Page 44 - the NOISE October 2015

THE FABRIC OF INSPIRATION
Matthew Banks of Sacred Mountain Fighting and Healing Arts models fantastical creations by Tommy’s Costumes.
STORY BY CLAIR ANNA ROSE PHOTOS BY GEAN SHANKS
Four years ago Tommy’s Costumes was located on Phoenix Ave in Downtown Flagstaff in a little studio with a window overlooking Route 66. The small studio held rows of costumes, vintage finds and works in progress as Tommy Elias prepared for his first Halloween fashion show at the Green Room.
Since Mr. Elias opened Tommy’s Costumes, he has continued to grow his clientele and has become involved with different projects within the community. He helps Good Will put on their annual fashion show, has volunteered with Northern Arizona University’s Nutcracker, the North Pole Experience and the Flagstaff Shakespearian Festival.
Upstairs above the Red Tree Wholeness Center, Mr. Elias showed me what is to be his new studio — a bigger space that now has two rooms for his creations to fill. In August, when I first glimpsed the studio Mr. Elias was sawing a hole in the wall connecting the two rooms above Red Tree as he renovated his new space.
A month later, he is settled in, and his newest costumes are in the process of being drawn, cut out and sewn. Mr. Elias has ordered 1,000 black feathers and is looking for inspiration for a design to shape and build a giant set of wings ... and body armor to accompany it.
With many new ideas for costumes in his head, Mr. Elias plans to improve upon old favorites as well. A pink and white stripped outfit made from an old skirt and repurposed into a Victorian costume with wide sleeves and a tiny waist is fitted perfectly to a dress form, while on his desk sits an open sketchbook with a study of a cigarette girl outfit, and on the table behind him a crown to go with a burgundy satin Grecian gown — the feminine counterpart to his new Grecian solider costume.
The idea came to him when he watched the director’s cut of Alexander. “I was looking at their tunics, how they constructed it — how they layered things really inspired me,” he recalls. “It gave me new ideas. I have experience with designing and making Grecian armor already, but I wanted to focus on layering the fabric and layering the armor onto itself to give it more texture and depth — like something you would see in a museum or in a movie. It really came out exactly like what was in my head. That’s always the most exciting part. The Empress is flowy with rhinestones, very decadent. I’m excited to share the Greek armor.”
When the idea struck to create the Greek armor, Mr. Elias already had the materials on hand, and when he finished, he had a new piece he was proud of. “Usually when I’m making a costume, as an artist, your work never really impresses you all that much,” he shares. “When I put this together it was the first costume that I fully made in my new shop and so it just feels like this is the beginning of a lot of momentum.”
There’s something about authenticity and good craftsmanship that make Mr. Elias’ pieces special. Real velvet,
quality fabrics of satin, taffeta, and silk sit on shelves in his studio waiting to be sewn into a piece of costuming that will transform the wearer into another person, another version of themselves, and transport them to another time and place ... maybe even to another world.
Mr. Elias shows me cuts of new fabrics, describing what he plans to sew — right now he is so well-stocked with fabrics that every rental piece he is making is created from supplies he has on hand.
When looking for inspiration to create a new piece, Mr. Elias will look through his collection to see what time periods are represented, he’ll go back and try to make more costumes in different styles and sizes to reflect that period.
“My custom stuff is a whole other story because I’m taking inspiration from somebody else — of what they want to be and what their dream costume is.” When a client comes to Mr. Elias with an idea for a custom costume, he works with the client to envision their ideas into fruition. “Usually someone will come to me with a basic idea,” he explains. “We’ll sit and discuss silhouettes, how much skin they want to expose, what the costume is for. From there I would have them gather some pictures and I’ll make some sketches and we’ll come up with a cohesive idea — and then the shopping starts.”
Mr. Elias describes shopping for fabrics as a metaphor for a painter choosing colors for their palette to begin a painting.
“Once that palette is made I start patterning, start creating.” Besides the new pieces he is creating (a Tolkien inspired Elf, for one), he is bringing back some old favorites for his Fashion Show — some that have never been shown at the Green Room before, including his Peacock costume that was a custom design. Favorites include the Unicorn and the fawn, and this year he is expanding his collection of vintage costumes. In the past his decade-themed costumes only went so far into modern times as the 1920’s and this year he
spans the decades until the 1980’s.
Tommy’s Costumes is partnering with Incahoots, Black
and Birch, Sacred Mountain Fighting and Healing Arts and the Flagstaff Shakespearian festival to put on a fashion show that showcases his collection and also brings exciting entertainment to the community.
The Sacred Mountain Martial Artists will be doing an acrobatic Chinese Lion Dance that Mr. Elias designed the pants for to go with the head and body they dance with.
Matthew Banks, the owner and head instructor of Sacred Mountain Fighting and Healing Arts tells me about the lion dance. “It’s some of our best martial artists we have lion dancing,” he says. “It’s incredibly physically demanding. We’ve had our team for a full year now. It takes all of their core martial arts stances, lots of cardio, and it introduces some acrobatic elements. You’ve got a tail and a head, the tail is low, strong stances, the head is doing all the jumping, all the puppeteering that goes on within the lion — making the eyes work, the ears work, the mouth — they’re very dynamic.”
Scared Mountain’s performance will be a little outside the realm of a traditional Chinese Lion Dance, speeding up the tempo to accompany the music the DJ will be playing. Mr. Banks explains the history and tradition of the dance, “The Lion dance itself is almost like a blessing,” he says. “It brings wealth, fortune, prosperity, and good luck. It’s like a big good luck charm, a good luck dance. The Lion itself was mythical in Chinese culture, they didn’t have lions in China. People would come to China and say, ‘Oh, you think your tigers are big, you should see these lions.’ The Silk Road would bring these tales of giant cats that were bigger than tigers and the Chinese couldn’t understand it. They made it this fantastic idea so it looks like a dragon because they couldn’t comprehend something bigger than a tiger. It’s this big, larger than life celebration.”
During the First Friday ArtWalk on October 2 is the Fourth annual Tommy’s Costumes Fashion Show at the Green Room. There will be two chances to catch the show at 5:30PM and 7PM. “The Green Room has been so instrumental in providing a great platform,” Mr. Elias says. “The new owners have been just as gracious in helping out local artists.”
Models are prepping for the show, coached by Mr. Elias, and hair and make-up for the evening will be the work of Aveda Red 115 stylists.
During Tommy’s Costumes Fashion Show the Indigo Art Market will be featuring the pottery of Lalana Fedorschak and the paintings of McKenzie Dankert. Works by other participating artists will be on display as well.
While organizing the upcoming fashion show, Mr. Elias is also working on bringing Flagstaff another art event. Starting October 15, on the Third Thursday of every month from 5PM to 8PM, an art walk will be taking place in the Green Tree Shopping Center. Art by local artists will be featured at Buster’s, Campus Coffee Bean, State Farm Insurance, Aveda 115 and Red Tree Wholeness Center ... with the hallway of Green Tree lined with artists booths. “It’s a chance to bring art and have an art event that’s not downtown,” Mr. Elias says. Some artists who are already slated to show their work are Josh Ramsay, Frederica Hall, Janet Morrison, and Barbara Sherman. Participating venue Aveda Red 115 will be celebrating their 10-year anniversary.
The Third Thursday ArtWalk in the Green Tree Shopping Center is free for artists to participate in. Artists who set up booths are welcome on a first come, first serve basis, and pay no fees or commissions on work sold. Artists interested in having a booth to display their work can call Mr. Elias until October 12 to reserve a space while there are booths available. Facebook.com/tommyscostumes, tommyscostumesaz@ gmail.com, Sacredmountainkungfu.com 928/380-8947
| Clair Anna Rose is known to gallivant around town in her favorite costumes. editor@thenoise.us
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