a short film woven by master tailors
While helping master tailor Larnell Baldwin at his storefront in Philadelphia's Fabric Row, an aspiring designer overhears stories from a disappearing generation of master tailors. "Taking in the Tailors" is a 16mm film record of the sounds, textures and stories of a skilled generation of designers and tailors who no longer live in a world with apprentices.
"Taking in the Tailors" is a 16mm film capturing the sounds, textures and stories of a skilled generation of designers and tailors who no longer live in a world with apprentices.
“Taking in the Tailors” is a short film project instigated by seasoned master tailor Larnell Baldwin, who is amongst the last of his generation of fine custom tailors still operating in Philadelphia. The film serves as both a personal and cultural record, considering generationally-passed skills and knowledge.
As tailoring craft and spaces in Philadelphia continue to fade, this short aims to document and preserve the stories, wisdom, and techniques of a departing generation of tailors who have helped to shape the city’s fashion landscape. In particular, the film focuses on the unique, hands-on learning process that takes place in and around Baldwin’s shop on Fabric Row—a place where young designers, working mothers and aspiring hobbyists alike can learn old-world techniques on the verge of being forgotten. Through the lens of a young artist apprenticing with Baldwin, the audience is introduced to a slew of retired and aging master tailors, ensuring that their legacies are overheard and remembered.
Collaborators
Larnell Baldwin (he/him) is a master tailor from Philly with more than 40 years of experience, Larnell Baldwin started designing, sewing, and tailoring as a student at Overbrook High School. He graduated from the renowned Tracey Warner School of Fashion, where he later began teaching and pattern making. By 2000, Baldwin was running his tailoring service and fabric shop and started Baldwin's Fashion Institute and School of Tailoring in Queen’s Village’s Farbic Row, where he continues to teach old-world skills to new generations.
Ty Burdenski (they/them) is a trouble/filmmaker based in Philadelphia, where they can often be found blurring the lines between fact and fiction, perception and repetition. This year their film work was featured at venues such as the Tanya Bonakdar gallery in New York, the Portland Museum of Art and the 2024 Malta Biennale. Aside from their participation with the filmmaking collective working on this project, Ty is a founding member of an art collective called philadelphia packaging company, where they produce videos and community art publications dealing with problems of space, memory and money.
Steve Gurly (tailor) and Tommy Letteri (tailor and cutter) are two retired Philly-based tailors involved with the project, eager to impart their endless volumes of expertise and craft to future generations.
Quinha Faria (she/her) is an artist whose textile practice draws from her experience working in hospital systems across the United States. In addition to being a former student of Larnell Baldwin, Quinha is a founding member of the Philadelphia Packaging Company (PPC), a nine-person collective committed to conversations about the health of communities in the face of gentrification while working in the ER as a Registered Nurse during the pandemic. PPC created videos and distributed hundreds of free, print publications honoring the stories of small business owners across Philadelphia. She is a member of the artist-run gallery Carnation Contemporary in Portland, Oregon.
Aidan Un (he/him) is a French-Korean filmmaker based in Philadelphia for the past 17 years. When he’s not making films you can catch him at a Capoeira roda or drumming with Korean Percussion Ensemb