Chanel is a very special couture house and not just because its artistic director has been the same one for close to thirty years. For more than a decade, the house has been on a buying splurge. During the heyday of couture, more than 100.000 people were working in this very special part of the industry. There were 'petites mains' everywhere, in workshops across Paris, where embroideries, jewelery or shoes were made. A very good example is La maison Lesage, which was bought by Chanel in 2002, and was for years on end run by François Lesage, who inherited the house from his father in 1949, who himself bought it from the embroiderer for Charles Worth, the founder of French haute couture. This legacy, this know-how should not be squandered according to Chanel, reason for which they bought the 'ateliers' Massaro (shoes), Lemarié (feathers), Goossens (jewellery), Barrie (cashmere knitwear) etc. All these techniques are brought together in a yearly special collection called Les métiers d'art. This time the collection was shown in Rome, in an atmosphere clearly linked to the cinecittà era. I was able to see the collection (which will be in store end of April) in the Rue Cambon showroom, and here are some of my pictures.
