By Ed Avis
Nothing is more important to a good costume than high quality fabric. Costume designers know that fabric that is easily handled, looks great, and allows the wearer freedom of movement is essential to the creation of the best costumes.
Convertex, an Italian fabric company with a new presence in New York, has joined the NCA and is ready to supply its world-renowned fabrics to NCA members.
“Our fabrics are widely used in theater, dance, and sportswear,” says Antonello Scaravilli, president of the U.S. branch of Convertex. “The reason they are so successful is their elasticity, appearance, quality, and safety. All of our fabrics have the STANDARD 100 by OEKO-TEX certification, which means they meet ecological requirements for contact with the skin. That is the most important thing with the artists who wear our fabrics.”
Scaravilli is not exaggerating when he says Convertex fabrics are widely used. Among the ballet, opera and theater companies that have made costumes from those fabrics are the Royal Opera House London, The Australian Ballet Melbourne, and the Staatstheater Hannover, among scores of others. And in the 18 months since opening the U.S. branch, the company has already scored clients such as the Washington Ballet, the Eugene Ballet, and Paul Taylor Dance Foundation.
To top off the list: Convertex fabrics were worn by performers in the Inauguration Show of the 2022 World Cup in Qatar!
Do You Have Demanding Clients?
You may not count opera and ballet companies among your clients, but any theater performer or dancer would love costumes made from the quality fabrics available from Convertex. And don’t be intimidated by their high-powered client list – they can supply even tiny quantities of fabric, Scaravilli stresses.
The process begins when Convertex sends its free sample box to a potential client. It contains 150 samples of fabric in 450 shades of color.
“Already in the United States we have sent maybe 500 of these boxes and we have met several customers who appreciated the possibility to feel, to touch and sense the quality of the fabrics,” Scaravilli says. “And when they ask, we can send them free of charge larger pieces, like 15 inches, so they can wash it, stretch it, and decide if it is what they need.”
What if none of the samples matches what you need for a special production? No problem – Convertex can even make custom fabric orders.
“A key characteristic of Convertex is flexibility,” Scaravilli says. “That means that we can do most of the effort to satisfy the needs of the designer. And we are introducing, on the website, the possibility of the designer to pattern his own fabric. The designer can choose the shape of the design, and the colors, the mix of the colors, and in a few weeks, we can provide the test, and then the production of the fabrics that the designer invented. An example is the great demand for bonded spandex fabrics introduced by Convertex with an infinite combination of colors and fabrics.”
International Company, Local Service
The company was founded in 1997 in Rome, where its headquarters remain. At least 90 percent of the fabrics are manufactured in Italy; most of the rest comes from Germany and Turkey.
U.S. customers deal directly with Scaravilli in New York. He and his wife, Elena Perrotta, who is the chief operating officer, moved there from Italy to launch the U.S. office in the summer of 2021.
The company has a small warehouse in New York with a quantity of the most requested fabrics, which allows quick delivery via DHL or UPS to U.S. customers. Larger orders can be fulfilled from Italy in five days, maximum, and all billing is handled by Convertex Inc in the USA.
While high-quality fabrics are the company’s forte, Scaravilli says something else is important, too: “I don’t want to speak only about fabrics, but about service in general. Our relationships with our customers stretch back 20, 25 years. We know the needs of the customers, and the customers know they can rely on us.”
Interested in trying some Convertex fabrics for your designs? Start by requesting a sample box by visiting https://www.convertex.us/catalogue-request/. Thereafter, you can initiate an order or special request at convertex.us.
“We became aware of your association when we moved to New York more than a year ago, but we weren’t yet ready to work with you,” Scaravilli says. “Now we are looking forward to getting to know the members of the NCA.”
