### FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE ###

LOCAL THEATRICAL COSTUME POWERHOUSE PRIMED FOR ITS FIRST HALLOWEEN 

The Costume Collective’s vast costume rental stock in Northeast Minneapolis is ready for theater, dance and film productions, Halloween revelers, costume partygoers, and the zombie apocalypse.

[MINNEAPOLIS, SEPTEMBER 13, 2022] The Costume Collective announced today that the costume rental arm of their warehouse location at 3300 5th St NE in Northeast Minneapolis is ready and eager for Halloween and holiday season costume rentals to the public:

14,000 sq. ft. warehouse, with more than 2200 linear feet of costumes, 2500 feet of shelf storage
Holiday and Character Costumes (Santa, Reindeer, Easter Bunny, bears, ducks, and many others)
Period Costumes from Ancient Greece through the 20th century
Huge “distressed” collection, perfect for zombies

Officially launched in December of 2021, The Costume Collective is the innovative brainchild of a group of Twin Cities costume designers and builders. Seeking to create a shared resource for costumers in the theater, dance and film community, they have successfully built out an impressive umbrella of theatrical wardrobe resources: costume rental, work and meeting space, classes, storage and more.

The architects of The Costume Collective met informally for years, discussing ideas and shared needs in the costume design world. When, in May of 2020, the Guthrie Theater announced it was closing its costume rental business to the public, they decided the time had come to dream big.

Taking in a donation of Guthrie costume stock, as well as purchasing the stock from the retiring Brian Berberich and his Theatrical Costume Company (a bedrock costume source for many school programs, theaters and the local film industry), the business was officially founded on August 26, 2021. Partnering with Next Stage Rental and Market (a sustainable set design business and resource), the lease on the 14,000 sq. ft. space was signed that December.

Since then, they have been hard at work expanding their offerings, keeping up a lively social media presence showcasing their stock, and announcing ambitious future plans including classes, YouTube tutorials, mentoring and other community outreach efforts.

From co-founder and cohort Andrea Gross: “We were surprised and saddened when The Guthrie announced the closure of CostumeRentals. In response to the racial uprisings of 2020, we talked a lot about access, and the number of empty spaces and obstacles we were seeing in our industry: cost of rentals, support for storytellers, access to learning opportunities. So we dreamt big: to be able to provide affordable costume rentals to organizations and individuals all over the country, and to build a shared work space where we could support one another’s endeavors, teach our skills, and learn from others.”

From co-founder Eleanor Schanilec: “I’ve been able to share my perspective on how to best support new generations of costumers, while also learning from the amazing community formed around the idea of The Costume Collective.”

Born from the loss of CostumeRentals, the onset of the pandemic, the racial uprisings in 2020, this group of passionate and community conscious costumers look not only to a future of being a reliable, accessible shared resource for the theater, dance and film community, but also to having your pirate and princess costumes ready to rent.

The Costume Collective is a group of costumers who are creating a rental market, training venue, and skill sharing platform for costumes and costuming in the Twin Cities. They aim to fill the niche left by the closure of the Guthrie’s CostumeRentals Warehouse and Theatrical Costume Company, but also to do much more to support the local theater community. They are located at 3300 5th St NE, Suite E, Minneapolis, 55418. For more information, contact Val Larche at 612-456-1271.

The Costume Collective 3300 5th St NE Suite E Minneapolis, MN 55418