We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Lucy Shapiro and Taylor Smith Giresi . We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Lucy Shapiro and Taylor Smith Giresi below.
Lucy Shapiro and Taylor Smith Giresi , so good to have you with us today. We’ve always been impressed with folks who have a very clear sense of purpose and so maybe we can jump right in and talk about how you found your purpose?
Covvier found its purpose because Taylor and I (and other set costumers & wardrobe departments) struggled every time we had to work on intimacy and sex scenes. There were no standard garments for actors to use. “Modesty garments” existed, but mostly just for a nude shot, not in the capacity we needed them for with simulated sex scenes with lots of movement and physicality. We were often making garments on the fly, stuffing them with random pieces of foam, shoe inserts, iron pads, etc. to create some sort of barrier between actors. This was before there were Intimacy Coordinators on set to enforce a multitude of new protocols during the filming of sex and intimate scenes. After doing a job with a heavy amount of various intimate scenes, and creating garments nearly daily, it came to our realization that our jobs would be easier, and actors could stay safer (physically and emotionally), if a standard garment was created. It’s taken a lot of time and effort to get to where we are now, but our purpose was found after years of struggling on set, so all the effort has been worth it. We’ve gotten really great feedback of how protected actors feel on set now after using our garments, which was always our main goal in creating them.
Great, so let’s take a few minutes and cover your story. What should folks know about you and what you do?
Taylor and I both started in the film and TV industry, as set costumers. We have both been in the business nearly 15 yrs. As costumers, it has always been our job, not only to keep actors looking good and keeping their costume continuity, but also keeping them comfortable. When it comes to intimate scenes, that’s not always so easy, and while you are trying to keep them comfortable, you are also trying to keep them physically protected and safe . We used to give nude underwear type garments and put in whatever kind of padding we could find to keep barriers between actors, for these scenes. About 6 years ago, we had our first experience with an Intimacy Coordinator ( a new role on sets, to help actors stay protected emotionally and physically during intimate and sex scenes ). It was such a help to have someone there , to enforce the protection of actors, and to collaborate with the ICs on what kind of garments we could give to them. After being on a job with A LOT of intimate and sex scenes, with a full time IC, we started to create special protective garments for each actor. While we were still kind of “Frankensteining” these together, we started to get a feel of what a good standardized protective modesty garment could be . Within a couple of years , we started the beginning phases of our company, Covvier. We started designing garments, getting them made by tailors we knew, having them tested by actors and ICs on various shows and movies, while we asked for ample feedback to perfect our design. We launched our website in Sept of 2022, with our 2 products , the padded pouch and the padded strapless thong. They were a hit! We are the only company in America selling any sort of modesty garment that has protective padding , so it really took off among costume departments across the country. We eventually started shipping in a few countries outside the US when our popularity was growing through our social media and word of mouth . We have now started selling our third design , the padded pouch with tail ( now our second best seller). we with be releasing our fourth garment- a lower profile version of our padded pouch , that can be worn with or without padding, depending on the scene’s level of actor contact. This should be on the site next month! We are really proud about how far we have come, especially with just the two of us running the company. We have learned SO much about running a business, designing garments, PR, the list goes on. We hope soon to design more and more garments, as we have a lot of ideas of how to make this industry safer, when it comes to these types of vulnerable scenes . It has taken a long time for the industry to get to where it’s gotten , regarding safety around these scenes, so it feels really good that we get to agents of change , alongside this shift . It feels good to help support all the costumers who have had to figure this out on there own for years, and now to also support the ICs who are also involved in these scenes. But nothing feels better when you get to present a sleek looking garment to an actor, that they know will protect them, and that they can feel confident and comfortable in as well.
There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?
Asking for help, getting feedback, and having an open mind! Without these three things, we would not be where we are today! We have gotten so much good advice from people who are willing to help us, as a lot of aspects of starting and running a business are VERY new to us. People are really willing to help and explain things, if you let them know that you are still learning! Asking for help and advise from trusted people, is my best advice
All the wisdom you’ve shared today is sincerely appreciated. Before we go, can you tell us about the main challenge you are currently facing?
Currently our biggest obstacle is running a business with just two people, and between two different states. I live in Brooklyn, and Taylor now lives in Connecticut. Trying to work together in person, and get products back and forth to each other is not easy. On top of this, I still work about 70 hours a week as a set costumer, and Taylor has two babies at home, so finding the time to work on Covvier is always fleeting – but we are definitely making it work! It means taking business calls during a lunch break, packing orders after getting home from my day at work, and doing meetings and factory pickups on weekends with babies in tow. It’s a challenge to scale the business as quickly as we want with our current time limitations. We know at some point we’ll expand and be able to hire more help, but for now it’s just the two of us, and we’re making it work the best we can!
Contact Info:
- Website: www.covvier.com
- Instagram: @covvier_garments
- Other: Press: https://gothamist.com/arts-entertainment/filming-sex-scenes-can-be-fraught-these-new-yorkers-want-to-make-them-safer
https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/john-cena-naked-oscars-2024-modesty-garment-1235849818/
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/john-cena-oscars-naked-modesty-garment/
