Old People's Home for Teenagers: Learning arts from old masters
/One of the most beautiful elements of the fibre arts is that their survival depends on them being passed down through generations.
For industries such as millinery, sewing, knitting, crochet and lacework it's vital that younger people learn the intricate skills earlier generations have developed over centuries.
Rick McGill, 77, is a master milliner. Kirrilly Webb, 19, is in the midst of studying for a diploma of fashion technology at TAFE and dreams of a career that echoes his, but worries it won't be attainable.
In order to witness the age-old practice of learning the arts from elder masters, we brought Rick and Kirrilly together to teach/learn the art of hatmaking.
Rick
I grew up in a very working class family in South Melbourne.
I was a strange child. I knew I was gay, but I didn't know how to say it. I knew I loved opera, and that I wanted fabulous things in my life.
People are born to do different things and my partner says I was born to be a frock fairy. [Laughs].
I started work as a tailor in 1962 and I was married to a wonderful woman for 10 years, who got me into millinery.
And now I've been a milliner for more than 50 years.
My philosophy is that life is about a series of journeys
All of those things that happen to you in life are the things that create who you are, and in those journeys you meet people who come into your life to teach you a lesson, or for you to teach them a lesson.
As a result of the journeys I've been on, I've made hats for many, many shows and many, many films. I've worked with some of the most amazing creative people on this planet.
Career highlights have been many. I did two Star Wars films, I did Moulin Rouge where I was very spoiled and got to make a couple of headpieces for Nicole Kidman.
One was an Indian [inspired] headpiece that was shot from behind with all this light coming through it, and it was just stunning.
I've done Australia's big musical [productions of] Aladdin, Frozen and My Fair Lady.
And I'm still working at 77
I have been truly blessed to have had the life I've had — and am still having!
I've worked in an industry that has given me the greatest joy any human can have. Not many people get the chance to do that.
Sometimes I hate making hats! Particularly when it's getting to the end and you're going, "Won't you just bloody go away?"
But, usually, the act of creation is very therapeutic. Making something takes you to a very different place.
That's why I think everybody should have some kind of craft skills, and why I think a 19-year-old like Kirrilly wanting to learn how to make hats is really wonderful.
It's always nice, imparting knowledge. And it's exciting to see hats through the eyes of a young person — to see the joy in them.
Kirrilly
I was always the weird kid playing make-believe who was really intricately describing the imaginary costume the character was wearing.
And I've always loved seeing the finished product of my own designs. It's such a satisfying feeling.
I'm hopefully working towards a career in the costume industry, and millinery is something I'm quite interested in as a field, so having the chance to work with such an experienced costumer is so exciting.
People have weird ideas around [older] age meaning incompetence. But when you have so much industry experience, you are so knowledgeable.
Rick really broke the [stereotype] we have built up about age for me. When you see the things he's created, there's so much beautiful work — in the form of a hat!
I hope I get to do something like the work he's done in my career. That's kind of the dream.
And I hope I'm as joyful in my life when I get to 77.
I feel that I'm a little bit braver going forward after meeting Rick
This industry particularly can feel like it's unattainable to reach, but this experience has helped me to understand it's not as far away as you might think.
Rick definitely taught me more than I taught him — but I did teach him some slang.
And I will absolutely be wearing the hat we made together. In a world where so much manufacturing is outsourced and everything is automated, it's so cool to put something together with your own two little hands.
You can watch Old People's Home For Teenagers on ABC iview.
Quotes lightly edited for clarity and brevity.