Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/1529398
2 WINTER 2025 EDITOR'S LETTER EDITOR'S LETTER Dear readers, We want to welcome you to this inaugural issue of The Costumer Quarterly magazine! Motion Picture Costumers is one of the oldest film and television Locals in Hollywood. Our organization began as the Association of Motion Picture Costumers AFL Local #18067 in 1929, and became IATSE Local #705 in 1937 when the AMPC merged with the Motion Picture Costume Makers and petitioned for a charter with the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees—the IATSE. Our triad of cras was completed in 1944 as we took in The Costume House Employees, AFL Local #21673, bringing together all the cras persons who are responsible for the handling, building, and cataloging of costumes for the Los Angeles motion picture industry. It's common for people to think of costumes and associate them with Costume Designers like Edith Head or Bob Mackie. But did you know that until the 1980s, most costumes you saw on television were chosen by the Key Costumers? Costume Designers were oen hired only to design gowns for the leading ladies for much of the mid-20th century. For every costume designed, there are dozens of people who make that costume and get it on screen: fabric artists; paernmakers and tailors; stitchers; supervisors; buyers; on-set dressers; costume house stock specialists; shipping clerks … the list goes on and on. At around 2,800 members, Local 705 is the largest union of costume makers and handlers in the world, with a storied history. We will explore our past and highlight the work our members are currently doing in the pages of this Quarterly. Together, we will uncover a history that is closely tied to the work of women, LGBTQIA+, and immigrants, along with their fight for labor rights, pay equity, and social justice. The entire concept of labor rights began centuries ago with women garment makers fighting against corporations and guilds designed to exploit their labor and remove their only avenue to independence. Throughout the world, women garment workers have oen led the fight for just treatment of laborers and the oppressed. Our story of Local 705 is the story of the underrepresented and marginalized in Hollywood's history. But it's also a story of strength and determination, a story of the perfect blending of creativity and precision, a story of the oldest cra in human history and the cuing-edge technology that brings ideas into reality. We hope you'll enjoy the pages of The Costumer Quarterly as we share the past, present, and future of the Motion Picture Costumers. In solidarity, Adam M. Nestra-West Editor-in-Chief