Appreciating Lesage, couture & craftsmanship
Visiting Lesage in Paris, has remained memorable to me. Entering the temple of embroidery for the greatest couture houses from Chanel, Dior, Christian Lacroix, Vionnet and other beautiful brands, is not forgettable. Touching the pieces of cloth designed for Karl Lagerfeld or John Galliano…is mindblowing for luxury lovers, and those who appreciate artisans.
Embroidery is the art of applying any material on any fabric to make a design and pattern. In the beginning of the century, embroidery was religious, and then it became royal, military and bourgeois. Embroidery is used to organize people into hierarchy.
Walking in to the tranquil workshop, watching the women attentively thread patterns and craft designs was an amazing feeling. Touching the patterns that have been used for haute couture by many designers especially the designer I admire and credit as the most creative; John Galliano when he was at Maison Dior, and Karl Lagerfeld, the man who has smartly combined business and creative for Chanel, Fendi, himself and his cat. This was a dream, so surreal. Touching the pearls on the materials, the feathers, sequins, beads and seeing the final product in a picture as worn by various people from members of royal families, presidents’ wives, to celebrities such as Nicole Kidman and Naomi Campbell; the moment felt fantastic. We watched them prepare patterns for designers for the upcoming fashion shows.
But later in the day I had a moment of humility and appreciation for craftsmen. The moment came when we (all my classmates) were each given a small piece of material, a needle, three types of beads of different sizes and sequins and we were instructed to follow the given pattern and stitch. It took us three hours to make our creations, which were small in comparison to the creations made by the women which often take thousands of hours to complete for an haute couture show. This was humbling. It led me to have an even higher appreciation for artisans in the universe of luxury. The individuals who stitch and make creations that look like art in the form of a gown. Luxury has skill, mastery and craftsmanship and Lesage is an excellent example.
This skill became a part of Haute Couture 130 years ago when it was established. To date, it has produced more than 45 000 samples for couture. This is inclusive of 60 tons of materials ranging from beads, sequins, threads as well as lace, with 6 drawers and 40 embroiders. It is collaboration of designers and craftsmen. This craft is done by hand and by a Lineville hook. It takes concentration and attention to detail. Chanel bought Lesage to ensure it safeguards the skills of the artisans. To preserve this knowledge, Lesage has a school of embroidery where they train young women on the skill near its headquarters in Montmartre.
Maison Lesage follows the rules of Haute Couture as stated by the Fédération Française de la Couture du Prêt-à-Porter des Couturiers et des Créateurs de Mode. This is the French Federation for the craftspeople and creators of Haute Couture and Ready to Wear.
The Federation defines Haute Couture as high sewing, done by a dressmaker (couturier) using his or her hand to stitch. The term haute couture is regulated by the French law. Fashion maisons in France are required to follow a strict set of rules to be allowed to use this term in their advertising. To be called a couture house and be granted the approval to use the term Haute Couture in its advertising and any other way, members of the Federation are required to follow the below rules, as stated the French chamber:
- Design made-to-order for private clients, with one or more fittings.
- Have a workshop (atelier) in Paris that employs at least fifteen staff members full-time.
- Must have twenty, full-time technical people in at least one workshop (atelier).
- Every season, present a collection of at least fifty original designs to the public, both day and evening garments, in January and July of each year.
- To produce haute couture requires a lot of time and skill. For this kind of business, budget is not an issue for the client. The cost ranges from $20, 000 to $100, 000 and possibly higher than that.
The French Chamber of Couture has approved various couturiers and designers who include; Approved couturiers include Givenchy, Christian Dior, Balmain, Balenciaga, John Galliano among others. These are some of the designers whose works of art has been created by Lesage.
This handwork explains why an evening gown from Chanel or other designers can cost from $200,000 upwards. Making couture needs several hours because it requires much more embroidery than the ready-to-wear clothes. The accuracy and excellent quality must be replicated by hand. A couture gown is unique and evidence of the craftsmanship.
François Lesage, the owner, was once quoted saying that “it is a dream of quality with no consideration of cost.” François Lesage, who for more than a half-century led the embroidery atelier that has served couture designers from Charles Frederick Worth to Karl Lagerfeld of Chanel, died at the age of 82 in 2011 in Versailles, France.
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Originally published at maryannenjeri.wordpress.com on June 1, 2015.
