An insider tour of the Maison Lesage

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An insider tour of the Maison Lesage - Chanel
3 minutes read
Exactly 30 years ago, Chanel laid the cornerstone of a structure that remains a highly distinctive business model: Paraffection. An exclusive, thoroughly indiscreet visit.

This cornerstone, laid in 1985, still exists and is called Desrues, a parurier or historical costume jewellery and accessory maker. Thirty years on, in 2015, Desrues works with 11 other Maisons (in addition to a number of dressmaking workshops). All of them exercise the most diverse professions in the world of fashion and crafts: boots, hats, gloves, pens, embroidery and buttons, amongst others. All are different, yet regarded by Chanel in the same way: as rare arts and crafts that must be safeguarded.

Becoming involved in each one of them in order to put them out of danger (financial predators or bankruptcy) is the solution that Chanel has come up with, in a kind of incubator called Paraffection. With the famous Maison from the Rue Cambon as their main stakeholder, all these firms can now look to the future with serenity.

The protégés nevertheless remain independent and can therefore supply all clients, including Chanel competitors, although certain Maisons openly admit that Chanel is now their main contractor.

Nothing to show, nothing to sell

Lesage is one of these. Created in 1924, its name only achieved (mass) public appeal when it launched the exceptional embroidered dials bearing the Chanel signature as part of the Mademoiselle Privé Broderie collection. This prestigious embroidery profession is practised by Lesage in France, the historic birthplace of this art. The Maison is located in Pantin, on the north-eastern outskirts of Paris, far from the glitz and glamour of the Champs-Elysées or the Place Vendôme.

Because, make no mistake about it, Lesage is definitely a workshop. Not a boutique, not a showroom, even less a brand. Lesage sells nothing under its own name, yet experts are well aware of its importance. There are indeed only two or three Parisian Maisons capable of exercising the fine art of embroidery at this level, and the Lesage touch is an easily identifiable figurehead for the profession – not only in terms of the extraordinary finesse of its art, but also because of its originality.

Avoiding two crucial misconceptions

It would be a serious mistake to view Lesage as an outmoded workshop staffed by a few petites mains (the French term for modest seamstresses) who have survived the passing decades. At Pantin, the average age is around 30. Each year, 500 students graduate and join the exceptionally vibrant embroidery market. To draw a parallel, a watchmaker high school like Morteau trains classes of 12 to 15 students.

It would also be a mistake to see embroidery as a kind of atrophied art. Amongst the most recent embroidered materials is… concrete. “It was Karl (editor’s note: Lagerfeld) who came up with the idea,” says Hubert Barrère, Artistic Director of the Maison Lesage. “He recently received tiny fragments of concrete to use on a creation and thought it would be a good idea to embroider them.” The Kaiser, as he is nicknamed, has just celebrated his 82nd birthday and his boundless creative zeal is as ardent as ever. The inimitable Lagerfeld touch can be sensed in many workshops belonging to the Maison Chanel.

Kilometres of thread, buttons by the ton

The Maison has 75,000 archives covering several centuries of creation. While this stat from the past is testimony to Lesage’s historic hold on its profession, it should not overshadow the grip it has established on contemporary embroidery. In total, 45 embroiderers work at Pantin on a daily basis. They ply their trade on a collection of materials weighing more than 60 tons – a critical element in the design of the premises housing the Lesage skills.

In the end, these nimble golden fingers adorn Chanel with multiple creations featured in a dozen fashion shows a year, mainly in the realm of Haute Couture. The latter dresses a highly selective circle of around 350 clients worldwide. As is customary, all of them will wear their mantle of light – notably embroidered by Lesage – on one unique occasion.

Click on the image at the top of the article to see a slideshow.

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