00:00The Chanel show in New York gave me goosebumps.
00:03In December 2025, Chanel broke the internet with its metier d'art show staged in a New York subway.
00:10The collection wasn't just attention-grabbing, it was a display of Chanel's storied history in French craft.
00:16We were invited by Chanel for a rare look into how these clothes are made, and the people behind them.
00:23This is Le 19M, Chanel's creative campus in the 19th arrondissement of Paris,
00:28and the heart of its fashion storytelling.
00:31It's here where some of the brand's most intricate details are made by hand,
00:35before ending up on the clothes you see and love today.
00:40The building was set up in 2021 and is dedicated to preserving traditional French craft, also known as metier d
00:47'art.
00:49Inside are 11 houses employing more than 700 artisans who work in ateliers specialised in different crafts.
00:57Le Marie crafts the flowers and feathers that embellish the collections.
01:04Goussons is the goldsmith, making all the metal jewellery and accessories accenting the pieces.
01:12And Maison Lesage is behind the tweed in Chanel's iconic jackets.
01:20For some of these workshops, their history stretches back decades,
01:24and at one point faced an uncertain future.
01:32Founded in 1924, Lesage also houses an embroidery atelier,
01:38one of Paris' most prestigious.
01:43And you can see here that the colours, there is a transition in the colours.
01:49Its archives hold over 75,000 embroidery samples.
02:01I was already in the profession, so I was already in the profession,
02:05but I was then specialized in the embroidery.
02:07And then Lesage has been my first work in embroidery.
02:13I've always liked the approach of the material,
02:15to be able to touch the fabric,
02:17to bring something alive to the textile,
02:20to work with all the motifs, etc.
02:22And especially with the embroidery, we can do it in volume.
02:25When I was lucky to be able to see the first clothes,
02:28or the exhibitions of haute couture that I've seen in my life,
02:31or as creators,
02:33I thought that this is what I wanted to do.
02:35It was like an obvious thing.
02:37I thought that it was the beauty that I chose.
02:41For many of these artisans,
02:43the pursuit of perfection is a lifelong journey.
02:53For many years,
02:55and the beautiful artisans are all over 50 years.
03:01For many years,
03:01So what are your different offerings?
03:03How many years you work at LeSASA?
03:06Well, in October, it'll be 40 years.
03:08Sort of it.
03:11When I was at school, I had to go to a professional field, and as I loved everything
03:21that was a little manual, creative, I discovered that there was a school of brawlery and after
03:28I came to do a stage of four weeks in atelier, and it's there that I discovered that we could
03:35put pearls, and so I discovered that at the brawlery, it could also be a haute couture.
03:41The most difficult, I would say, is to make sure that we are always the same.
03:48There is still a regularity, there may be models where we will pass, if it's a small brawlery,
03:54we can pass a day, but there are models where we will pass hundreds of hours.
03:59There will always be, because we are not a machine, so we can't do exactly the same thing,
04:04but we try at least to do exactly the same thing.
04:11How did you feel when you got accepted to work at massage?
04:15I was very happy.
04:19I felt really privileged about this, because it's true that people who work on the stage
04:25want to do this job, so it's already a chance.
04:28And the fact that they are really expert in this field, that they have a very sharp look,
04:33a lot of precision in their techniques.
04:35Like Anne-Marie, for example, who worked and did a piece in a half-hour,
04:40while for me, for the job, it took me two days.
04:42So, it surprises me.
04:47It's one thing to be good at your craft.
04:50It's another to know how to pass it down.
04:54At Le 19M, the passing down of know-how is a big part of daily work.
05:00Yes, of course, it's hard to be able to transmit the things that I've learned.
05:05Because, as we can see in the different examples, there are a lot of techniques.
05:10Because at school, we have a point of base, but then we have evolved in the workshops
05:15in learning other things.
05:17And especially for the art profession, where we can develop techniques
05:22that we don't necessarily develop in other collections.
05:26Yes, naturally, in practice, at the beginning, it's complicated,
05:31but once the commands arrive and we adapt,
05:35it's, as soon as we practice, that we become more comfortable,
05:39that we affine a little bit our gestures.
05:48And on the left hand, the black spots, and it has to shine.
05:53Oh, this is shining.
05:56The workshops are just one part of Le 19M.
06:00There is also an embroidery school that teaches artistic techniques,
06:04used in haute couture and ready-to-wear.
06:06And a public gallery that hosts occasional exhibitions featuring works from the Maisons.
06:16The Maisons don't just work for Chanel.
06:19Many have had other clients across the fashion industry since the 1900s,
06:24and some operate as stand-alone businesses.
06:28This is to ensure their continued survival for generations to come.
06:36After all, I don't think that everything will disappear.
06:40Because, just like Chanel, they started to develop this project of transmission.
06:46So we try, each one, each one, each one,
06:50to transmit certain techniques of embroidery,
06:54to be able to show them more precisely,
06:57while working with them,
06:58so that they can develop, by the end, their techniques.
07:02So that makes them feel that we're not sure,
07:04and that even when we're not here,
07:06they will always be there to be able to transmit everything.
07:11It was this one, I'm really small, so...
07:15Well, all these hours of work,
07:19it's sometimes difficult and difficult,
07:21but what, after, is just gratifying,
07:23it's when the model is finished,
07:25and that we see it ride,
07:27or after we see it,
07:30that there may be very famous people
07:32who buy the models,
07:34or who wear the models.
07:35That, yes, it's gratifying,
07:37even if we're going to spend time.
07:38It's also a chance to be able to work
07:39on exceptional pieces that everyone can't see,
07:43and to be able to see them under their eyes,
07:46and do them, it's a chance.
07:56So the next time you watch a runway show,
07:58pay attention to the details.
08:01Behind the clothes, and the glamour,
08:03is a community driven by passion,
08:05stitching together a legacy.
08:08.
08:08.
08:09.
08:19You
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