The history and art of the bullfighter’s ‘suit of lights

1. The history and art of the bullfighter’s ‘suit of
lights’

2. THE FATHER OF MODERN
BULLFIGHTING
Dressing for the part is nothing new. The tradition can be
traced to the 18th century and Joaquín Rodríguez, better
known as Costillares and recognized as the father of
modern bullfighting.

3. Costillares earned respect first through his talent. Though he
grew up working in his father’s slaughterhouse, his
exploits in the ring found him held in the same regard as
the local royals, says del Castillo. That sparked the idea. If
he was going to be seen as a member of the upper class,
why not dress like one?

4. He wore fancy and fine-tailored cropped suit jackets and
added “galos de platas,” a design that is similar to the
military badges worn by the nobles.
“He wanted to dress like them because they were important
people in Sevilla,” says del Castillo, “and he considered
himself an important person in the town.”

5. Two decades after his death, matador fashion took a turn
when arguably Spain’s most famous painter, Francisco de
Goya, published a series of 33 bullfighting-inspired prints
called, “La Tauromaquia.”
Goya did not want his work to portray the nobles in Seville,
as that city and Madrid, where he lived, were bullfighting
rivals. So he morphed Costillares’s original Spanish look
with the styles of French royals. In the early 19th century,
Goya had spent time in France painting for French
patrons

6. “This is the first actual suit called, ‘traje Goyesco,’” says del
Castillo while pointing at a bullfighter on a printed poster
version of a Goya painting hanging in the museum.
The painting, in effect, changed everything about the look of
the suit: The trousers, originally ankle-length, were cut
mid-calf. The coats, originally cropped at the ribs, were
adjusted to below the hip.

7. This uniform may have worked in an art museum but for the
bullfighters, Goya’s innovations created a challenge. A
bull’s horns could easily latch onto the long coat.
Francisco Mounts, or Paquiro, established his legend in the
1840s through his daring work in the ring. He was also a
stylemaster, establishing modern matador chic by
cropping the jacket back to rib-cage length while keeping
the mixture of Spanish and French noble influence, or the
“galones de platas.” To separate the matador from the
picadors and banderillos – bullfighters who are considered
lower ranking – Paquiro would wear gold, while the others
wore silver. He was the first to add flashy details to the
suit, so that it would reflect his individual personality.

8. More here:
http://alcoso.es/
https://www.bostonglobe.com/lifestyle/travel/2014/06/05/dres
sing-kill-the-history-and-art-bullfighter-suit-
lights/1eomvG64Ic1jig8Sh8FANI/story.html