Radio-Canada's 70,000-piece costume collection gets new home

When Radio-Canada announced it was closing its costume department to save money late in 2014, the Crown corporation's French-language television viewerswere shocked.

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With 70,000 costumes and 20,000 accessories, it's one of the largest collectionsin North America.

Many Quebecers have fond memories of what the characters wore in belovedtelevision shows from their childhood --- programs such as Passe-Partout and Le temps d'une paix.

Thirty thousand people signed a petition to save the collection.

The Quebec Ministry of Culture stepped in to save some of the most precious costumes,sending themto the Muse de la civilisation de Qubec costumes from children's programs such asBobino and Fanfreluche,period costumes from television series such as Belles histoires des pays d'en haut and La soire du hockey.

For almost a year, it looked as though the rest of the collection wouldbe dismantled.

Brainstorming to save collection

But behind the scenes, producers, costume designers and city of Montreal officials werebrainstorming about how to save the collection and make it available to film and television productions shot in the city.

This week, in an exemplary show of solidarity, the city of Montreal, Quebec's Ministry of Culture, Radio-Canada, private producers and a not-for-profit community development corporation announced they'd come up with a solution:Le grand costumier.

With a new logo and new location, Le grand costumier will be a costume-lending and creation serviceavailable to anyone working in the film and television industry in Montreal.

Heritage home for heritage collection

The collection will be housed on five floors of back storage rooms at the former Montreal library, now known as the difice Gaston-Miron.

The city of Montreal will clean up the rooms and outfit them with new lighting and proper temperature controls an investment of $600,000and given to Le grand costumier for a token rent ofonedollar per year.

Le grand costumier is expected to pay for itself once the original investment is made. It will not operate with public grant money.

Private partners

Three Montreal private film production companies are also partners in the venture, including the company producing this year's le Bye-Bye,theannual year-end review that airs on New Year's Eveon Radio-Canada.

Le Bye-Bye'sproducer, Louis-PhilippeDrolet, said this year, it was ascrambleto find outfits fortheproduction.

In past years,he would have simply dippedinto the collection.

Collection to be online

The province is kicking in $100,000to digitize the collection, to make it accessible online for prospective rentals.

Quebec Culture MinisterHlneDavid says it's the "perfect ending [to] what was, at first, a sad story...and a beautiful beginning of something new."

"The television and cinema industry is important to Montreal," David said."Now producers will come to this magnificent heritage building. It's a perfect place with a perfect business plan to do this."

It's also a happy ending for Radio-Canada's senior vice-president, Louis Lalande.

"I feel very good, very proud," Lalande said, "to have a project that really shows our care about cultural vitality."

Le grandcostumieropens inthe new location in April 2016.