Valentino & sewing

I watched Valentino: the Last Emperor recently and I enjoyed it a great deal. The film gives a very in depth look at the fashion empire Valentino Garavani created and the events surrounding his 45 anniversary celebration.

But as interesting as Valentino is, it was the skill of the seamstresses employed by Valentino that made my jaw drop. This group of 100 women (there could be some men, but I didn't see any) sew everything by hand!

In the film Giancarlo Giammetti, the honorary president of the Valentino fashion house, explains that at one time they brought in a sewing machine but none of the seamstresses wanted to use it.

From a personal point of view, I was amazed at the work these seamstresses accomplished. The woman in the picture above is working on finishing touches of the this dress. From articles I've read about Valentino, many of his seamstresses are daughters of women who sewed for him. According to one article when a seamstress retires Valentino presents them with a photo of himself in a silver frame. Can you imagine Bill Gates handing someone a picture of himself when they retire from Microsoft?

I'm not sure I could ever approach the level of hand sewing skill these women possess but they certainly inspire me to work harder on my own sewing - both by hand and on the machine.