manchestergalleries.org Manchester Art Gallery www.manchestergalleries.org Fashion and Textile Museum www.ftmlondon.org Museum of London www.museumoflondon.org.uk Ashmolean Museum www.ashmolean.org National Gallery www.nationalgallery.org.uk National Portrait Gallery www.npg.org.uk Metropolitan Museum of Art www.metmuseum.org Museum of Modern Art www.moma.org Bath Manchester Manchester London London Oxford London London New York New York items of clothing from over four centuries Museum solely dedicated to fashion, with the earliest pieces from the 1600s to contemporary Handled and examined several men s clothing items ranging from 1800 to 1950 and explore them for construction techniques Designated collection of clothing and accessories by the Manchester Art Gallery, and one of the largest in the United Kingdom Viewed and examined two suits from the 1960s to 1970s made by an award winning local tailor One of the regions most popular cultural destinations Museum dedicated to all aspects of fashion and textile design. They run seminars and courses related to their exhibitions Attended the Couture Inside Out seminar Viewed Picasso to Warhol exhibition on 20 th Century art in textiles and fashion Museum documents the timeline of London and its people from prehistoric to modern times Viewed the Anatomy of a Suit exhibition which featured a deconstruction of a contemporary suit to convey greater understanding for the techniques involved in engineering a suit World s first University museum, it is a museum of art and archaeology Viewed their extensive collection, which portrayed the rich and diverse history of English craftsmanship The gallery was founded in 1824 and houses over 2300 paintings from the mid-1200s to 1900 The gallery features a collection of portraits from the 16 th Century to the present day. It was established to collect the portraits of famous and otherwise historically important British people The largest art museum in the United States Viewed their extensive collection of armour Viewed their enormous collection from Ancient Egypt Viewed the American Wing exhibition, the story of American domestic architecture and furnishings from the 17 th to early 20 th centuries Established as an educational institution, the museum houses a wide range of significant modern art 5
Frick Collection www.frick.org Guggenheim Museums and Foundation www.guggenheim.org New York garment industries & manufacturers tour New York New York New York Emma Shakes Art museum based on the collection of industrialist Henry Frick. As a former residence, the museum provides a sensitive environment for the display of the artworks. The extensive information provided enables greater education about the artworks, giving a sense of time and place to the subjects Frank Lloyd Wright designed and world-renowned. Inspiring architecture and design, as well curated collection of modern art With Gali Noi, Assistant Costume Designer Visited significant fabric and haberdashery suppliers in the district Gained insight into long-standing tradition of garment workers in the area Minskoff Theatre New York Backstage tour of the Lion King the Musical FIDM Museum Los Angeles www.fidmmuseum.org Western Costume Company www.westerncostume.com Autry National Centre www.theautry.org Los Angeles County Museum of Art www.lacma.org Museum of Latin American Art www.molaa.com Meeting about the costume industry in LA Natural History Museum of Los Angeles www.nhm.org Californian Science Centre www.californiasciencecenter.org Getty Centre www.getty.edu Hollywood Los Angeles Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising Museum. Founded in 1978, the museum houses a costume collection, accessories and textiles from 18 th Century to present day and includes costumes from film and theatre Attended the Art of Motion Picture Costume Design exhibit Over 100 years old, it is described as a one-stopshop for costumiers, designers and crews. It supplies costumes and costume supplies to the television and film industries Taken around the costume storehouse and viewed the millinery workrooms and art finishing department Attended the research library Museum dedicated to collating the stories of people from the American West Attended Floral Journey: Native North American Beadwork exhibition, a very well curated collection of period to contemporary beadwork Los Angeles The largest art museum in the western US, housing works from ancient to contemporary times Visited the Journey of a Dress exhibition about model and designer, Diane von Furstenberg Long Beach Museum focused solely on historical and contemporary Latin American art Visited Frida Kahlo: Her Photos photographic exhibition of her life and family Los Angeles With Louise Frogley, Costume Designer Los Angeles Los Angeles Los Angeles Houses nearly 35 million artifacts and specimens from 4.5 billion years of natural history Visited the Becoming Los Angeles exhibition Largest hands-on science centre on the US West Coast Viewed the space shuttle Endeavour as well as various satellites Architectural purpose built museum overlooking the city of Los Angeles 6
4.0 Main Body 4.1 My background in costume making My work in the fashion and costume industry commenced with formal training in Arts Fashion Couture and since then has expanded to cover all aspects of costume production in the opera, ballet, theatre, television and film industries. I have now been employed in the costume industry for almost twenty years in a variety of roles, such as principal men s and women s cutter, key jeweller, costume props maker, costumier, and dresser. My job requires me to work closely with designers by transforming their visions into reality. Through these roles I have gained experience in men s and women s period pattern cutting and construction, tailoring, costume props and leatherwork. I have developed a practical ability for construction of historical and contemporary costume techniques, knowledge of fabrics and operating and maintaining workroom machinery and equipment. While my initial study gave me a solid grounding in the principles of fashion couture designing, pattern making and creating custom garments my current skillset has grown to meet the demands of the various jobs that I have held. I have had senior roles in many of my positions and been responsible for teaching and training other staff in best practice for costume construction. I have a passion for attention to detail and working within teams to achieve a common goal. I enjoy working both within teams and independently as required and feel competent in my ability to take initiative to fulfil the requirements of my position. I understand the scope of a large production and the importance of all aspects working together to achieve a successful production. I have travelled internationally and nationally for work and have been exposed to many key people in the industry. I have learnt to be flexible and understanding in knowing that there are many different approaches to meeting the demands and pressures of large productions. From the beginning of my career to this point in time I have worked on 50 stage productions and 23 films. While the genres of these productions have been quite diverse, a common thread when it comes to costume is the focus on women s couture. However, the reality is that even though women s costumes may be more visible and in many cases elaborate, it is men s costumes that most frequently make up at least half and most often majority of the costumes required on a production. Regardless of this, a large majority of the skilled workforce in the costume and clothing industry caters towards women s costume, and there are few people dedicated to refining and teaching the art of men s costume tailoring, despite the constant demand. 7
4.2 The costume industry in Australia The costume industry in Australia does compete on an international level, with a number of overseas projects reaching our shores every year, the majority of which come from the United States. With these productions come a number of key people, such as directors and costume designers. These people are often used to working in their own countries and being able to meet the needs of the production via the costume supply houses and other services that cater directly to the film industry. The factors of a more remote geographical location and lower population density in Australia play a large part in restricting the resources available to fulfil the needs of a production. While we may have many talented craftspeople in Australia, the film industry works at a fast pace that can be hard to meet when access to supplies and skill resources is limited. It s not surprising considering the Australian population is a fraction of that in the in the US, and a third of that in the UK that this influences the skilled specialised labour levels in the country. Tailoring, and in particular costume tailoring can be considered a dying art in Australia, and not only because of demographics. The rise throughout the latter part of the 20 th century to rely on offshore clothing manufacture and mass-production means that many of these skills, as well as appreciation for bespoke items have been lost. Because of this, there are limited options for learning these skills here in Australia, and to my knowledge all of the people who are men s costume tailors in Australia are either directly or indirectly trained from overseas places. 4.2.1 Opportunities for training and skill development In Australia there are a select few institutions in which you are able to learn costuming. The two major institutions are NIDA in New South Wales and WAAPA in Western Australia, with a number of smaller courses at institutions dotted around the country. These courses often don t focus greatly on men s tailoring, despite the fact that, as previously mentioned, at least half of the roles in productions are male roles. Women s costume is often much more celebrated and studied than men s, as is reflected in dominant perspectives towards clothing and fashion in general. The art and finesse of styling men s costumes can feel like a secret society and ability to expand skills in this area is reliant on chancing upon a skilled and willing mentor. The role of the pattern cutter is required to oversee how costumes are built, which means that I am often in a teaching position. Due to the shortage of men s cutters in Australia, I often find myself to be the most experienced person working on men s costume construction in a wardrobe. While this offers me a fantastic opportunity to share the skills that I have developed to date, it doesn t provide an opportunity for me to further my skills under someone more experienced. Much of my training and further skill development has been on the job, learning from altering costumes and relying on reference books. Opportunities to work with skilled colleagues and mentors have been greatly cherished. However as previously mentioned, this opportunity comes along rarely as the community of costume makers and men s tailors in particular here in Australia are a relatively small group of people. Therefore, the 8
willingness to learn and develop further skills is reliant on personal dedication and a drive to seek out new techniques, reference materials, and mentors when possible. 4.3 Aims for this Fellowship The main aim for this fellowship was the search for knowledge to gain a greater understanding of men s costuming and tailoring methods and techniques for distinct periods in time. In undertaking the fellowship I found that it is important to have a general understanding of the social history for both the time and place in which you are aiming to portray. I feel that having an understanding for the different social structures throughout both history and place helps to build the personality of characters that we are asked to create in each production. The visits to various art galleries and museums have been invaluable in furthering my knowledge in this area. The other aspect of the fellowship was looking at the technical construction of garments from throughout a broad time period. The numerous costume archives housed in the United Kingdom and United States were invaluable as they allowed me to view actual period clothing rather than replicas, enabling me to examine construction techniques used prior to modern technology. I had hoped to be able to undertake a placement within a costume house to see the inside functioning of a large-scale workroom, however this was not possible due to the prior obligations and busy schedules of these organisations. Despite this I feel that I was able to meet the aims of my fellowship by attending museums, galleries, archives and meeting with various people who work within the industry in the United Kingdom and United States. 4.4 Where I travelled My journey started in Bath at the Assembly Rooms of the Fashion Museum. This collection was originally based on the extensive private collection of Doris Langley Moore, who donated it to the City of Bath in the 1960s. While there I was able to handle men s garments ranging from the early 1800s to approximately 1950. It was very insightful to view these pieces up close, as the only time I have seen pieces like this before has been in reference books. I had similar appointments at Platt Hall Gallery of Costume in Manchester and the Clothworkers Centre in London, which is a part of the Victoria and Albert Museum. All of these archive stores have well appointed costume exhibitions linked to them, with an impressive timeline of clothing and costumes for both men and women. These organisations are all publicly accessible, offering the general public a great education in history. The following photographs are of items I was fortunate enough to examine at the Bath Fashion Museum, and are reproduced with their kind permission. 9
A sample of men s clothing and costumes from the Fashion Museum in Bath, United Kingdom. Images taken by Emma Shakes and reproduced with permission. Please do not copy images without consent. 10
A sample of men s clothing and costumes from the Fashion Museum in Bath, United Kingdom. Images taken by Emma Shakes and reproduced with permission. Please do not copy images without consent. 11
A sample of men s clothing and costumes from the Fashion Museum in Bath, United Kingdom. Images taken by Emma Shakes and reproduced with permission. Please do not copy images without consent. 12
A sample of men s clothing and costumes from the Fashion Museum in Bath, United Kingdom. Images taken by Emma Shakes and reproduced with permission. Please do not copy images without consent. 13
A sample of men s clothing and costumes from the Fashion Museum in Bath, United Kingdom. Images taken by Emma Shakes and reproduced with permission. Please do not copy images without consent. 14
A sample of men s clothing and costumes from the Fashion Museum in Bath, United Kingdom. Images taken by Emma Shakes and reproduced with permission. Please do not copy images without consent. 15
4.4 Where I travelled, continued In London, New York and Los Angeles I frequented as many art galleries and museums as possible, as they are so rich in social history. I believe that this aspect of my role as a costume maker can go unrecognised. I found it particularly inspiring to see actual works of artists much as Monet and Renoir, as well as many others as this helped paint a broader picture of the life and times of people throughout various ages they portrayed. In my search for resource centres I found the Fashion and Textile Museum in London, and was able to attend the Couture Inside Out seminar. This seminar explored the construction of haute couture garments ranging from 1950s to present day. It was interesting to see the inside of some of these garments I was surprised to observe the simplicity of their construction, most notably the older pieces. Many appeared unfinished although similar to how we continue to construct costumes these days. The Fashion and Textile Museum also housed the fantastic Picasso to Warhol exhibition on 20 th Century art in textiles and fashion from Cubism to Surrealism and Pop Art. It showcased an impressive collection of printed fabrics by the likes of Andy Warhol, Pablo Picasso and Salvador Dali. I also did a lot of window-shopping trying to understand and observe the differences in the contemporary styling between the United Kingdom and United States. By looking at the cut and finish of various items and observing the range of prices and quality of these garments I was able to see some interesting differences. This is where I saw that in London the men s suit jacket has functional buttons at the wrist of the sleeve. I was told that this was because in older times the doctors rolled up their sleeves in order to perform surgery, so it is interesting that this tradition has continued despite changing times. While all suit jackets appear to have sleeve buttons, in my experience these have been purely decorative. At the Museum of London, I visited the Anatomy of a Suit exhibition. This featured the deconstruction of a contemporary suit in order to convey greater understanding of the techniques and detail involved in engineering a suit. Along with the display, a video accompanied the exhibition; it was very informative and is available to watch on You Tube. It was fantastic to see this kind of exhibition available to the general public, particularly in consideration of the fact that so much of what we use is mass-produced and many, if not the majority of people are disconnected from the processes and skills required in producing clothing, among many other everyday items. Through the deconstruction of the suit, it was evident how detailed and precise men s tailoring needs to be in order to make a quality garment and the skills required for this including sculpting, hand- and machine-sewing. On travelling to New York I was fortunate to meet up with my colleague Gali Noi, who is a New York local working in the film industry. She was happy to take me on a tour of the garment district of New York, showing me numerous fabric and haberdashery suppliers, as well as a generations-old tailor s showroom and workshop, housing an amazing amount of well-organised fabrics. It was great to see all of these places as it gave me an understanding of the industry and tradition of New York. 16
I was also fortunate enough to have a private backstage tour of the long running musical The Lion King at the Minskoff Theatre, which has been running for over 10 years. To see a theatre that doesn t bump out shows constantly was different to what I m used to seeing and being around. The final leg of the journey was Los Angeles. On the day that I arrived I was taken to the Art of Motion Picture Costume Design Exhibit. It is an annual exhibition featuring the works of well-known costume designers from films made in the previous year. Whilst in Los Angeles I also visited Western Costume Company, finally getting to see the renowned costume store and facilities that this company offers. It is one of the largest and oldest costume supply companies in the world. Nearly every major film that I have worked on obtains at least some of the stock from this company. I was able to spend some time in their research library, with Bobi Garland, the librarian in charge of this fantastic resource. It is the largest collection of costume reference books that I have seen. The library is open to any of the productions that the company has a hand in, and the stock is constantly updated, making it a valuable resource. I had the pleasure of visiting the Getty Centre, an amazing building situated on the top of a hill overlooking the city of Los Angeles. The tranquil atmosphere was perfect to take in the sight and enjoy their large collection of art works. The Autry is a museum previously unknown to me but well worth the trip. The exhibition Floral Journey: Native North American Beadwork was a particularly well-curated collection of period to contemporary beadwork. It was impressive to see the detailed patterns and bright colours on both the men s and women s wear. There were interactive videos explaining the modern movement on retaining this heritage and craft of the American Indian people. Journey of a Dress is an exhibition showing at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) and based on the work of designer, Diane von Furstenberg. She revolutionised the iconic wrap dress, which she first launched in 1972, and it is still going strong today and is often seen on many celebrities. The Museum of Latin American Art is focused solely on historical and contemporary Latin American works. I visited Frida Kahlo: Her Photos, a photographic exhibition of her life and family. Looking at these photos felt like a private window into her life that had just been taken out of the family photo album. At the end of my trip to Los Angeles, I met up with the costume designer Louise Frogley, who has been working in the film industry there for the last 30 years, originally coming from England. She shared some great insights into the nature of the industry. I was surprised to learn that the film industry only generates 2% of the income for the state of California, despite it being considered the worldwide film hub. 17
4.4.1 What I learnt along the way From viewing a wide range of garments spanning several centuries, I was able to observe the considerable diversity in manufacturing styles and methods. For example, one of the garments I examined in Bath had a breast pocket cut at severe angle, a technique which would never be used today. Observing elements such as the waistbands on men s trousers portrays the changing face of fashion over the years, displaying the transition from trousers designed to be used with braces to the current time period where these are not commonly used. In some cases these are subtle changes that may not be noticed at the time of change, but in many cases reflect the change from individually constructed to mass-produced items. By exploring examples of men s suits and tailoring in contemporary shops it is obvious that both the cut and manufacturing techniques used are relatively universal. But in the bespoke world, and in particular the film and theatre industries, which need to convey a sense of time and place, mood and character in very brief periods of time, the cut, form and manufacturing methods of each item are vital. The population density in Australia, as well as relatively recent colonisation means that many of the elements of the costume and film industry I was able to observe while overseas are not present here, or are here on a much smaller scale. While Australia undoubtedly has it s own diverse cultural history and traditions, both pre- and postcolonisation, our ability to compete in the film industry market remains reliant on us borrowing the skills from a mostly European and North American influenced workforce. Walking through the streets of London and New York I felt that the population density supports the diversity in historical and contemporary traditions in both the arts and every day life. The heartbeat and personality of each city is an evolving and very individual entity, and appears to spring from eclectic modern and multicultural influences as well as the historical traditions of each place. Additionally, because these locations are international tourist destinations visited for both their historical foundations and present day offerings their arts and history institutions are well valued, supported and equipped. These resources are essential for all aspects of art and creativity in my opinion, and particularly so in my field of work. They provide a valuable window into each time period in not only costumes but also culture and society throughout the ages. One of the major points I learnt, or had reconfirmed, from my fellowship is that each individual maker and has his or her own style and flare, and there is no definite one correct way to make pieces. This is quite affirming, as many of us working in the costume industry have taken different pathways to get to where we are today and our previous influences and experiences can shape the way we approach the tasks at hand. Whilst we in Australia are all trying to find our place somewhere between tradition and our own personal style, we each need to recognise and appreciate our own accomplishments. 18
5.0 Conclusions and recommendations 5.1 Summary This fellowship has reignited my passion for the craft of men s costume, and the dying aft of tailoring. While there are undoubtedly more opportunities for skill development and learning from master craftspeople internationally, travelling to some of these international hubs has been a wonderful opportunity for me. I now have a greater awareness for which organisations I would contact in future for specific projects, including reference, supplies and further study. It has also been particularly helpful to me personally to see these great cities, and have a window into the culture and society throughout the times, as these play such vital roles in the subjects of the film industry worldwide. Having greater understanding for each place and time in which films are set is essential for creating believable characters and settings and this fellowship has given me the opportunity to gain further insight into this. The reality that we do not have the bulk of the international film industry in Australia, a political landscape that values the arts, or the population to support the volume of complimentary organisations that feed into the film industry that can be seen in both the United States and United Kingdom, relying on and referring to international organisations and craftspeople for further skill development and resources remains essential. We have many exceptionally talented craftspeople in Australia whose skills are sought throughout the world. However, due to the limitations in opportunities for formal further education here in Australia, the onus is on each individual to be proactive in seeking out specific skills. We can always strive to be more competitive in this way on the international stage, and fostering links with relevant organisations internationally is an important way to help achieve this. 5.2 Information and skill sharing I feel strongly that one of the responsibilities stemming from the privilege to travel internationally on this fellowship is in sharing the information and skill resources I gained from it. There are two main pathways that I can see for the dissemination of the information and learnings gained throughout the fellowship: Informal: sharing information with colleagues on as as-needs basis in response to the requirements of the job at hand; and Formal: publicly accessible blog designed for an audience of costumiers and others working in the industry. Informal sharing has already begun in my current position by sharing information with my collegues regarding particular techniques for costume construction I observed overseas. Additionally I have shared recommendations for reference books and suppliers I was made aware of while on the fellowship. 19
My intentions in creating a blog focused on men s costume tailoring is to participate in fostering a community of makers and a reference resource for those both emerging and established in the field. My goal is to facilitate a discussion forum through the blog to enable skill and resource sharing. Additionally, in the near future I wish obtain the skills and qualifications in order for me to be able to teach at a teriary level. The teaching environment would be an ideal platform for facilitating access to international craftspeople to local students by inviting guest lecturers from well known instituations from overseas come to Australia. Summer schools are a common forum in the United Kingdom, and are a great way for people already working within the industry to up-date and expand their skills. There is a distinct lack of quality practical how-to resources on men s tailoring, particularly in comparison to women s clothing and costumes. One of my long-term goals it to write a book on practical aspects of men s tailoring, focusing on the specifics throughout different peiods in time. 5.3 Recommendations for practice in Australia There are few institutions in Australia in which formal training in men s costume tailoring can be undertaken; ideally there would be more institutions who were able to offer these courses. As tailoring is a skill that can take many years to learn, opportunities for ongoing practical, as well as formal training is essential. I would therefore recommend more opportunities for paid traineeships, with tailoring companies and well-equipped arts organisations, both within Australia and internationally. Many people working in the field develop their skills on an as-needs basis on the job. As such it is essential that a culture of willingness to skill-share continue to be fostered within the industry, whether this be colleague to colleague or through master classes and traineeships. However the time and resources required for skill sharing are not always available while on production due to the tight scheduling of each project, both time-wise and financially. The majority of the film workforce is employed on a per production rather than permanent position, and this is similar in theatre. While this means a contractbased, somewhat transient means of income for workers in the industry, it also means that there are pockets of time in which these workers would be available for skill sharing and master class opportunities. We don t have a strong tradition of this in Australia as yet, and for it to emerge would require more secure funding to the arts sector. 20