Costume company The Peris Group plans UK expansion

The Peris Group, the Madrid-based international costume company, has pulled another ace from its sleeve by partnering with London-­based Academy Costumes to provide an international network sourcing and supplying costumes to more than 1,000 productions a year.

It is a landmark moment for the ongoing expansion of The Peris Group. “The UK is a major production hub, with a great tradition in filmmaking and a doorway to US productions,” says owner and CEO Javier Toledo. “Academy Costumes is without doubt one of the best companies in the UK, with a great team, and we couldn’t be happier. We are planning to open on-the-ground facilities in London and in the meantime, Academy will be able to access and offer our stock to its clients.”

Productions with which Peris has recently worked include the multiple Oscar and Bafta nominees Napoleon, Poor Things and Society Of The Snow, and series including The Crown, Bridgerton, The Gilded Age, House Of The Dragon, The Empress and Peaky Blinders.

Peris was founded as a family tailoring business in Valencia in 1856, moving to Madrid at the turn of the 20th century. Toledo bought what was then a relatively small business in 2014, at a time when the company was mostly catering to Spain’s film and theatre industry. In the last decade, Toledo has built Peris into a global operation that is now established across 21 countries. Partnering with companies worldwide, the group offers access to a vast costume stock and the required skill and speed for tailoring outfits on demand for international shoots. In Madrid alone, Peris has a 30,000-square-metre facility.

Toledo saw an opportunity for Peris in the fast-paced production boom led by the rise of the inter­national streamers. “To be competitive, I was aware we had to invest in our facilities but also in the largest and best quality stock possible,” he explains.

Peris specialises in providing high-quality costumes for crowd scenes through both its stock and by manufacturing on-demand from scratch. It tailors and dyes clothes and accessories including shoes, hats and jewellery to meet the requirements of each shoot, and offers clothing for all historical periods.

To help costume designers on tight shooting schedules, Peris is adept at transporting the clothes and accessories, and provides a full post-wear cleaning service.

Niche access

The group gives access to more than 10 million garments, ranging from the ancient world to contemporary fashion, from original 18th- and 19th-century costumes to original haute couture pieces by designers such as Dior, Chanel, Courrèges and Balenciaga, now the subject of Disney+ series Cristóbal Balenciaga on which Peris worked.

The international expansion has been woven through partnerships with companies now part of The Peris Group banner, operating from the busy production hubs of London, Budapest, Vienna, Prague, Poznan, Cologne, Paris, Rome, Berlin, Brussels, Bucharest, Bratislava, Sofia and Mexico City.

“Peris is not just one company, it’s a group and as such the goal is that each of the companies that join us keeps their identity in tune with the Peris style,” says Toledo. In addition to the UK expansion, The Peris Group has recently signed a deal with Theatre & Film in Cape Town, providing costumes for series including One Piece for Netflix.

Peris used the factory of its partner Hero Collection in Poland to provide 4,000 uniforms for Napoleon, Ridley Scott’s historical epic that has been nominated for an Oscar for best costume design. The outfits included those worn by Joaquin Phoenix as the French general, as well as many of the civilian crowd clothes which were made in Madrid. “Quality in costumes for films of any period is key,” says Toledo.

To future-proof the business, The Peris Group has launched Peris Digital, a service that provides high-­resolution digital replicas of real costumes. These create a more realistic and organic alternative in post-­production than those generated by 3D, CG and artificial intelligence, Toledo contends. The plan is to extend the service to the video-games sector.