Big Bird to Beyoncé: The Hollywood Legacy of NYC’s Last Feather Artisan

Big Bird to Beyoncé: How NYC’s Last Feather Shop Became a Hollywood Staple and Fashion Powerhouse Over the Past Century

Nestled in Manhattan’s Garment District is one of the rare shops that has withstood the test of time for over a century, infusing fashion and performance with incomparable panache. Established in 1918, Dersh Feather is now the last feather shop in New York City, an ongoing testament to a craft that fades in the presence of five competitors that once thrived in the same neighborhood. From dressing Broadway stars to adding the final touch to haute couture looks for celebrities like Beyoncé and Cardi B, Dersh Feather’s evolution from millinery wholesale house to crafting genius for stage, screen, and runway truly befits the concept of feather design.

Dersh Feather is a fifth-generation family-owned business, now under the aegis of 24-year-old Shalom Dershowitz. What started with one of his great-great-grandfathers became alive when it began servicing major names in entertainment and fashion. The list of clients reads like a fashionista’s Who’s Who: Marc Jacobs, Calvin Klein, Alexander Wang, Carolina Herrera, even Bergdorf Goodman. Its feathers have accompanied icons at the Met Gala, including Cate Blanchett, Camila Mendes, and Cardi B, uniting craftsmanship with stars.

Beyond being a supplier, Dersh Feather is a full-fledged shop. The feathers themselves are dyed, steamed, sewn, and glued by hand in apposition to the clients’ specifications: ostrich, peacock, turkey, and duck. Although painstaking to fluff, ostrich feathers are undoubtedly the customer favorite. Although a lot of feathers come from abroad, especially ostrich plumes from South Africa, some stuff, such as turkey and down feathers, are actually sourced locally.

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Dersh’s closeness and availability are key for Broadway productions. The shop’s location in the heart of Manhattan is vital to designers when last-minute costume emergencies arise. A designer can walk in with nothing more than a sketch and begin working alongside co-owner Jon Coles, with 50 years of experience in the feather trade, who really enjoys taking vague concepts and turning them into spectacular feathered realities.

Feathered splendor has adorned the stage for such immortal productions as “Wicked,” “Aladdin,” “Chicago,” “Hello, Dolly!” and the recent hit, “Just in Time.” On screen, Dersh feathers have floated through pivotal moments, like that infamous feather at the top of Forrest Gump, and dressed up the likes of The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, The Gilded Age, and Amazon Prime’s Étoile.

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But the story of feathered stars doesn’t just end in theater and film. Their own dose of pop culture success includes the likes of the Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show and good old “Sesame Street,” where Big Bird’s signature yellow feather plumes have been supplied by the store at least since 2009. In an ironic twist of fashion fate, in 2012, the same type of feathers used by the beloved children’s character adorned the gown of Beyoncé at the Met Gala.

Through changing trends, rising rents, and industry transformations, Dersh Feather remains a vivid representation of New York’s creative heartbeat. Carrying with it an aged history and dazzling inputs into fashion and performance, the store still proves that magic in hand-made artistry can soar, even in a high-tech world.

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