Quote:
Originally Posted by Charlie's Wardrobe 
Not really, unless the major tafe's can find some tailors willing to teach tailoring, instead of designer's or dressmakers teaching fashion design. I suspect the problem lies here, not so much with younger people willing to learn. That, and there is an extremely low call for bespoke tailoring in Australia. Even the current prominent shop in Australia, P.Johnson Tailors, are not tailors themselves, it's all outsourced. And I don't say that to put them down, I say it to say you don't need to be a tailor to have a successful business/career in menswear. But there's all the marketing, business acumen, press etc you do need and unfortunately most true tailors don't have the latter.
Not really, unless the major tafe's can find some tailors willing to teach tailoring, instead of designer's or dressmakers teaching fashion design. I suspect the problem lies here, not so much with younger people willing to learn. That, and there is an extremely low call for bespoke tailoring in Australia. Even the current prominent shop in Australia, P.Johnson Tailors, are not tailors themselves, it's all outsourced. And I don't say that to put them down, I say it to say you don't need to be a tailor to have a successful business/career in menswear. But there's all the marketing, business acumen, press etc you do need and unfortunately most true tailors don't have the latter.
Adding to the above. Theres many tiered issues here. Old school tailoring took on apprentices at 15 or younger, and, depending on your viewpoint, basically exploited them, or fed and clothed them and kept them off the streets, and taught them many basic skills along the way. Starting with sweeping the floor only. Its a common pattern, hairdressing was like that too and other "trades". In addition many tailors jealously and irrationally guarded (and still do) the ways they did things. Some of the ways they did things were simply traditional and not even the best way by a longshot.
The world changed in the 50s 60s and teenagers were invented. Neither children nor adults.
Most traditional apprenticeships/craft guilds etc didn't adapt. The post-industrial era didn't value such things as hand single shop tailoring when "pretty bloody good enough" factory made clothing (even tailored stuff) was cheap, good quality and ubiquitous. Australia's Wool Industry and Government have a lot to answer for but thats for another story/book. On that I highly recommend anyone truly interested in all this and context to read Breaking the Sheep’s Back, by Charles Massey
No one these days is going to go to full time work at 15 for peanuts, work 10 years then maybe, just maybe make a living as a tailor. Schools of Fashion and Textile Technology have to follow the money and thats NOT in Mens bespoke Tailoring in Melbourne. Just off the top of my head I can think of less than 10 tailors in Melbourne, most near or past retirement age, who could make you a half decent suit - and here I'm not even talking forum approved. Of those 3 or 4 I know a bit more about I can think of not one has an apprentice. I doubt the others do either.
People became tailors because they were good artisans, or became good artisans, with a bit of luck and experience they also could understand how to compensate for the normal bodies of most people and create a silhouette etc. If they were a bit more talented in certain areas, and some of this is personality and art, they could keep up with changing fashions.
The times have been against tailoring. Not attractive to young trainees, minimum wages in Australia making it uneconomical for a small tailor shop to employ an apprentice/trainee, prejudice against tailor made clothes, cheap ready made suits and a general increasing casualisation of everyday, business and formal wear. A casualisation accelerated beyond the existing trends to say wear lounge suits instead of morning suits, sportcoats instead of suits, no tie instead of ties, athletic shoes instead of leather shoes etc.
In addition tailors, in general, with some exceptions, have contributed to the problem. They haven't been helped by the above economic and social factors. Whereas you can find manuals/books on say, engineering, how to build a plane yourself,machine the parts and to fly it, how to program piece of software - its difficult to get hold of a useful modern how to manual on tailoring. Its unfair to criticise a previous generation of tailors for not being manual writers or makers of videos to teach. Although that does seem to be changing. Whilst experience and experience and experience will always only be able to be obtained by doing work over a period, some parts of tailoring could and can be learnt by a determined and committed late starter possibly even in less than 10 years. Much good work can also be done by machinery. A mix of artisan hand skills and smart use of machinery (CAD type patterns, some cutting and sewing etc) combined well is likely to be the future.
The "new" tailors or artisanal skills will come mainly from asia or low wage countries where it still makes a sense to have such a career. There will also be a few, possibly enough at times, people who will take it up as an advanced hobby or late vocation. Perhaps.
