The “Lesage, 100 years of fashion and decoration” exhibition retraces the one hundred years of Lesage, the famous French embroidery house renowned for the expertise and excellence it has always provided to the great Parisian haute-couture houses.
Founded in 1924 by Albert and Marie-Louise Lesage, who take over the workshop of embroiderer Michonet, who supplied the first haute-couture houses such as Charles Frederick Worth and fulfilled special orders from the court of Napoleon III, Lesage invents new techniques (such as straight-thread vermicelli or the ombré system for blended hues) and quickly becomes renowned for its expertise and excellence.
Albert and Marie-Louise Lesage expand their catalog with avant-garde designs.
Among their clients, Elsa Schiaparelli becomes a Lesage fervent fan in 1936. Until the closure of her fashion house in 1954, Elsa Schiaparelli entrusts Lesage with the production of all her embroideries, including those for the circus, zodiac and esoteric collections.
Schiaparelli – 1943
Schiaparelli – 1941
Lesage for Schiaparelli – 1938
Drawing of a Schiaparelli dress – 1937
Schiaparelli – 1938/1939
Lesage quickly diversifies its activities, developing its own collections of embroidered accessories and printed fabrics.
Embroidery is to haute couture what fireworks are to the 14th of July.”
François Lesage
The son of Albert and Marie-Louise, François, apprentices with them. He tries his hand at Hollywood, opening a workshop on Sunset Boulevard in 1948 and working with film studios. But the death of his father Albert a year later cuts short the American adventure.
In 1949, a very young François Lesage takes over the family business. He works with some of the biggest names in Parisian haute-couture, including Balenciaga, Balmain, Dior and Yves Saint Laurent.
Yves Saint Laurent – 1988
Lesage for Yves Saint Laurent – 1988
Yves Saint Laurent – 1988
Yves Saint Laurent – 1988
The only one missing is Chanel… While Gabrielle Chanel never wanted to work with Lesage, whom she considered too close to her hated rival, the “Italian” Elsa Schiaparelli, Karl Lagerfeld calls François Lesage as soon as he arrives to Cambon street in 1983.
Chanel – 2019
Chanel – 2010, 1983 and 1986
Chanel – 1996
Chanel – 2013
Chanel – 2023 and 2021
Wishing to pass on his exceptional know-how, François Lesage opens his embroidery school in 1992, which has since welcomed over 3,500 students.
François Lesage soon develops textiles: driven by a desire to diversify the company’s activities, he sets up a textile design workshop and, in 1998, offers his tweeds to Chanel for its ready-to-wear collections.
Chanel – 1998 and 2023
François Lesage’s close ties with Karl Lagerfeld lead to Lesage’s entry into the Chanel galaxy in 2002, when Lesage becomes part of Chanel’s Métiers d’Art division and is integrated into the Chanel-owned subsidiary Paraffection.
In March 2021, Lesage moves into its new workshops at 19M, which today houses the “Lesage, 100 years of fashion and decoration” exhibition. With 75,000 embroidery samples, the heritage of Lesage represents the largest collection of embroidery in the world.
Today, the new guard of haute-couture is perpetuating the tradition of trust that the masters of the past century placed in Lesage.
November 23, 2024
