Live Preston & Fylde Issue 108 (September 2022)

IT’S SHOWTIME!

Maxine Tutty is known across the globe for her glamorous costumes that are lavishly embellished with beautiful feathers and glittering gems

Maxine Tutty of Maxine’s Feathers leads the way in the worldwide demand for extravagantly decorated theatre and showgirl costumes. She has worked on internationally acclaimed films including Rocketman, she has made costumes for five out of six Take That tours, she has worked with the stars of Strictly Come Dancing and most recently Julian Clary, Dawn French and Alexandra Burke at the London Palladium.

Blackpool-based Maxine’s Feathers are global leaders in the entertainment industry when it comes to creating stage, film and theatre costumes that are richly embellished with coloured feathers and sparkling jewels.

“We’re currently working on Jack and the Beanstalk at the London Palladium,” says Maxine, as she points out a work in progress – a wildly decorative, emerald green, featheradorned costume and headdress commissioned for Julian Clary, who is due for a fitting with Maxine the following week.

“The costume we are making at the moment for him is the opening costume for the whole production. In total, Julian has 12 costume changes – it’s a very lavish production,” says Maxine, who explains that the base of the opening costume, before Maxine's team feathered it, was made my UK-based Mike Coltman, whose specialist costumes and props have appeared in theatre and film for the past 25 years.

Over that time he has been involved in many TV show and films including the Vicar of Dibley, The Royal Variety Show, French & Saunders and Love Actually. Maxine explains that feathering the costume for Julian Clary has taken her team more than four days: “For the majority of our costumes we use silver pheasant feathers from China or ostrich feathers from South Africa.”

WHEN I WAS YOUNGER, I HAD A HUGE CRUSH ON GARY BARLOW – SO WHEN I FIRST MET HIM, I COULD HARDLY SPEAK!

In the same production at the London Palladium is Dawn French, of whom Maxine says: “Having met her, she is definitely among my favourites!

“She is funny and really down to earth. In fact, we have worked with her a few times. We once visited her at her home in Fowey. The house was beautiful – it was a rainy day, we had coffee then she lent us waterproofs and we all went for a walk, as there were steps leading from the house directly down to the beach.”

Maxine, who gained a degree in Art and Design, began her career after applying for a job at Blackpool Pleasure Beach: “As part of the interview I was asked to design three headdresses which I had never done before – but, I got the job! I worked there for seven years.”

As time went on, Maxine wanted more of a challenge – creating her own designs, as she explains: “I wanted a change, it was time to move on. I loved my time at the Pleasure Beach – it suited me and I learnt such a lot.”

It was 27 years ago when Maxine began working independently from her spare room at home.

She kept in touch with many of her old contacts and made many new ones and began to forge a reputation for her meticulous attention to detail and lavish decorations.

In 2016 Maxine’s Feather’s moved to business premises on Whitehills Industrial Park in Blackpool.

Over two floors the place is buzzing – it’s a hive of activity, where Maxine’s five-strong team are busy sewing, spraying, sticking and putting together the stunning costumes.

Behind the scenes is Billy, Maxine’s husband of 16 years and techno wizard. While Maxine is the creative, Billy is constantly keeping ahead of the curve in terms of 21st century technology that can move the business forward. It is Billy, who operates the latest, impressive laser cutter that zips through acrylic sheeting to make patterns for the costumes and a state-of-the-art printer that creates patterns and logos that can eventually be embossed onto fabric.

THE SPECIAL EFFECTS ARE OFTEN THE MOST EXCITING PART OF THE SHOW AT THE OPENING AND THE GRAND FINALE

When we meet Billy, he’s in the process of making a pattern for bat masks for a different panto. He explains that he’s had to source electro-luminescent wire to incorporate into the masks, that can be remote-controlled by a backstage team.

“The special effects are often the most exciting part of the show at the opening and the grand finale,” says Maxine. “Billy and I work well together, we’re a good team.”

Maxine has worked regularly with Take That – back in 2006 they asked Maxine to create costumes for their Could it be Magic Tour. Since then, she has worked on four more tours creating ‘showgirl’ style costumes for on-stage dancers: “I’ve met all the band members. When I was younger, I had a huge crush on Gary Barlow – so when I first met him, I could hardly speak!” she laughs.

Maxine and her team have also worked with Girls Aloud: “We spent a lively few days with them and had dinner together,” recalls Maxine, who has also worked regularly with the Strictly Come Dancing team: “We know when the show comes to Blackpool we’ll be getting a phone call.”

Speaking of the memorable huge feather wings worn by Taron Egerton as Elton John in Rocketman, Maxine recalls: “We had to make two pairs, the first pair was the fullblown feathered ones and the second had to be made using a softer more flexible base as they needed to be folded for a scene of Taron wearing them in a taxi.”

While Maxine loves getting involved in the design of many costumes, quite a number of them are designed by award winning Hugh Durrant who has designed for the likes of Cher, Wayne Sleep and Andrea Boticelli.

“I have designed quite a few of the dancers’ costumes for the Palladium but Hugh originated the designs for Julian Clary, Dawn French and Alexandra Burke, who are also in the show.

“I love what I do as every day is different, we meet some wonderful people and there’s always a deadline to work towards,” says Maxine, whose work has also featured on the covers of Vogue and Marie Claire.

Reflecting on how Maxine’s Feathers has evolved over the years, Maxine says: “When I set out on my own all those years ago, I never imagined I would be working with such big, internationallyknown names.

“It’s been hard work getting here and there’s been a lot of late nights, blood, sweat and tears along the way. But we did it and I’m very proud of what we have achieved.” •

maxinesfeathers.co.uk