Made By Angels
Tim Angel, chairman of Angels Costumiers, tells Waterfront about what it’s like working for the company that has been dressing some of Hollywood’s biggest stars for over 170 years
garments, these rails and rails of material, had been collected over a period of more than 170 years. At Angels Costumiers in North London this extraordinary scene is an everyday reality. Founded in 1840 by Morris Angel, the business was originally intended to supply costumes to actors attending West End auditions. Te current chairman Tim Angel is the fifth generation of the family to head the firm, which now provides costumes for not only theatre but also film, television, commercials and even music videos. Downton Abbey, Te King’s Speech and Game of Trones have all used costumes supplied to them by Angels. As you can imagine the task of looking after so many garments is a demanding one. “Once a
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magine a gigantic warehouse packed full of costumes in such abundance that, if hung in a straight line, would cover eight and a half miles in distance! Imagine that these
month,” Tim explains, “we have to spray our whole building to kill the months because moths love clothes, they’re like a food for them. Te man that does it has to put on a suit like the ghost-busters outfit with the gun and everything!” He describes how clothes are cleaned every time they come back in after a production. “We have people that sew and repair the costumes and make sure that the laces and trims around the dresses are all kept in good condition,” he says, proudly adding, “One of the things that we’re very lucky with is that we’ve got an incredibly good, very talented team of people.” In fact there are over one hundred and ten staff members working at Angels, some of them responsible for putting together outfits and looking after clothes whilst others take charge of making alterations and repairs. Te business has thrived thanks to the
knowledge and expertise of the people that work there. A strict ethos of quality and accuracy is
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