In Montreal, journalist Louis-Philippe Messier often travels on the run, in his desk bag, looking for fascinating subjects and people. He talks to everyone and is interested in all walks of life in this urban chronicle.
Still haven’t found your Halloween costume? A major Montreal costume designer that has been supplying theater, television and cinema for 35 years is launching this year to serve people who want to dress up…but beware, it’s not cheap!
When I visited Espace Costume in Hoselaga, the dressers of the show Infoman and Théâtre du Rideau Vert are racking up shows for their year-end reviews.
Famed costume designer Suzanne Harelin (Louise’s sister) is holding a workshop here, and I hear an actor from Rideau Vert humming like he’s in the shower during his fitting.
As he monopolizes the room, I am pushed into a corner of the hat shop, behind a curtain.
You might not have heard of this 20,000-square-foot warehouse with 1 million tracks because it only handled produce until this Halloween.
But the writers’ and actors’ strike in Hollywood is slowing business this year, so Espace Costume decided to accept solo customers.
“The strike in Hollywood is affecting us because we have big contracts with American productions in Montreal,” explains Laurent Lacroix, one of the co-owners of this family business founded by his grandmother and later run by his uncle.
Fashion designer Marissa Duenes can choose from hundreds of thousands of assorted dresses in a 20,000 square foot warehouse.
PHOTO AGENCY QMI, JOEL LEMAY
Beware Batman Not Darth Vader!
As he is a TV and cinema costume designer, you won’t find superhero costumes or monster masks.
Do not show up on site without an appointment. Please allow at least 24 hours to be allocated to you.
“We ask customers what they want to wear and their measurements, so when they come here, we already have clothes for them to try on.”
The fitting, which takes about an hour, costs $45. For clothing rental, you should budget $150 to $300 per week. These amounts, of course, include taxes.
“The price varies, because not all clothes have the same value, and some clothes have many components, socks, gloves, hats, jackets, etc., and more pieces, and it’s “expensive,” says Marisa Duenes, who has been a costume designer here for two years. .
Mme Dounes, 28, dresses up others for a living and dresses up herself for fun in her spare time as a “cosplay” enthusiast with a penchant for sports characters. Final Fantasy. So let’s say she knows what she’s doing.
My dream (because I have no imagination) of having someone else take care of decorating for me has finally come true!
PHOTO AGENCY QMI, JOEL LEMAY
Metamorphosis
With the care of my costume designer, I burst out laughing as I turned into a cowboy with real, very heavy leather clothing (about $275 per rental including taxes). Only the revolver was missing.
PHOTO AGENCY QMI, JOEL LEMAY
My inner snob is delighted to see me dressed as a French aristocrat (rental cost about $200 including taxes) on Sunday. My name is nothing but “Louis-Philippe”.
This outfit gave me a chance to show off my Valmont side…Valmont without the shoes.
PHOTO AGENCY QMI, JOEL LEMAY
The most comfortable and funniest of my three dresses is a 1970s disco style (rent about $150 including taxes).
This dress was very light and very comfortable… and it cost less than the others (because it has less components).
PHOTO AGENCY QMI, JOEL LEMAY
“We dress people up with their backs to the mirror so we can turn them around when their disguise is done … to give them the shock of seeing themselves transformed,” M tells me.me Just like that
For me who hates dressing up, for lack of imagination, here I realize what I have always dreamed of: someone else takes care of dressing me up!
Ironically, since I can’t ethically accept one of these dresses as a gift, I leave empty-handed and flatter myself.
Now more than ever, I don’t know what I’m going to wear in ten days.
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