There's a pretty detailed story in the Straits Times about it:
Copyright 2003 New Straits Times Press (Malaysia) Berhad
New Straits Times (Malaysia)
July 20, 2003, Sunday
SECTION: Fashion; Pg. 14
LENGTH: 1424 words
HEADLINE: Satellites in the Chanel galaxy
BYLINE: By Sunita Chhabra
BODY:
IN 1946, there were 277 feather makers (plumassier) in Paris. In 1960,
only 49 remained. Today, there is possibly only one left. As for
embroiderers, there are 200 in France and four million in India. If these
figures don't tell the story, what will? A unique heritage of
craftsmanship was in danger of dying out, and something had to be done.
Chanel came to the rescue through the purchase of five fashion
suppliers, without which French fashion wouldn't be what it is today. Karl
Lagerfeld renamed them Satellites. It's a way of ensuring such skilled
creativity does not die out but instead, will soar to new heights.
Said a Chanel representative: "It is a real investment in creativity
which, aside from preserving a unique heritage and know-how, should help
the still-independent companies to not only grow and break new ground but
also shape new skills to ensure the future existence of our business
lines."
In simple terms, Chanel now owns these companies, but the Satellites are
at liberty to supply other clients, which includes other famous fashion
houses. These workshops have, over the past four generations, participated
in Chanel's collections and those of other houses like Dior, Yves St
Laurent, Christian Lacroix, Lanvin and Scherrer.
There's Desrues for costume jewellery, Lemarie for feathers, Lesage for
embroidery, Massaro for shoes, and Michel for millinery.
Chanel's approach is based on a cultural choice and a desire to affirm
its commitment to these companies with which it has long shared high
standards of quality, exclusivity and innovation. To honour these
craftsmen and to pay tribute to the trades in which they engage with such
passion, Lagerfeld presented 33 dazzling designs - dubbed Satellite Love -
at its Haute Couture Salon on Rue Cambon.
Beaded sweaters over satin skirts, delicately ruffled chiffon blouses,
pleated tops, cashmere sweaters with embroidered crystals - the designs
received a grand ovation, except that the virtuosos being applauded around
Lagerfeld were the craftspeople.
Michel, milliner
Established in 1936, Maison Michel, an authorised supplier of major
fashion brands, is now part of Chanel's galaxy because this company knows
how to groom a felt, or cut out a straw hat with unrivalled precision and
passion.
Monsieur Pierre started out in 1971 as a lowly employee at Michel, a
high-fashion workshop on Rue Sainte-Anne. He became the boss three years
later. These milliners worked for Dior, Lacroix, Scherrer and Feraud.
Pierre made hats for Claude Pompidou, Lady Diana and Bernadette Chirac.
When he sold Maison Michel, Pierre had a good cry but was happy. He has
been heard to philosophise: "I'm an old-fashioned sort of person; I'm not
immortal and I realise that hats - like me - are a disappearing species.
Even millinery suppliers are dwindling. There used to be 25 felt factories
in Chazelles-sur-Lyon in the 1950s, but now there's only one left..."
In the 19th Century, women refused to leave the house without a hat. Is
it making a comeback in the 21st Century? Yes, but in other forms. Large,
wide-brimmed hats are still basically reserved for race courses, Grand
Prix events, weddings and ceremonies; while bonnets, toques, turbans,
cloches, berets, caps and visors can be seen in podiums and on public
streets.
DESRUES, costume jeweller - buttons, chains and dreams
Buttons take on a new meaning at Desrues - they are designed with the
greatest care and attention to detail, as precious as the dresses, jackets
and coats they adorn. These decorative buttons are the "babies" of costume
jeweller Desrues, which insists on quality and variety.
About 100 new styles are produced each season and phenomenal quantities
of raw material are used - one million buttons a year made of copper,
silver, mother-of-pearl, bead, wood and galalith. (Galalith, one of the
oldest plastic materials, was discovered in 1897 when two German
researchers solidified milk casein by adding a bit of formaldehyde. The
term has its origins in the Greek words "gala" for milk and "lithos" for
stone.)
Add to that the thousands of chains, necklaces, brooches, belts and
clasps created each year by Lagerfeld and you begin to understand why
Desrues was the first Satellite to join the Chanel galaxy.
MASSARO, shoemaker
To walk on the path of luxury, one should start with custom-tailored
shoes, says Lagerfeld who is himself a loyal customer of Massaro.
Massaro's shoes were a must - the Duchess of Windsor ordered every model
in multiple colours; Barbara Hutton needed 100 pairs a month; and
Elizabeth Taylor and Marlene Dietrich were regular customers. Massaro's
even made shoes for the Pope.
For the last half century, in the eyes (and feet) of the stars, no one
in the world rivals the perfection and precision of Raymond Massaro, a
third-generation shoemaker.
In 1958, at Coco Chanel's request, he created what could be called the
shoes of the century - the famous beige sandal with a black toecap, which
was copied by the millions. Massaro hasn't sold out yet but swears that he
will sign only with Chanel and that this is only a matter of time.
LESAGE, embroiderer
Francois Lesage was the captain of a ship that none of his four children
wanted to steer, but he has now found his port. He now has a crew of 49
with an average age of 37.
From fashion houses like Worth and Galliano to more than a century of
fashion and nine million hours of work on 60,000 samples of embroidery,
the workshops are an Ali Baba's cave from which have emerged legends like
the coronation mantle for former emperor of the Central African Republic
Jean-Bedel Bokassa, Chanel's Coromandel (requiring 2,000 hours of work),
dresses and more.
Between collections, Lesage shuts himself away in his office and
finalises about a 100 patterns that are added to his chest of samples.
The deal here includes the setting up of the Artistic Embroidery School
"to drag embroidery upwards". The number of embroiderers may be dwindling,
but Lesage has an optimistic outlook despite the problems facing a
profession which requires "eyes on the end of your fingers".
This is mainly because the labour pool is extremely loyal and
passionate: "One is an embroiderer for a day or for a lifetime".
Lesage's life work is history sewn with a golden thread. Now that
embroidery is moving into ready-to-wear apparel, it means 900 to 1,000
guaranteed repeats. This requires handmade wares on a large scale,
guaranteeing work for the entire workshop and subsequently, its continuous
running with profits. One look at the exquisite and breathtaking work
produced at Lesage workshops and any sane woman will thank their lucky
stars that steps have been taken to ensure the craft lives on.
LEMARIE, feather maker
Lemarie is, in all probability, the only feather maker (plumassier) in
France. This endangered profession is a unique heritage that Chanel wants
to preserve by taking over this company. Lemarie was founded over a
century ago by Palmyre Coyette, Andre Lemarie's grandmother, when birdcage
hats were in fashion. The heritage consists of the archives, the memories
and the skills. Then there are the treasures lying dormant in large
drawers - plumes of birds of paradise, feathers of vultures, swans and
peacocks - of birds that are now considered protected species.
In 1987, Lemarie smoothed 5,000 bird of paradise feathers for Yves St
Laurent in a single stunning dress. In 1990, he wanted a coat resembling a
lion's mane and this took the feathers of 700 vultures and 200 pheasants.
Today, ostrich, goose, turkey and guinea fowl feathers are dyed, refined,
curled and "hooked", allowing any metamorphosis following the whims of
fashion. At Chanel, Lagerfeld uses them discreetly in fine fringes or in
tassels, with feathers and beads mixed together.
Above all, Lemarie is the camellia man - since feathers and flowers
require the same light, meticulous touch. Since the first ones ordered by
Coco Chanel in the early 1960s, the camellia at Rue Cambon has played
chameleon and comes in tweed, leather, fur, satin, organdy and plastic.
Lemarie delivers some 20,000 blooms a year to Chanel. He would ask no more
than to vary the pleasures - the rose, iris, violet or orchid, he knows
all the flowers petal by petal. Regretfully, milliners hardly use them
anymore.
Monsieur Lemarie has sold his shares in the company but he is paid as a
consultant and still calls in every day.
LOAD-DATE: July 20, 2003
