Lemarié

Founded by Palmyre Coyette in 1880, today the House of Lemarié is one of Paris’ few remaining plumassiers [feather workers]. Its activity was initially dedicated to the bespoke ornamentation of clients' hats and to the crafting of feathers for cabaret costumes. In 1946, André Lemarié, the founder's grandson, took over the company, and extended its activity to include the production of fabric flowers. It was to him that Gabrielle Chanel turned in the 1960s, when she made the camellia one of CHANEL's emblematic codes.
Since 1996, when Lemarié joined CHANEL's Métiers d'art, Lemarié's four exceptional savoir-faire - flowers, feathers, couture sewing and the pleats made by the pleater Lognon - have been rendering sublime CHANEL's ten annual collections. At the same time, Lemarié collaborates with other big names in fashion, ensuring the preservation and the handing down of its techniques. Since 2010, Christelle Kocher has been Lemarié's artistic director.

Feathers, flowers, couture sewing, pleating: four exceptional savoir-faire mastered by Lemarié. In the heart of its Parisian ateliers, the feathers are dyed, then refined, cut, glued and curled. Camellias come in an infinite variety of colours, while smocking, ruching, quilting, inlays, ruffles, origami and other 3D motifs form unprecedented fabrics. Finally, precious cardboard moulds are used to create delicate pleats by the pleater Lognon, now under the tutelage of Lemarié.

Details: Genealogies of Ornament Exhibition