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BBC Four Collections - | 0:00:01 | 0:00:03 | |
specially chosen programmes from the BBC archive. | 0:00:03 | 0:00:06 | |
'What's it like making clothes for other people? | 0:00:08 | 0:00:11 | |
'Mary Quant, well-known fashion designer.' | 0:00:11 | 0:00:13 | |
Well, money. Um... | 0:00:13 | 0:00:15 | |
I mean, I started in this workroom making hats, you know, | 0:00:15 | 0:00:17 | |
at £2 10s a week for rich people who were duchesses | 0:00:17 | 0:00:20 | |
and Lady this and Lady that, who went to Ascot, you know? | 0:00:20 | 0:00:22 | |
And it would take me five days | 0:00:22 | 0:00:24 | |
to make one hat for one Lady Bloggs to go to Ascot | 0:00:24 | 0:00:27 | |
and it would rain, and she'd bring it back the next day and say, | 0:00:27 | 0:00:29 | |
"My husband doesn't like it." | 0:00:29 | 0:00:31 | |
And the whole thing, you know, it got through to me | 0:00:31 | 0:00:33 | |
that this was sort of unrealistic, out of date and nonsense - | 0:00:33 | 0:00:36 | |
that one person COULDN'T spend five days making a hat for one woman | 0:00:36 | 0:00:40 | |
and that we lived in a mass-production age and that we... | 0:00:40 | 0:00:43 | |
We must... make mass-production clothes | 0:00:43 | 0:00:46 | |
and that they must not cause all that sweat, blood and tears | 0:00:46 | 0:00:50 | |
at £2 10s a week. | 0:00:50 | 0:00:51 | |
WOMAN: The first, a casual coat by Belstaff, | 0:01:26 | 0:01:29 | |
lined with... INDISTINCT | 0:01:29 | 0:01:31 | |
Raincoat by Weathergay - this has an Antron outer fabric | 0:01:45 | 0:01:49 | |
and Dacron fibrefill padding. | 0:01:49 | 0:01:53 | |
The collar in Dunbar seal. | 0:01:54 | 0:01:55 | |
If there's one thing we all do, it's to wear clothes. | 0:02:01 | 0:02:04 | |
Some of us make more fuss about it than others, | 0:02:04 | 0:02:07 | |
some prefer satins and silks, others denim. | 0:02:07 | 0:02:09 | |
But whatever our taste, | 0:02:09 | 0:02:11 | |
we all spend time and effort and money choosing clothes | 0:02:11 | 0:02:14 | |
in which we feel comfortable | 0:02:14 | 0:02:15 | |
and in which we hope we look attractive to other people. | 0:02:15 | 0:02:19 | |
But who decides what we're going to wear? | 0:02:19 | 0:02:21 | |
What's it like going to work in the industry known the world over | 0:02:21 | 0:02:24 | |
as the rag trade? | 0:02:24 | 0:02:26 | |
Well, today I've come to one of London's big hotels | 0:02:26 | 0:02:28 | |
to see a fashion show, | 0:02:28 | 0:02:30 | |
and out there, the experts are looking critically | 0:02:30 | 0:02:33 | |
at the clothes the models are wearing | 0:02:33 | 0:02:35 | |
and trying to decide what you and I might buy. | 0:02:35 | 0:02:37 | |
Let's go back, then, to the very beginning | 0:02:39 | 0:02:41 | |
and take a look at the textile industry, | 0:02:41 | 0:02:42 | |
which provides from the basic raw materials | 0:02:42 | 0:02:44 | |
all the many fabrics from which our clothes are made - | 0:02:44 | 0:02:48 | |
fabrics that can start their life in a number of different ways. | 0:02:48 | 0:02:51 | |
In a test tube, for example - | 0:02:51 | 0:02:52 | |
the so-called man-made fibres like nylon and rayon, | 0:02:52 | 0:02:55 | |
produced from chemicals in the laboratory. | 0:02:55 | 0:02:58 | |
Or, like cotton, as a plant grown overseas. | 0:02:58 | 0:03:00 | |
Or nearer home, perhaps, | 0:03:00 | 0:03:02 | |
wool from the many different breeds of sheep reared in these islands. | 0:03:02 | 0:03:05 | |
Each breed gives a different kind of wool - different quality, | 0:03:05 | 0:03:09 | |
different textures, and sorting one from another at the mill | 0:03:09 | 0:03:12 | |
calls for a skill and experience | 0:03:12 | 0:03:14 | |
that's the result of a long and intensive training. | 0:03:14 | 0:03:17 | |
We're going to take a look at wool being put through | 0:03:23 | 0:03:25 | |
all the processes that go to make up the finished cloth - | 0:03:25 | 0:03:28 | |
washing, combing, twisting, spinning and weaving. | 0:03:28 | 0:03:32 | |
It's pretty well the same story for cotton | 0:03:32 | 0:03:34 | |
and the man-made fibres too, | 0:03:34 | 0:03:35 | |
but with certain essential differences | 0:03:35 | 0:03:37 | |
at some stages in the process. | 0:03:37 | 0:03:39 | |
But whatever fibre is used and whatever finish is required, | 0:03:39 | 0:03:42 | |
the basic traditional crafts of spinning and weaving | 0:03:42 | 0:03:44 | |
go into the making of every piece of cloth - | 0:03:44 | 0:03:47 | |
crafts that haven't basically changed in over 2,000 years, | 0:03:47 | 0:03:51 | |
except that, as in every other industry, | 0:03:51 | 0:03:53 | |
machines are now doing the work of hundreds of people. | 0:03:53 | 0:03:56 | |
So, the fibre is twisted and spun in hundreds of different shades | 0:04:45 | 0:04:49 | |
and colours, thicknesses and textures. | 0:04:49 | 0:04:51 | |
Reel upon reel of yarn that | 0:04:51 | 0:04:53 | |
will be blended and woven into cloth for coats and suits and dresses. | 0:04:53 | 0:04:57 | |
Now, although machines are used to produce the vast amounts of cloth | 0:04:57 | 0:05:00 | |
needed each year by the garment industries, | 0:05:00 | 0:05:02 | |
it's the people who set the machines who are really important. | 0:05:02 | 0:05:06 | |
There are a wide range of skills employed in all parts | 0:05:06 | 0:05:09 | |
of the textile industry, | 0:05:09 | 0:05:10 | |
and training is a question of passing on traditional skills | 0:05:10 | 0:05:12 | |
from one generation to the next. | 0:05:12 | 0:05:15 | |
The textile world used to be limited, of course, | 0:05:15 | 0:05:17 | |
to certain parts of the country, like Lancashire | 0:05:17 | 0:05:19 | |
and the West Riding of Yorkshire. | 0:05:19 | 0:05:21 | |
But modern developments, | 0:05:21 | 0:05:22 | |
especially the rapid expansion in the field of man-made fibres, | 0:05:22 | 0:05:25 | |
has led now to an industry that's almost nationwide. | 0:05:25 | 0:05:28 | |
Although it's now highly mechanised, | 0:05:42 | 0:05:44 | |
weaving remains the basic art of laying one set of threads | 0:05:44 | 0:05:47 | |
at right angles to another - the warp and the weft. | 0:05:47 | 0:05:51 | |
The resulting weave can be plain or patterned. | 0:05:51 | 0:05:53 | |
That such beautiful patterns can be created | 0:05:53 | 0:05:55 | |
is a tribute to the artists and engineers | 0:05:55 | 0:05:58 | |
working in the textile industry. | 0:05:58 | 0:06:00 | |
And so the cloth takes shape - a lightweight suit for the tropics, | 0:06:09 | 0:06:12 | |
an overcoat for winter - | 0:06:12 | 0:06:14 | |
hundreds of different patterns destined for thousands | 0:06:14 | 0:06:17 | |
of different people. | 0:06:17 | 0:06:18 | |
But this is only the beginning. | 0:06:22 | 0:06:24 | |
At this stage, the cloth can be made into anything. | 0:06:24 | 0:06:27 | |
What eventually appears depends very largely on the skill of those people | 0:06:27 | 0:06:30 | |
who can sew one piece of cloth to another | 0:06:30 | 0:06:33 | |
to produce anything from a ball gown to a balaclava. | 0:06:33 | 0:06:36 | |
If you had worked in the clothing industry in days gone by, | 0:06:39 | 0:06:42 | |
you might well have found yourself sewing by hand | 0:06:42 | 0:06:45 | |
with a group of other people in an often dimly lit, small backroom. | 0:06:45 | 0:06:48 | |
In some ways, things haven't changed very much. | 0:06:54 | 0:06:56 | |
A great deal of the day-to-day work - on samples at least - | 0:06:56 | 0:06:59 | |
is still done by groups of people working in small backrooms, | 0:06:59 | 0:07:02 | |
but usually better lit. | 0:07:02 | 0:07:04 | |
Like everyone else, though, | 0:07:04 | 0:07:05 | |
the clothing industry has been forced into mass production, | 0:07:05 | 0:07:08 | |
perhaps not necessarily for the best, | 0:07:08 | 0:07:10 | |
but with millions of garments to make each year | 0:07:10 | 0:07:12 | |
and styles that continually vary, | 0:07:12 | 0:07:14 | |
the majority of the large manufacturers | 0:07:14 | 0:07:16 | |
tend to run their clothing factories like any other factory, | 0:07:16 | 0:07:19 | |
on a production-line basis - cloth in one end, patterns cut, | 0:07:19 | 0:07:23 | |
machined, sewed, pressed, packed and out at the other. | 0:07:23 | 0:07:26 | |
Off they go, dresses for women all over the country, perhaps the world - | 0:08:01 | 0:08:05 | |
big women, little women, thin women, fat women. | 0:08:05 | 0:08:10 | |
The competition in the rag trade is fierce. | 0:08:10 | 0:08:13 | |
Business is carried on at a frantic pace - | 0:08:13 | 0:08:15 | |
styles, patterns, colours, ideas that change by the week, | 0:08:15 | 0:08:18 | |
even by the day. | 0:08:18 | 0:08:20 | |
Manufacturers who hope that their lines will be the most popular ones | 0:08:20 | 0:08:24 | |
are often surprised or shocked. | 0:08:24 | 0:08:25 | |
There's no accounting for public taste, | 0:08:37 | 0:08:39 | |
but in this one area of London alone | 0:08:39 | 0:08:42 | |
perhaps 1,000 organisations try to persuade the public - | 0:08:42 | 0:08:45 | |
you and me - to buy a better, gayer, lovelier life. | 0:08:45 | 0:08:49 | |
And so the clothes finally reach the shops. | 0:08:53 | 0:08:56 | |
Behind the glass, a glimpse of the glamorous you of tomorrow. | 0:08:56 | 0:09:00 | |
Of course, some people are too young or perhaps too worldly-wise | 0:09:03 | 0:09:07 | |
to be fooled by this sort of thing. | 0:09:07 | 0:09:09 | |
'When it comes to buying clothes, | 0:09:14 | 0:09:16 | |
'there are those who don't have to worry how much money they spend. | 0:09:16 | 0:09:19 | |
'They get the very best attention, the most courteous service, | 0:09:19 | 0:09:22 | |
'the personal touch, | 0:09:22 | 0:09:23 | |
'but they often have to pay for it in hundreds of pounds.' | 0:09:23 | 0:09:26 | |
It is, after all, an exquisite Paris design, madam. | 0:09:26 | 0:09:29 | |
I know one does like to be noticed, | 0:09:29 | 0:09:31 | |
but I'm always afraid of being a little too daring. | 0:09:31 | 0:09:33 | |
'These ladies usually have very generous husbands | 0:09:33 | 0:09:36 | |
'and, with dresses at that price, they need them. | 0:09:36 | 0:09:39 | |
'Of course, you don't have to be rich | 0:09:39 | 0:09:41 | |
'to spend a lot of money on clothes, but it does help.' | 0:09:41 | 0:09:44 | |
WOMAN 1: That looks nice, I'll have a pink one. | 0:09:44 | 0:09:46 | |
- WOMAN 2: Did you try them on? - WOMAN 1: Yes, they look super. | 0:09:46 | 0:09:49 | |
Long-sleeved mauve vests. Um... | 0:09:50 | 0:09:52 | |
We haven't got any long-sleeved ones at the moment. Right, then, bye-bye. | 0:09:52 | 0:09:56 | |
'The trouble is, somehow, that you can't put a price on fashion. | 0:09:56 | 0:09:59 | |
'If you're going to be a trendsetter, well, you've got to pay the price, | 0:09:59 | 0:10:02 | |
'even for the most insignificant piece of clothing.' | 0:10:02 | 0:10:05 | |
- WOMAN 1: Can you do a price on...? - WOMAN 2: Too small. | 0:10:06 | 0:10:09 | |
WOMAN 3: Well, they do vary. | 0:10:09 | 0:10:11 | |
WOMAN 4: With the belt, of course, you can wear it... | 0:10:11 | 0:10:13 | |
'When you think that last year, as a nation, | 0:10:13 | 0:10:15 | |
'we spent almost £2,000 million on clothes, | 0:10:15 | 0:10:17 | |
'it makes you wonder if our vanity is worth that much.' | 0:10:17 | 0:10:20 | |
WOMAN 1: Darker colours... They come in these checks... | 0:10:20 | 0:10:22 | |
- WOMAN 2: You want a 12? - WOMAN 3: Yes. | 0:10:22 | 0:10:24 | |
'But you might not only be a customer, | 0:10:26 | 0:10:28 | |
'you might decide you'd like to work | 0:10:28 | 0:10:30 | |
'as a sales assistant in a clothes shop. | 0:10:30 | 0:10:32 | |
'Not an easy job. | 0:10:32 | 0:10:34 | |
'You've got to be polite, helpful | 0:10:34 | 0:10:35 | |
'and often you must try to understand the customer | 0:10:35 | 0:10:37 | |
'who's not sure what he wants anyway.' | 0:10:37 | 0:10:39 | |
Um... It's got gingham collars, cuffs and collar. | 0:10:39 | 0:10:43 | |
This is the dark blue one. Um... | 0:10:43 | 0:10:45 | |
I don't think this is necessarily your colour. | 0:10:45 | 0:10:47 | |
What kind of jacket is it to go with? | 0:10:47 | 0:10:49 | |
Sort of white, off-white, in linen. | 0:10:49 | 0:10:51 | |
Yes, well, I think... | 0:10:51 | 0:10:52 | |
We've got a large range of shirts here of various colours | 0:10:52 | 0:10:55 | |
that I think you might like better. | 0:10:55 | 0:10:57 | |
This sort of thing, | 0:10:57 | 0:10:59 | |
a paler blue, I think, might tone in better with your jacket. | 0:10:59 | 0:11:02 | |
This has got the stitching that I think you'll rather like. | 0:11:03 | 0:11:07 | |
This double stitching here, fly fronts. | 0:11:07 | 0:11:10 | |
And a double cuff, the... Do you notice the finish on the cuffs there? | 0:11:10 | 0:11:16 | |
We've also got a bespoke department, you know...to measure. | 0:11:16 | 0:11:20 | |
Mm. | 0:11:20 | 0:11:21 | |
'You can make mistakes if you're too keen to help. | 0:11:23 | 0:11:25 | |
'If you ask the right questions to begin with, | 0:11:25 | 0:11:27 | |
'you won't waste your time or the customer's.' | 0:11:27 | 0:11:29 | |
Would you like to come this way, please? | 0:11:29 | 0:11:31 | |
Thank you. | 0:11:31 | 0:11:32 | |
Had you any particular colour in mind? Something like this? | 0:11:34 | 0:11:37 | |
No, nothing particularly. I'll try that for a start, anyhow. | 0:11:37 | 0:11:39 | |
Certainly. Well, I'll check the size anyway. | 0:11:39 | 0:11:41 | |
Right, thank you. | 0:11:41 | 0:11:43 | |
- Let me take that for you, sir. - Oh, thank you very much. | 0:11:45 | 0:11:48 | |
- There we are, sir. - Thank you. | 0:11:50 | 0:11:53 | |
How does that feel? | 0:11:57 | 0:11:59 | |
Well, it fits all right, but it's a bit short, isn't it? | 0:11:59 | 0:12:01 | |
I'll get my trousers wet if I'm not careful! | 0:12:01 | 0:12:03 | |
This coat is very fashionable at the present moment, of course. | 0:12:03 | 0:12:06 | |
Yes, but... | 0:12:06 | 0:12:07 | |
No, it's too short for me. I'd like to try a longer one, please. | 0:12:07 | 0:12:09 | |
- Yes, a pleasure. - Thank you. | 0:12:09 | 0:12:11 | |
'You see, if only he'd found out what was wanted right at the beginning.' | 0:12:11 | 0:12:15 | |
WOMAN: Good afternoon. Can we help you at all? Anything special? | 0:12:15 | 0:12:18 | |
'Selling clothes to ladies can be a problem. | 0:12:18 | 0:12:20 | |
'They ask your advice, but they don't really want it. | 0:12:20 | 0:12:23 | |
'They can't afford a dress, but they buy it just the same | 0:12:23 | 0:12:27 | |
'and they expect you to help calm their anxieties. | 0:12:27 | 0:12:30 | |
'You become an advisor, but people won't trust you. | 0:12:30 | 0:12:32 | |
'They know, as you do, that it's your business to sell.' | 0:12:32 | 0:12:36 | |
Isn't that nice? Yes. | 0:12:36 | 0:12:37 | |
And belted, so you can either use it without a belt, around the waist... | 0:12:37 | 0:12:41 | |
Maybe in white? This is very smart. It's also been reduced, madam. | 0:12:41 | 0:12:43 | |
This is £4 19s 11d... | 0:12:43 | 0:12:45 | |
We've had great success with that one this year. It's a sweet style... | 0:12:45 | 0:12:48 | |
It's really worth trying because they are really... | 0:12:48 | 0:12:50 | |
'The fashion business never stops - clothes for every occasion, | 0:12:51 | 0:12:54 | |
'every pocket. | 0:12:54 | 0:12:55 | |
'A style, a shape, a colour for everyone.' | 0:12:55 | 0:12:58 | |
WOMAN: Antonelli. | 0:13:13 | 0:13:15 | |
SMATTERING OF APPLAUSE | 0:13:19 | 0:13:21 | |
Well, that line looks like being very popular. | 0:13:25 | 0:13:27 | |
The textile industry provided the cloth, | 0:13:27 | 0:13:29 | |
and, obviously, it's been very well made. | 0:13:29 | 0:13:31 | |
But who decided on the cut and shape of the particular garment? | 0:13:31 | 0:13:35 | |
That's the job of the designer, a job which calls for a variety | 0:13:35 | 0:13:38 | |
of basic skills. | 0:13:38 | 0:13:40 | |
And until a few years ago, | 0:13:40 | 0:13:42 | |
most of the basic designs - for women's clothes at least - | 0:13:42 | 0:13:44 | |
seem to have come from Paris and Rome, | 0:13:44 | 0:13:47 | |
but lately, British designers have been more than holding their own, | 0:13:47 | 0:13:50 | |
especially in clothes for younger people, and, what's more, | 0:13:50 | 0:13:53 | |
giving our exports a thoroughly good boost. | 0:13:53 | 0:13:55 | |
What's it like being a designer of clothes? | 0:13:57 | 0:13:59 | |
What sort of training do you need? | 0:13:59 | 0:14:01 | |
Is it as glamorous as it seems? | 0:14:01 | 0:14:04 | |
'Well, most of the time you're working in a small room | 0:14:04 | 0:14:06 | |
'with samples of cloth all around you, | 0:14:06 | 0:14:08 | |
'a dummy, a sketch pad and a pencil. | 0:14:08 | 0:14:10 | |
'Sometimes you work on your own, sometimes with other people. | 0:14:10 | 0:14:14 | |
'Slowly, you begin to try out ideas | 0:14:14 | 0:14:16 | |
'that may be next year's fashions... or may not.' | 0:14:16 | 0:14:19 | |
But make sure that the shoulder strap | 0:14:19 | 0:14:21 | |
is the same width as the bodice line here | 0:14:21 | 0:14:23 | |
and...the other thing... | 0:14:23 | 0:14:24 | |
'Pat's experience is typical. | 0:14:24 | 0:14:26 | |
'Seven years' study to become a designer | 0:14:26 | 0:14:28 | |
'and, at first, she saw her ideas rejected or used by somebody else | 0:14:28 | 0:14:32 | |
'without getting any of the credit. | 0:14:32 | 0:14:34 | |
'She wants to run her own fashion house, but is it so easy? | 0:14:34 | 0:14:37 | |
'I spoke to several young designers | 0:14:37 | 0:14:39 | |
'and asked what had happened to them, what they thought about their work.' | 0:14:39 | 0:14:42 | |
As soon... Yes, as soon as I left, I... | 0:14:42 | 0:14:44 | |
Well, I went to evening classes to learn cutting | 0:14:44 | 0:14:46 | |
because I knew this was what I wanted to do, | 0:14:46 | 0:14:49 | |
and my first job was in a workroom. I knew one just had to learn | 0:14:49 | 0:14:52 | |
something about it, and it was £2 10s a week, and... | 0:14:52 | 0:14:56 | |
That was tough because I had to live on it | 0:14:57 | 0:14:59 | |
because my parents kept saying, "You know, what do you expect? | 0:14:59 | 0:15:02 | |
"If you will do something as silly as fashion, | 0:15:02 | 0:15:04 | |
"you must put up with it," again, quite rightly, you know. | 0:15:04 | 0:15:07 | |
Yes, well, I started at provincial art school, | 0:15:07 | 0:15:11 | |
did a three-year course there, | 0:15:11 | 0:15:13 | |
in which I learnt sort of cutting and making... | 0:15:13 | 0:15:16 | |
sort of all the technical side. | 0:15:16 | 0:15:18 | |
And then I went on to the Royal College from there | 0:15:18 | 0:15:20 | |
and did an extra three years. | 0:15:20 | 0:15:22 | |
So, in all, I've spent six years studying, | 0:15:22 | 0:15:24 | |
so that's quite a long study period. | 0:15:24 | 0:15:27 | |
Um... Well, my education, | 0:15:27 | 0:15:29 | |
I had a secondary modern education after failing the 11-plus... Um... | 0:15:29 | 0:15:34 | |
I did a few jobs after that and then went into national service, | 0:15:34 | 0:15:37 | |
in the Navy. | 0:15:37 | 0:15:39 | |
After coming out of the national service I went to art school. | 0:15:39 | 0:15:43 | |
I stayed there for two years | 0:15:43 | 0:15:45 | |
and then took the entrance to the Royal College of Art | 0:15:45 | 0:15:49 | |
and I stayed there for one year, and then left the Royal College. | 0:15:49 | 0:15:53 | |
I started in a small, bespoke workshop in South London | 0:15:53 | 0:15:58 | |
and I learnt sort of cutting and tailoring | 0:15:58 | 0:16:00 | |
and all the practical and technical side, | 0:16:00 | 0:16:03 | |
and from there, I left - I think I spent about 18 months there | 0:16:03 | 0:16:08 | |
and I left there and I attended Shoreditch Garment College | 0:16:08 | 0:16:11 | |
for the clothing industry. | 0:16:11 | 0:16:13 | |
Well, I think the first thing you must have is, obviously, finance. | 0:16:13 | 0:16:17 | |
I didn't go in for about three months | 0:16:17 | 0:16:19 | |
and I realised that you just can't do a thing unless you've got money. | 0:16:19 | 0:16:23 | |
Anyone who's going into business must be prepared for this sort of... | 0:16:23 | 0:16:28 | |
this sort of thing that's on you all the time. You can't relax. | 0:16:28 | 0:16:32 | |
You can't have holidays very easily like people think you can. | 0:16:32 | 0:16:36 | |
You're working all the time. | 0:16:36 | 0:16:38 | |
I mean, it's all right doing things, you know, | 0:16:38 | 0:16:40 | |
sketches and doing things on paper, | 0:16:40 | 0:16:41 | |
but then you've got to sit down and get your form and get your line, | 0:16:41 | 0:16:45 | |
and this is what you've got to convey to a machinist. | 0:16:45 | 0:16:48 | |
And I think clothes are going to be made | 0:16:48 | 0:16:50 | |
in a completely new kind of way, and should be, indeed. | 0:16:50 | 0:16:53 | |
I mean, they should be made like fibreglass motorcars or bottles, | 0:16:53 | 0:16:57 | |
they shouldn't be cut and sewn together. | 0:16:57 | 0:16:59 | |
We shouldn't have man-made fibres that imitate wool | 0:16:59 | 0:17:03 | |
by being turned into a thread and then woven with waft, weft, | 0:17:03 | 0:17:07 | |
whatever they call them. You know, you could, in fact... | 0:17:07 | 0:17:10 | |
It's absolutely possible, really, | 0:17:10 | 0:17:11 | |
to take the chemicals, to have the formula for the mould, | 0:17:11 | 0:17:14 | |
which is like a bottle, | 0:17:14 | 0:17:15 | |
and more or less shake it up and through scientific processes | 0:17:15 | 0:17:18 | |
produce the garment, you know, in all the different sizings, without seams. | 0:17:18 | 0:17:23 | |
Perfect finish. | 0:17:25 | 0:17:26 | |
Well, there we are. | 0:17:26 | 0:17:27 | |
A vast industry, a hectic one and an eye always on the export market - | 0:17:27 | 0:17:31 | |
an industry that is often brilliantly inventive | 0:17:31 | 0:17:34 | |
and sometimes extremely superficial. | 0:17:34 | 0:17:36 | |
And if you think there's a place somewhere along the line for you, | 0:17:36 | 0:17:38 | |
you can rest assured that wherever you live | 0:17:38 | 0:17:40 | |
there'll be some branch or other of the rag trade. | 0:17:40 | 0:17:43 | |
Pay can vary enormously, | 0:17:43 | 0:17:45 | |
but there's nearly always some form of training available | 0:17:45 | 0:17:47 | |
and promotion is there if you've got the enthusiasm and the ability. | 0:17:47 | 0:17:51 | |
Now, for those with artistic ability and a sense of colour or line, | 0:17:51 | 0:17:54 | |
the world of the designer or buyer could be open to you, | 0:17:54 | 0:17:57 | |
but it's a pretty tough road. | 0:17:57 | 0:17:59 | |
You need detailed training and a capacity for hard work. | 0:17:59 | 0:18:03 | |
So, the next time you buy yourself some more clothes, | 0:18:04 | 0:18:06 | |
just give a thought to all the people and to all the techniques | 0:18:06 | 0:18:09 | |
directly or indirectly concerned with the end product. | 0:18:09 | 0:18:11 | |
Would one of these jobs be right for you? | 0:18:11 | 0:18:14 | |
As always, it's your decision. | 0:18:14 | 0:18:17 | |
SHEEP BLEAT | 0:18:17 | 0:18:18 |