Nos tempos do alfaiate: Guarnecendo os contornos da aprendizagem, atividade e usos de si de um ofício secular

Abstract

Tailoring is an artisanal craft that has stood the test of time, despite the many challenges it has faced over the years. These challenges include the emergence and expansion of the clothing industry, which has transformed consumer habits and the way people dress, profoundly impacting the dynamics of the sector. Given this scenario, this research seeks to explore the temporalities and dynamics of work in the tailoring universe, as well as identifying promising paths for its preservation and renewal. The research addresses issues such as the relationship among time and the discipline of work in the capitalist system, as well as the difficulty of recognising the importance of this craft in the Brazilian context, a problem rooted in a culture of devaluing manual labour. The nuances between artisanal and industrial production processes are also discussed, highlighting the possibilities for coexistence and adaptation. Processes that, fortunately, are at odds with developments in the educational sphere, driven by new teaching technologies and the dissemination of knowledge through audiovisual media. These tools have been fundamental in revitalising the craft, thanks to the contribution of young tailors who are redefining and keeping alive a practice that was once thought to be on the verge of extinction. The research methodology is based on the ergological approach to understanding the tailor's work activity and its uses of oneself, combining bibliographic, qualitative and documentary methods, as well as resorting to centuries-old books that document techniques and tools still used in contemporary tailoring. The research includes semi-structured interviews with tailors from Brazil and other countries, as well as participant observation of one of the interviewed tailors. The video lesson is analysed as a relevant pedagogical artefact, capable of recording and disseminating the tailors' vast heritage of knowledge. Although these records are limited and cannot replace the richness of human relationships and dialogue between masters and apprentices, they represent one of the most concrete possibilities for preserving and transmitting this knowledge. Thus, as the research points out, this incorporation of video lessons into educational processes, a characteristic of our time, is one of the most effective initiatives in promoting and disseminating tailors' knowledge, capable of offering a future perspective for maintaining the centuries-old craft of tailoring.