Costume industry in crisis despite film and TV boom. Market forces have closed at least nine shops in the past decade.

Crain's New York reports:

Unless a holiday miracle occurs, the city's oldest costume-rental business might shut its doors in the spring.

For the past 10 years, Helen Uffner Vintage Clothing, a film, TV and Broadway fixture for nearly 40 years, has been ensconced in a 6,200-square-foot showroom at Queens Plaza in Long Island City. A new landlord increased the rent 26%, to more than $100,000 annually, in May and gave the company until next May to move out.

Though the city's film and TV production business is booming, the industry's growth has somehow overlooked the wardrobe business.


Soundstages are at capacity, and owners are investing tens of millions of dollars to expand in the Bronx, Brooklyn, Queens and Staten Island. Equipment-rental shops are buying additional inventory, and postproduction facilities are opening in droves. Even catering companies are finding a new source of revenue: feeding hungry crews.

The city estimates the film and TV industry contributes $9 billion annually to the economy.

Nevertheless, a combination of skyrocketing rents and declining profits has led to the closing of at least nine local costume shops in the past decade, including Creative Costume and Odds Costume Rental. One of the largest—Hero Wardrobe in Chelsea—shuttered in May.

Helen Uffner started her vintage-clothing rental business from her Murray Hill apartment in 1978. She scoured flea markets and estate sales for period clothing from the 1860s to the 1980s to supply costumes for films including Out of Africa and Zelig. More recently, she has worked on CBS All Access's The Good Fight; Amazon's series on Zelda Fitzgerald, Z: The Beginning of Everything; and the recently released feature film Wonderstruck. But now she feels the end is near.

"Soon the city is going to be bereft of any costume shops," Uffner said. "Every costume business is discussing what to do when their lease expires. Ultimately the emperor will have no clothes."

An article worth your time.