Items12The creator’s order
  1. 1Maison LesageMaison LesageEmbroidery If one name stands for couture handwork, it is Lesage. Albert and Marie-Louise Lesage took over the Michonet workshop in 1924, and the house made its reputation on avant-garde embroidery for Elsa Schiaparelli, who sent Lesage all her embroidery until she closed in 1954. François Lesage…0
  2. 2Atelier MontexAtelier MontexEmbroidery Where Lesage is the grand archive, Montex is the experimenter. Founded by Jacques Lemonier to embroider fabrics for Paris houses, it found its voice in the early 1980s under artistic director Annie Trussart, who borrowed from music and architecture and paired unexpected materials. Its…0
  3. 3HurelHurelEmbroidery, family-run Hurel is the counterweight to the Chanel story. Founded in 1879 and billed as the oldest embroidery atelier in Paris, it is still run by the fifth and sixth generations of the Hurel family, and it has long worked for Chanel, Dior, Armani and Valentino alike. Its…0
  4. 4Maison LemariéMaison LemariéFeathers and fabric flowers Lemarié is one of the last plumassiers, or feather workers, in Paris. Palmyre Coyette founded it in 1880 to supply feathers to milliners, and her grandson André Lemarié, who took over in 1946, turned it into a couture workshop trusted by Balenciaga, Dior and Givenchy;…0
  5. 5GuilletGuilletFabric flowers Guillet is the second flower house in Chanel's group, and its roots are in the theater rather than the runway. Marie Guillet established it in 1896 to build theater sets and supply hatmakers, and it went on to dress shop windows for Yves Saint Laurent, Hermès and Gucci before…0
  6. 6Maison LegeronMaison LegeronSilk flowers, family-run Maison Legeron is the other answer to the Chanel story. The workshop traces its origins to 1727, Louis Legeron took it over in 1880, and Bruno Legeron, who learned the craft from his mother, now runs it as the fourth generation of the family. Blossoms are still assembled…0
  7. 7Atelier LognonAtelier LognonPleating Every crisp sunray or accordion pleat on a couture skirt has to be set by someone, and in Paris that is often Lognon. The craft is pure method: fabric is folded between hand-cut cardboard molds, baked at 85 to 100°C and left a day to cool so the pleat holds. The atelier keeps about 3,000…0
  8. 8MassaroMassaroBespoke shoemaking The Massaro workshop opened in 1894 at 2 rue de la Paix, and Raymond Massaro, the third generation, gave it its most famous design: the 1957 beige pump with a black toe cap that became Chanel's classic two-tone shoe. Bespoke work starts with a conversation and a measured foot,…0
  9. 9Maison MichelMaison MichelMillinery Auguste Michel opened his millinery at 65 rue Sainte-Anne in 1936, and the house still shapes hats over a collection of more than 3,000 wooden blocks, backed by a stock of antique straws and felts. Milliners Pierre and Claudine Debard made it the supplier of choice for the big houses,…0
  10. 10GoossensGoossensGoldsmithing and couture jewelry Robert Goossens, the son of a Marais foundry owner, opened a small goldsmith's workshop in the 1950s, and from 1954 he and Gabrielle Chanel developed jewelry in antique and Byzantine styles, including crystal Byzantine crosses. He also made pieces for Balenciaga,…0