Umberto Tirelli
Encyclopedia
Umberto Tirelli was born in 1928 in Gualtieri
, a town in Emilia near the River Po. He died in 1992. Tirelli was an Italian tailor, costume maker and designer, historian of costume and collector.
He was the oldest of four siblings and he spent his youth bottling wine with his father who was a wine and grains merchant. He wanted to become a teacher but this idea didn't last long. At the age of sixteen he discovered he had a love of clothing by frequenting the home of Luigi Bigi, a tailor who lived in the same town and who reproduced French fashion in Milan
in the 1930s. In 1952, Giorgio Sarassi who, with Bigi's help, had made his fortune in the business of fabrics for high fashion, found Tirelli a job in Milan: a delivery boy and display designer for Marco, a fabric shop in the Via Montenapoleone. Almost directly across the street was the boutique of Mirsa where Beppe Modenese worked with Paola Carola. In order to save money, in order "to survive because our pay was minimal," Tirelli recalled in his autobiography, Vestire i sogni (written with Guido Vergani for the Feltrinelli publishing house), Tirelli and Modenese decided to rent a place together.
In 1955, at the age of 27 he met Pia Rame and Carlo Mezzadri who had just purchased the theatrical costume maker Finzi. They offered him a chance to try out. There he met Mila de Nobili who was making the costumes for Maria Callas
in La Traviata
de Luchino Visconti
staged at La Scala in 1955. Therefore he met Luchino Visconti and also Piero Tosi
, who was also a costume designer and worked several times with Visconti, specially in the films Il Gattopardo
and Death in Venice
for which he was nominated to the Academy Awards
. He was able to participate in La Traviata by making the costumes for the femminine chorus. Before his death he worked on the costumes of another version of La traviata, this time by Muti
, with Gabriella Pescucci.
Then he moved to Rome to work in the Sartoria
Safas for the sisters Emma and Gita Maggioni until 1964 when he set up in business for himself. He learned about the costume filology thanks to Gino Censani.
He was a costume collector, defining himself as "A fashion archeologist". He used to say that he did "the archeological expeditions" every time he bought a costume. Concetta Garzoni used to sell him costumes from the Noble class and that were almost new, only used once for a ball or other special occasion.
Tirelli's costume collection was used for cinema and theater. He had a passion for authenticity and collectionism that reflects in the film Morte a Venezia (1971) from Luchino Visconti
where he dressed up Silvana Mangano
; Most of the costumes in the film were authentic. The objective of using authentic costumes was to make the movements of the actors heavier and make them look more realistic. The sketches for the costumes of Morte a Venezia were done by Piero Tosi
.
He worked with the biggest names of theater costumes in the second half of the twentieth century, from De Nobili, Piero Tosi, Pierluigi Pizzi, Luciano Damiani
, and Danilo Donati
to Gabriella Pescucci, Vera Marzot, Gitt Magrini, Ezio Frigerio, Milena Canonero
, Marcel Escoffier, and Maurizio Monteverde. His contribution was essential to them in terms of culture, philology of fashion, the recovery of age-old techniques, the quest for authentic outfits (he had a Collection of 15,000 items, dating from the seventeenth century to the days of Chanel
and Dior
) in almost archaeological excavations in attics, lofts, abandoned armoires, among the rags of the flea markets.
But in 1968 came the "Anti-fashion movement", the boom of the street-style. The art falls into decay and Tirelli himself says: "Magari c'è intelligenza, ma la vera moda, la ricerca, l'invenzione è cosa del passato". ("Perhaps there is intelligence, but the true fashion, the research, the creativity belong to the past").
In 1986, Tirelli donated 100 authentic outfits and 100 theatrical costumes to the Galleria del Costume of Palazzo Pitti in Florence. Since his death, his sartoria
has been run by Dino Trappetti, Gabriella Pescucci and Giorgio D'Alberti.
Gualtieri
Gualtieri is a comune in the Province of Reggio Emilia in the Italian region Emilia-Romagna, located about 70 km northwest of Bologna and about 25 km north of Reggio Emilia on the right bank of the Po River...
, a town in Emilia near the River Po. He died in 1992. Tirelli was an Italian tailor, costume maker and designer, historian of costume and collector.
He was the oldest of four siblings and he spent his youth bottling wine with his father who was a wine and grains merchant. He wanted to become a teacher but this idea didn't last long. At the age of sixteen he discovered he had a love of clothing by frequenting the home of Luigi Bigi, a tailor who lived in the same town and who reproduced French fashion in Milan
Milan
Milan is the second-largest city in Italy and the capital city of the region of Lombardy and of the province of Milan. The city proper has a population of about 1.3 million, while its urban area, roughly coinciding with its administrative province and the bordering Province of Monza and Brianza ,...
in the 1930s. In 1952, Giorgio Sarassi who, with Bigi's help, had made his fortune in the business of fabrics for high fashion, found Tirelli a job in Milan: a delivery boy and display designer for Marco, a fabric shop in the Via Montenapoleone. Almost directly across the street was the boutique of Mirsa where Beppe Modenese worked with Paola Carola. In order to save money, in order "to survive because our pay was minimal," Tirelli recalled in his autobiography, Vestire i sogni (written with Guido Vergani for the Feltrinelli publishing house), Tirelli and Modenese decided to rent a place together.
In 1955, at the age of 27 he met Pia Rame and Carlo Mezzadri who had just purchased the theatrical costume maker Finzi. They offered him a chance to try out. There he met Mila de Nobili who was making the costumes for Maria Callas
Maria Callas
Maria Callas was an American-born Greek soprano and one of the most renowned opera singers of the 20th century. She combined an impressive bel canto technique, a wide-ranging voice and great dramatic gifts...
in La Traviata
La traviata
La traviata is an opera in three acts by Giuseppe Verdi set to an Italian libretto by Francesco Maria Piave. It is based on La dame aux Camélias , a play adapted from the novel by Alexandre Dumas, fils. The title La traviata means literally The Fallen Woman, or perhaps more figuratively, The Woman...
de Luchino Visconti
Luchino Visconti
Luchino Visconti di Modrone, Count of Lonate Pozzolo was an Italian theatre, opera and cinema director, as well as a screenwriter. He is best known for his films The Leopard and Death in Venice .-Life:...
staged at La Scala in 1955. Therefore he met Luchino Visconti and also Piero Tosi
Piero Tosi
Piero Tosi is an Italian costume designer. His credits include Bellissima, The Leopard, Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow, Death in Venice, The Night Porter, and La Traviata. He won the David di Donatello for Best Costumes twice, as well as the 50th Anniversary David in 2006...
, who was also a costume designer and worked several times with Visconti, specially in the films Il Gattopardo
Il gattopardo
Il gattopardo may refer to:*The Leopard, a novel*The Leopard , a film based on the novel...
and Death in Venice
Death in Venice
The novella Death in Venice was written by the German author Thomas Mann, and was first published in 1913 as Der Tod in Venedig. The plot of the work presents a great writer suffering writer's block who visits Venice and is liberated and uplifted, then increasingly obsessed, by the sight of a...
for which he was nominated to the Academy Awards
Academy Awards
An Academy Award, also known as an Oscar, is an accolade bestowed by the American Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to recognize excellence of professionals in the film industry, including directors, actors, and writers...
. He was able to participate in La Traviata by making the costumes for the femminine chorus. Before his death he worked on the costumes of another version of La traviata, this time by Muti
Muti
Muti is a term for traditional medicine in Southern Africa as far north as Lake Tanganyika. The word muti is derived from the Zulu word for tree, of which the root is -thi...
, with Gabriella Pescucci.
Then he moved to Rome to work in the Sartoria
Sartoria
Sartoria is a genus of flowering plants in the legume family, Fabaceae. It belongs to the sub family Faboideae....
Safas for the sisters Emma and Gita Maggioni until 1964 when he set up in business for himself. He learned about the costume filology thanks to Gino Censani.
He was a costume collector, defining himself as "A fashion archeologist". He used to say that he did "the archeological expeditions" every time he bought a costume. Concetta Garzoni used to sell him costumes from the Noble class and that were almost new, only used once for a ball or other special occasion.
Tirelli's costume collection was used for cinema and theater. He had a passion for authenticity and collectionism that reflects in the film Morte a Venezia (1971) from Luchino Visconti
Luchino Visconti
Luchino Visconti di Modrone, Count of Lonate Pozzolo was an Italian theatre, opera and cinema director, as well as a screenwriter. He is best known for his films The Leopard and Death in Venice .-Life:...
where he dressed up Silvana Mangano
Silvana Mangano
Silvana Mangano was an Italian actress.Raised in poverty during World War II, Mangano trained as a dancer and worked as a model before winning a "Miss Rome" beauty pageant in 1946...
; Most of the costumes in the film were authentic. The objective of using authentic costumes was to make the movements of the actors heavier and make them look more realistic. The sketches for the costumes of Morte a Venezia were done by Piero Tosi
Piero Tosi
Piero Tosi is an Italian costume designer. His credits include Bellissima, The Leopard, Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow, Death in Venice, The Night Porter, and La Traviata. He won the David di Donatello for Best Costumes twice, as well as the 50th Anniversary David in 2006...
.
He worked with the biggest names of theater costumes in the second half of the twentieth century, from De Nobili, Piero Tosi, Pierluigi Pizzi, Luciano Damiani
Luciano Damiani
Luciano Damiani was an Italian stage and costume designer, who worked both for theatre and opera productions.- Theatre and opera productions :...
, and Danilo Donati
Danilo Donati
Danilo Donati was an Italian costume designer and production designer. He won the Academy Award for Costume Design twice: the first time for his work in Romeo and Juliet , the second time for his work in Fellini's Casanova...
to Gabriella Pescucci, Vera Marzot, Gitt Magrini, Ezio Frigerio, Milena Canonero
Milena Canonero
Milena Canonero is an Italian costume designer, working both for films and stage productions. She has won three Academy Awards for Best Costume design, and been nominated for it eight times.-Career:...
, Marcel Escoffier, and Maurizio Monteverde. His contribution was essential to them in terms of culture, philology of fashion, the recovery of age-old techniques, the quest for authentic outfits (he had a Collection of 15,000 items, dating from the seventeenth century to the days of Chanel
Chanel
Chanel S.A. is a French fashion house founded by the couturier Gabrielle "Coco" Chanel, well established in haute couture, specializing in luxury goods . She gained the name "Coco" while maintaining a career as a singer at a café in France...
and Dior
Dior
Dior can mean:* Christian Dior SA, a French clothing retailer* In J. R. R. Tolkien's fictional Middle-earth legendarium:**Dior Eluchíl, a Half-elven of the First Age**Dior , a Steward of GondorDior is a surname, and may refer to:...
) in almost archaeological excavations in attics, lofts, abandoned armoires, among the rags of the flea markets.
But in 1968 came the "Anti-fashion movement", the boom of the street-style. The art falls into decay and Tirelli himself says: "Magari c'è intelligenza, ma la vera moda, la ricerca, l'invenzione è cosa del passato". ("Perhaps there is intelligence, but the true fashion, the research, the creativity belong to the past").
In 1986, Tirelli donated 100 authentic outfits and 100 theatrical costumes to the Galleria del Costume of Palazzo Pitti in Florence. Since his death, his sartoria
Sartoria
Sartoria is a genus of flowering plants in the legume family, Fabaceae. It belongs to the sub family Faboideae....
has been run by Dino Trappetti, Gabriella Pescucci and Giorgio D'Alberti.
External links
- http://www.tirelli-costumi.com/storia.php?lang=en
- http://dellamoda.it/fashion_dictionary/t/tirelli.php