TAILORED CLOTHING DOCUMENTARY “MEN OF THE CLOTH” NOW AVAILABLE ON DEMAND, DVD

Men of the Cloth
by Stephen Garner
Men of the Cloth
Joseph Genuardi

Men Of The Cloth, an inspiring documentary portrait of three Italian master tailors, has just been released on several popular platforms: Vimeo On Demand, iTunes, Amazon, Google Play and Vudu. The Vimeo-on-demand release coincides with the release of a special edition DVD edition with a director’s commentary and 20 minutes of extra features, including one with Giacomo Trabalza, the late “tailor to the stars” in Los Angeles, and three clips with author and menswear expert Bruce Boyer.

Men Of The Cloth was filmed over the course of 11 years in Italy, New York, Philadelphia and Los Angeles. It had its world premiere at DOC NYC, the largest documentary film festival in America, and had successful screenings at such well-known venues as the Village East in New York City, the Bloor Hot Docs Cinema in Toronto and the Bryn Mawr Film Institute near Philadelphia. Men Of The Cloth has also screened at many art museums around the world, including the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, the Minneapolis Institute of Arts, the Cleveland Museum of Art, and the Australian Centre for the Moving Image in Melbourne.

The film was an audience favorite at the Three Rivers Film Festival in Pittsburgh. The Arts Fuse of Boston called the film “a deeply moving narrative, a story that is filled with a deep lust for life.” The men’s lifestyle magazine A & H said: “A captivating tale of an art in both remission and resurgence, Men Of The Cloth is a journey across the globe unifying craftsmanship and style.”

Men of the Cloth
Joe Centofanti

Men Of The Cloth unravels the mystery of the tailor’s artistry and reveals how their passionate devotion to their Old World craft is akin to a religion. The film centers around Nino Corvato, Joe Centofanti, and Checchino Fonticoli, master tailors who have spent a lifetime perfecting the skills necessary to construct flawless custom-made suits for their clients in New York City, Philadelphia and Penne, Italy. Now in the twilight of their career, they fear that their old-world knowledge will vanish with them. Enter Joe Genuardi, a Philly native and a tailoring apprentice who reflects the resurgence of popular interest in artisanal craftsmanship as an alternative to corporate mass production, providing hope for the future of this craft.

Vicki Vasilopoulos is a former senior fashion editor at DNR, the men’s news magazine (now a part of WWD). Vasilopoulos has published features in The New York Times, Esquire, Time Out New York and New Jersey Monthly. Men Of The Cloth is her first film.