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| The Givenchy Atelier (Fall/Winter 2011 Couture) |
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| Dior Avenue Montaigne Headquarters |
One of the most delightful aspects of this blog is that it affords me the opportunity to share my love of craftsmanship, connoisseurship and style with such lovely readers. I have tremendous admiration for the artisans, whose vision and talents are the backbone of the storied fashion ateliers I love. It goes unmentioned that tailors, embroiderers, and pattern makers often spend their entire careers at one house. Last weekend
LVMH lifted the curtain on more than 25 of its facilities throughout Europe for the inaugural edition of its
Les Journées Particulières initiative. Les Journées Particulières focused on fashion, perfumes, cosmetics wines and spirits.
The initiative provided visitors with a variety of experiences that highlighted each brand's expertise and allowed artisans to demonstrate their skills. The Louis Vuitton ateliers in Asnières, Palazzo Fendi, Givenchy's haute couture salon and the Salon de Prestige (where Christian Dior use to present his collections) at Dior's Avenue Montaigne headquarters were a few of the sites visitors were able to tour. These facilities are usually closed to the public. One of my biggest frustrations with fashion is that few understand how labor intensive it is to produce luxury goods. LVMH is attempting to engage the public. It's nice to see such a rarefied world unveiled.
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| Dior Avenue Montaigne Headquarters |
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| Dior Avenue Montaigne Headquarters |
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| Tailors at work at Dior |
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At the Givenchy atelier, artisans walked visitors through the process of pattern making, embroidery, drapery and lace application. The embroiderers at Dior spoke to heavily embroidered dresses taking 250-300 hours to complete. I'll never forget when I heard Prabal Guring speak about how his experience at Bill Blass was invaluable because of the access he had to pattern makers and artisans. An independent designer simply doesn't have these sorts of resources. I'm looking forward to the expansion of LVMH's initiative. I hope that other luxury groups consider doing something similar.
PS- The tuxedo just turned 150! How could I not include a picture.
*** All images courtesy of Les Journées Particulières***
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