Every Friday I am going to post a “garment of the week” which I will comment about. This may entail the complexity of cleaning the piece, the lack of serviceability (cannot be cleaned as labeled), a difficult stain removal or a really well constructed garment.

For the first “garment of the week” we have a costume from the Metropolitan Opera House,  as we are in the process of cleaning the entire wardrobe from “The Damnation of Faust”.

This leather jacket worn by the principal male lead is a challenge because of the construction as well as the artificial aging added by the “paint shop”.

This garment was cleaned “by hand” by my head cleaning technician Michael White. The “aged” effect was well as the detailed construction did not allow us to use any other method.

We were able to remove the makeup from the collar as well as deodorize the jacket for the next performance with any harm to the aged detail or faux fur trim.