Haute Couture in Paris means beautiful handcrafted clothes, and Georges Hobeika went above and beyond this at his Spring 2012 Couture show. I was one of the lucky few who got an invitation to the show at the beautiful Le Meurice hotel. Flowing chiffon dresses and soft pastel colors showed femininity and sensuality throughout the collection. A creative touch was created with beautiful intricate embroidery and beadwork meant to reference the beauty and grace of an orchid. I was so lucky to be sitting front row at this show as I was able to see the beadwork and embroidery up close. The amount of beads used on the pieces and the workmanship was incredible. The collection showed unique embroidery and beadwork techniques, that adorned the pieces around the neck, on the shoulders and even trailing down the front.
This was one of my favorite shows for the S/S 2012 Couture collection this season. The elegant and feminine pieces were beautiful and easy to wear. I hope we see some of these pieces walking down a red carpet sometime soon! This designer knows how to create an old fashion glamor with a modern approach.
The flowing pieces created with chiffon and silk organza were beautiful, and some pieces had ripped and feathered pieces of fabric to create the illusion of real feathers. Folded and pleated fabrics had a sculptural feel, yet still remained soft and feminine. The pastel mint green color was stunning, and the pale yellow was flattering and a nice hue that anyone could wear.
Overall, this show was one of my all time favorites. It was full of feminine, beautiful pieces with fabulous beadwork and embroidery. It ended with a stunning wedding gown that was fully embroidered from top to bottom with beads and flowers. It was the perfect ending to a perfect collection.
December 1, 2011 was a sad day for those in the fashion industry. Master of Couture embroidery, François Lesage, aged 82 passed away after a long battle with illness. M. Lesage was a true visionary in the fashion industry.
Tucked away in the attic rooms of a five story building, overlooked by Sacre Coeur, you will find Lesage, Europe’s most celebrated beadwork and embroidery house. These tiny rooms hold drawers and boxes filled with more than 60 tons of beads, sequins, threads and 100 year old jet. Here, over 50 women are employed to create the intricate embroidery and beadwork seen on the haute couture gowns that line the Parisian runways.
Since taking over the family business in 1949, François had been the head of the world's most famous embroidery salon. Although he admitted that he could not thread a needle let alone sew a button, the Lesage atelier produced over 80% of all beadwork and embroidery seen on the couture runways. Under Lesage's leadership, the house had acquired such prestigious clients as Dior, Yves Saint Laruent, Givenchy, and Christian Lacroix.
When hard times hit Lesage in 2002, Chanel bought up the atelier along with four other atelier's of the industry’s key suppliers as part of its bid to ensure the survival of the "petites mains," or artisans. François still stayed on as head of Lesage and oversaw the daily productions of the house until his death.
With an embroiderer father and fashion colorist mother, Lesage joked that he was "born on a mound of pearls and glitter". Mr. Lesage was revered for maintaining the couture craft and its tradition of making every stitch and attaching every bead by hand. Unfortunately, hand beadwork and embroidery is a dying trade. The number of artisans is diminishing for a few reasons including, crafts workers retiring, a younger generation unwilling to carry on family tradition, and cheaper labor being available overseas. M. Lesage was a leader in trying to revive the craft and keep the tradition going when he opened Ecole Lesage.
Lesage founded his embroidery school, Ecole Lesage, in 1992 next to his Paris workshop to pass on the craft to the next generation. I attended Ecole Lesage in 2009 for the Professional Couture Embroidery and Beadwork course, and was truly lucky to meet M. Lesage a few times. There were two times when he walked through the classroom and personally checked my work and embroidery stitches. I feel honored to have been able to meet such legend. Inside the Lesage atelier, I had the opportunity to see hundreds of vintage embroidery samples originally made for designers such as Yves Saint Laurent and Christian Lacroix. It was a once in a lifetime experience that I will never forget.
Even though M. Lesage no longer owned the atelier, he was still very much involved in the designing and daily running of the atelier. I also saw him attending the past few Chanel runway shows in Paris where he was known for sharing insights with front-row neighbors on the craftsmanship in the clothes.
A week before his passing, Lesage was awarded the title of Maître d'Art, "art master" by the French culture ministry, giving him a chance to "say goodbye", said a spokeswoman for his workshop. He was also made an officer of the Légion d'Honneur in 2007.
I hope Lesage will continue to thrive as France's oldest and most well known embroidery atelier in honor of François Lesage. Couture beadwork and embroidery is one of the most beautiful and intricate art forms that transforms fashion into wearable pieces of art.
The atelier will continue on under the direction of Chanel, and continue to produce beautiful couture embroidery pieces for the fashion world.
Just thought I would share a piece that I am currently working on! This is a couture embroidered piece that will soon be turned into a clutch purse. The hand embroidery is done with a Luneville hook which is the technique that I learned at Lesage, (an atelier house owned by Chanel). It is created with glass beads, sequins, threads and vintage silk.
This piece was inspired by the Monet Iris jacket that Lesage made for Yves Saint Laurent. This is such a wonderful piece, I really wanted to capture a essence of the original jacket in my embroidery.
Once I am finished the final product, I will post more pictures!
Rasa Jurenas is a multi award winning hairstylist and make-up artist, including the Canadian Hairstylist of the Year, 2006. She has just released her latest collections titled, "Golden Sun" and "Fashion Crimes," which feature jewelry by Glimpse Creations! Visit www.rasajurenas.com for more information about Studio Rasa. Her latest collection titled "Fashion Crimes" features a couture embroidered Swarovski necklace that I created specifically for Studio Rasa. For more information about my jewelry please visit www.glimpsebeads.com
A Common Thread/Sequins, or Brodeuses as it is called in France is a fantastic, must see movie if you are interested in embroidery. The film is about a young pregnant girl who gets a job doing couture embroidery with a woman who does work for Lesage and Lacroix. You see them stretching the fabrics over the frames, use the Luneville hook and hand sew pieces for some of the main fashion houses. I really enjoyed seeing inside the atelier and the various eye candy of the beads and sequins shown while they are stitching. Although this is an old movie from 2004, I just watched it for the first time today. As I watched the film, I worked on one of my embroidery projects and felt like I was working away along with them!
Someone had recommended it to me when they heard that I had studied at Lesage. I am so glad that I took their advice and watched it, and I hope you take some time to see it as well! Below is the French trailer for the movie, but don't worry... it is available with English subtitles!
Pick up your copy of "A Needle Pulling Thread Magazine" at your bookstore!! Below is a preview of my article in this month's publication all about couture embroidery. This is the second article in a series of three that I wrote for the magazine. What are you waiting for!?? Go get your copy today!!
Last week, I went to see the Madame Grès exhibition at Musée Bourdelle. It is an amazing showcase of the designers collection's throughout her career. Madame Grès launched her Haute Couture design house in 1942 in Paris. She was known for her use of jersey and draping (thanks to her incredible technique a width of jersey of 280 cm would end up as only just 7cm wide). Having the dresses shown amongst sculptures is a perfect combination as Madame Grès once stated, “I wanted to be a sculptor. For me, it’s the same thing to work the fabric or the stone.”
Inspiring, modern and beautiful, on display are 80 dresses, over 100 sketches and 50 original pictures from photographers such as Richard Avedon or Guy Bourdin. I thought the collection of pleated and draped dresses was stunning, and began to wish that I owned one of the beautiful pieces!
So, if you are in Paris I highly recommend going to see this wonderful exhibition. It runs until July 24 and you can find more information on the website here www.Bourdelle.paris.fr
There was even a dress that had a belt made by the famous embroidery house "Lesage!"
My next stop for Paris Fashion Week was Moon Young Hee's show in the Marais. Standing outside waiting for the doors to open, I was wishing that I had dressed for warmth, not for fashion! Once inside, I took my seat and warmed up a little while waiting for the show to start. This show was in a large open space with white walls and windows in the ceiling. The benches were positioned so the models had to walk through a maze-like runway finished with a large white canvas at the end. When I got the invitation for Moon Young Hee, I was excited to see her approach to layering and pleating. Her draped creations were unique and exciting. Personally, I didn't like the black combat boots for all the looks, but they worked with some of the black layered dresses. Black organza shimmered from under some of the dresses which gave a hint of a feminine touch on suck heavy black pieces.
My favorite part of the collection were the more feminine pieces. The best dress of the day goes to the black embroidered and beaded dress. I loved the detail in the back.
