An amateur theatre company, a great passion for the tradition of her homeland, Apulia, and the desire to return there to found her own company after training at the Academy.
These are the ingredients of today's story: Francesca Abbatista, former student of the Theatre Tailoring course, now entrepreneur and founder of the 'CORA - no season' project, is the new star of the Hall of Fame column.
Francesca, tell us who you are and how your journey in tailoring began.
I was born in Trinitapoli, a small village in Apulia in the province of Barletta.
I have always had a passion for theatre and acting, growing up in the theatre company that my parents founded basically as a hobby. My father was in charge of the direction and my mother of the sets and costumes. So I often went with her to markets and shops in the village to look for fabrics and useful material to put on stage, and I fell in love with silk brocades and all the textured fabrics that are typical of historical recontructions.
I also played in the company, the meaning of the project was to involve as many young people as possible and bring them closer to the theatre: the selections were always open and the company was constantly changing. The last role I played was Arlecchino, a character I hold in my heart, because it reminds me of the costume I presented myself in at the selections to enter the Academy, and the internship I then had at the Piccolo Teatro in Milan, where I found the original costume in the archives.
How did you arrive at the Accademia Teatro alla Scala?
After graduating, I immediately decided to approach the world of tailoring professionally, because anyway - as stimulating as it was to help my parents in their project - I felt that I still did not have the right technique to be able to call myself a real tailor. So, in addition to helping my mum behind the scenes, I started to work my way up through the ranks by working in the workshop for other tailors in my village, who sewed professionally at home as tradition requires.
Thanks to this apprenticeship I acquired many new techniques and little practical tricks, but at the same time I wanted to have official recognition and so I went to Bari to attend a professional course in women's modelling. While I was going through this experience, I opened my own small workshop, where I tried to make made-to-measure clothes; meanwhile, I continued following my parents in their shows' preparation.
One day I heard about the Accademia Teatro alla Scala and its courses dedicated to the professions of the stage, and I immediately enrolled in the selections for the Theatre Tailoring course. I was looking for a specific reason: I loved fashion, tailoring, theatre, but what did I really want to do when I grew up?
The Academy helped me find an answer.
I remember that during the course a lecturer asked me: 'do you think you want to be a workshop or a stage tailor?'. And the answer was workshop, without any doubt. On stage there is much more adrenalin, many small last-minute repairs, whereas in the workshop there is more concentration, silence and calmness: it is a work of technique and detail.
What is the strength of the course?
It is a truly comprehensive, well-structured programme that teaches every element needed to perform this profession whether behind the scenes in a theatre, in a haute couture workshop or even to open your own workshop.
It is the perfect course to find your own way, precisely because it trains you in all respects, and it does it aggressively, in the sense that it immediately puts you to the test in the field, behind the scenes, on the stage or perhaps in some special Academy project realised in collaboration with other courses. It makes you realise what 'teamwork' means, which was completely new to me as a concept.
Through the course, I also discovered 'psychological' implications, if you like. In fact, I had the opportunity to work backstage at the show La gazzaladra, staged at La Scala, and at the Institutional Show of the Ballet School at the Piccolo Teatro in Milan. On these occasions, I learnt how fundamental it is for a theatre tailor to be able to reassure, to put at ease the artist who is preparing to go on stage and who therefore needs, at that moment, not only that you help him to dress, but that you accompany him on stage, making insecurity, anxiety and agitation disappear.
Once you finished the course, what doors opened up for you?
After finishing the Academy I worked for a while in the tailoring workshop of the Ballet School, as an assistant. I was in charge of small repairs during rehearsals, or of the tutus that the boys had to wear to institutional performances.
Afterwards, I worked for about three years in a world-renowned Italian company, the Compagnia Italiana della moda e del costume, where I developed great technical skills. Between 2018 and 2021, I supervised and created costumes with them for the Korean National Ballet in Seoul, the Astana Opera in Kazakhstan and all the major theatres in Milan. I have worked both with important and textured materials, such as damask, and with light, colorful organza that requires a delicate, fine, soft dexterity that I also acquired and matured at the Dolce & Gabbana haute couture Atelier.
What fascinates you most about this job?
The pleasure of sewing has taken hold of me! I didn't actually seek it out, but it slowly crept into my life, ever since I was a child through, as we used to say, the teachings of my mother and grandmother. It is a feeling, a matter of smells, of noises that put me at ease, soothe me and always give me moments of gratification. Starting from a piece of fabric and arriving at a finished product, knowing that it is my own creation, shaped by my hands and my mind... it is priceless creative process!
In your opinion, is the tailor's profession valued in Italy?
No, not at all!
We live in an era in which this desire for craftsmanship is being somewhat lost on the part of young people. The tailor's profession is considered an ancient craft that nobody needs any more. It is tiring and time-consuming. In fashion we are now used to wanting everything immediately or seeing it change quickly. Traction, on the other hand, has a slow movement, made up of small details and a lot of concentration. With my project, I really want to bring back the pleasure of a tailor-made garment, rich in detail and designed specifically for the wearer.
Here, let's talk about your current business project...
It is called CORA – no season, and it is meant to be an eco-friendly fashion project. All my raw material is second-hand: in my home area there is still this tradition of setting aside trousseau for the next generation, and in the trousseau there is almost always a silk bedspread, brocaded and damask valances very similar to the Dolce and Gabbana style, if you like, and also very theatrical.
At the beginning, I tried, in terms of donations, to get as much material as possible by knocking door to door and in street markets, to create a well-stocket warehouse with different types of fabric. Then I studied how I could make a product with each material and realised that my business is quite different from other ateliers, because in both haute couture and theatre, you generally start with a sketch and then look for the fabric. In my case it's exactly the opposite: I have the fabric that drives me to study the model.
In the purely civilian sphere, you can't create everything with brocade, so I started drawing sketches, also doing a trend study, and developed the bomber jacket, the launching product of my collection. However, it won't be the only tip, as mine is a constanly evolving project like the raw material. I am always looking for a new product, which is why the whole project is no season.
How are you promoting yourself?
We are talking about a newly born business, which has only been up and running for two months. I have just entered the sponsorship phase: I have opened an e-commerce, but at the same time I have been looking for the best places to create window displays, because I believe that my product is something to be seen and touched, necessarily, and the online space is not enough.
I believe it is essential to look the prospective customer in the eye and give them time to approach my packages.
This summer I will be touring Apulia with a group of volunteers, trying to raise awareness for a more conscious purchase of one's clothes, to get the message across that second-hand clothes do not mean clothes of little value, on the contrary! Please, follow me… https://coranoseason.com/
