july-2010

Not everything is as easy as it
looks; appearances can be deceptive
and things that seem effortless
so very rarely are. Discipline and
patience are indispensable when
striving for perfection, and this is
never truer than in the world of
French haute couture.
The glut of fashion blogs, and
the achingly insecure fashion
industry’s desire to lend credibility
to all of its opinions, no matter how
ill-informed, means a once-closed
world is now accessible to anyone
with an internet connection. But
what is lost in mystique has
not been recouped in a broader
understanding of fashion’s methods.
The disposability of the high street
has infi ltrated the entire industry,
so that the breathtakingly beautiful
handmade dress that takes 1,800
man hours to create is lumped in
with the fuchsia, stretch-polyester
ode to ersatz chic on the shoulders
of the latest soap starlet.
For those of us in danger of
getting emotional at the sight
of a faultlessly draped swathe of
SCHOOL
OF
FROCK
l’école
lesage
ISSUE DU PRESTIGIEUX
ATELIER DE BRODERIE
PARISIEN, L’ÉCOLE LESAGE
POURRAIT DONNER BIEN DES
LEÇONS AUX CRÉATEURS
Photographie: Helen Cathcart
// Tout n’est pas aussi simple
qu’il y paraît. Les apparences sont
trompeuses et il est rare de trouver
des objets qui semblent conçus sans
effort. La discipline et la patience
sont les ingrédients indispensables
à la perfection. Et c’est d’autant plus
le cas dans la haute couture.
La multiplication des blogs
sur la mode – et la tendance
embarrassante du secteur à les
prendre pour argent comptant – ont
rendu accessible cet univers jadis
fermé à quiconque dispose d’une
connexion Internet. Mais ce que la
mode a perdu en mystère, elle ne l’a
For 60 years his work as master embroiderer has shaped the
creations of couturiers such as Dior, Yves St Laurent, Karl Lagerfield
and Lacroix. And although haute couture has dwindled to just a
few names today, François Lesage is now mentoring the next
generation at his school in Paris. Karl Treacy pays a visit
METROPOLITAN 93