Jul 8, 20223 min read

Mermaids, dresses and cosplay

“ we started with our grandmother's sewing machine, we wanted to do something for our town “

We are always told that if we believe in something, we should not give up in spite of everything.

Two people who defied the difficulties and opinions of others to achieve what they believed in from a young age are Nicole and Michelle, two very young sisters with a passion for tailoring who wanted to express their originality. But not only that, they wanted to do it here in Aviano. And they succeeded.

They started at a young age, when almost out of spite they began to sew by themselves the clothes for the dolls they could not have. Guided by the expert hands of their grandmothers, they slowly tried their hand at more and more complex crafts until they realized that that would be their path: tailoring.

Not just any tailoring though.

In fact, their atelier on Via Gaspardo Narvesa features colorful mermaid tails, original martial arts uniforms, and beautiful cosplay costumes to make the eyes of every child (and adult) who comes to their storefront glisten with excitement.

Don't believe it? Take a look for yourself:

Cosplay has always been a key part of their lives, because it gives them the opportunity to express their creativity to the fullest and experiment with new sewing techniques to be as true to the cartoon outfit as possible (try defying gravity to make a cape stay up straight all the time!).

“Cosplay has taught us how to accomplish something that wouldn't normally be achievable, and it's that extra gear that we wouldn't have had otherwise”.

And it was the world of cosplay that allowed the girls to open up and gain more confidence through performing in front of a barrage of strangers who quickly became friendly faces bound by the same passion. "It was a stepping stone", as Michelle tells us.

Another great passion the sisters share is mermaid swimming: in fact, they are both Mermaiding. An original novelty they have made even more special with the custom tails they design and print themselves:

At the atelier, however, they also do ordinary repairs and custom projects, always with an eye for waste and the utmost attention to detail.

Do you know how to make a clothing?

First, one documents: whether it is research on a place or an inspirational fact, or analysis of representative images of a client, one gathers information and images that are then arranged in a moodboard that will give inspiration for the first sketches.

Once the sketches have been studied and arranged properly, the clothing plates are made - a kind of development of the clothing, as if the dress were open and laid out on the table - which constitute a kind of instruction booklet of the dress: the person who will have to sew it can see where certain cuts and seams are in order to make it, even in case he/she did not design it.

Thanks to the plates, paper patterns are made, which are paper templates of fabric scraps to be followed to cut the fabric the right way, so that they can then be assembled to form the finished clothing.

If you too have suddenly felt like picking up a needle and thread (or perhaps a sewing machine) and trying to make something but don't know where to start, keep in mind that inspiration is always just around the corner (so arm yourself with pencil and paper) and never be afraid to ask for advice from those who are more experienced, even if it's just in choosing the most suitable fabric.

One thing that stuck with us from our conversation with the girls was a phrase they repeated very often, "if you like something, just do it", whether it's a job, an activity or your clothing, if it makes you feel good, don't hesitate a second longer.

Nicole and Michelle were able with the help of their family to make their dream come true, and they hope this will inspire others to not give up and maybe even discover that Aviano has several possibilities in store for young people as well

“we wanted to bring something in our own small way to the community.”