pantonier_60_icons_2.. - Masters of Linen

Linen & Hemp Icons
Innovative fibers
Creative fibers
Discover a 360° view of linen and hemp
The 10,000 European Confederation of Flax & Hemp member companies

Linen & Hemp Community
Trendsetter
Researcher
Merchant
Hackler
Spinner
Textile designer
Fashion designer
Weaver
Home designer
Journalist
Farmer
Scutcher
…

Linen Dream Lab
THE LABORATORY FOR
TEXTILE AND NON TEXTILE INNOVATIONS
A showroom for experimentation and inspiration to
discover a 360° field of action for linen and hemp fibers:
- trends and prospective fabric propositions
- textile and non-textile material library
- help in R&D and sourcing
- available for member’s private appointments.
The Linen Dream Lab brings linen industrials together,
with fashion, textile, design, eco construction
professionals…
Innovative fibers Creative fibers

Linen Dream Lab
THE LABORATORY FOR
TEXTILE AND NON TEXTILE INNOVATIONS
15, rue du Louvre, 75001 Paris
trends@mastersoflinen.com
Elementi Moda
Via Orti, 2, 20122 Milano
Innovative fibers Creative fibers

Planting
The 100 days of flax
Planted between March 15th and April 15th,
the seed takes 100 days to grow and reach 1 meter when it flowers.

Flowering
June
The linen flower only lives a few hours atop its supple stem.
This gives the landscape a delicate blu-ish color for a few weeks,
moving like an impressionist sea in the wind.

Harvesting
July
We don’t reap linen, we pull it up!
It is pulled up when the leaves have dropped off the botton third of the stem.

Retting
August
The 1st phrase of transforming the plant to fibers: Mother Nature takes over.
Sun, dew and rain help detach the fibrous skin from the central wood.
Then comes the time for gathering.

Scutching
The 2nd phrase for mechanically transforming the plant to fibers:
to use the linen fibers which surround the central wood, as a skin,
it is necessary to separate them.

Combing
Combing is the preparation for spinning, a homogenization of fibers into
soft, lustrous ribbons like ash blond air.

Spinning
The 3rd phase of transformation: from fiber to yarn.
Untangle, regularize, stretch, thread fibers.

Weaving
History, know-how, innovations, luxury: the most beautiful linen fabrics
are produced in Europe.
Linen is developed in jacquard, serge, herringbone, glen plaids, double-weaves, …

Knitting
After several years of investing in R&D, European sipinners have
succeeded in improving the numbering of the yarns and facilitating
knitting operations to give brith to a new generation of ultra fine
smooth yarns.

No Irrigation
Naturalness
Quality
Visionary
Low Carbon Foot Print
Europe
Eco Passion
Creativity
Sustainable
Linen Dream Lab
Renewable
Innovation

36,000 B.C. :
the record is broken!
In a Georgian cave in September
2009, archeologists discovered
miniscule linen fibers dating from
36,000 B.C.
These fibers, with traces of twists
and pigments are – to this day –
the first known textiles developed
by man.

Linen adds a diaper
No more irritated bottoms!
Hypo-allergenic, biodegradable and
washable linen or hemp diapers are ideal
for organic babies.
And encourage cleanness!

Cleopatra invents the thong
“Charmion wrapped her in a linen calarisis
whiter than milk, encircled her hair in a net
of woven silver threads and tied cork
tatbebs on her feet…”
Théophile Gautier, Cleopatra’s Night, 1838
Cleopatra’s flirty lingerie? Exclusively
made of the finest linen.

Stop plastic bags
An eco-friendly supermarket
tote bag made of linen.
Add a logo and the aware
homemaker can recycle it.
It goes right in the compost heap!
KATARZYNA OKINCZYC
AND REMIGIUSZ TRUCHANOWICZ
www.60bag.com

300 B.C. : the Celts invent
vegetable dyes
Precursors of an industry and
commerce which would leave
its mark on our regions later on,
our ancestors cultivated and
transformed linen in Flanders and
the Celtic regions 3 centuries B.C.
Bright dyes made of flowers or
soaked roots, and even the first
plaid fabrics, are witness to their
great mastery of weaving!
LEFRANC-FERRANT

Santo Lino, pope and martyr
History’s second pope, this
demon chaser and successor to
Saint Peter, lived through
the reign of five emperors:
Nero, Galba, Otho, Vitellius
and Vespasian.
He is buried at the Vatican,
near the tomb of the Prince of the
Apostles, and many Italian boys
are still named after
“il Papa Lino”.

All tied up
Linen string helps solidify seams
or even wrap up friends to show
who is the “leader of the pack”.
On a more serious note, butchers
and desperate housewives use it
to tie up the Sunday roast or chicken.

Linen, the fiber of Kings
16th century – François I and his Camp of the
Golden Draperies, Henri III and his Mignons;
the French Court launched codes of elegance
for collared linen shirts, ruffs and garter belts
in the finest, embroidered linen or rich lace
edgings.
An abundance of trinkets had their apogée at
the Spanish court when oversized ruffs
appeared. A luxury that provoked not a few
downfalls !

Who am I ?
Who am I ?
They put me in a hole in the ground,
They take me out of water,
They put me back in water,
They burn my bones,
They dry me,
They beat me,
I serve at a nobleman’s table,
I accompany him from birth to death,
Linen

Easy care
Linen is very easy-care!
There is no risk of shrinking when washed,
colors are perfectly stable, it does not pill.
Follow label symbols.
Washing:
- Pure white : up to 90°. Instead of bleach,
use peroxyde or special white detergents.
- Colors : 40° or 60° using a detergent
without optical brighteners.
- Knits, a delicate machine program and flat
drying. Moderate machine spinning and drying.
Iron while still damp to avoid creases.
Through numerous washings, linen conserves all
its qualities, colors stay vibrant and hands remain
supple and soft.
Care Labelling symbols are registered trademark, owned by COFREET.

How soon
a green Vélib’ ?
Thanks to its ability to absorb
vibrations, a linen composite
makes this bicycle stable and
sturdy while climbing hills and
absorbs shocks on the downhill
slope.
Handmade bike frames are
available in a variety of models
for city riding, mountain bikes or
racing.
Adopt it!
JOHAN MUSEEUW
www.johanmuseeuw.com

Lounge on an animal skin
by the fireplace
The long, voluptuous hairs
of linen rugs are anti-stress,
anti-dust, anti-bacterial…
The threads, embellished
with time, become even
more lustrous…
And we can even walk on it!
SECRETS OF LINEN
www.secretsoflinen.com

Linoleum, trendier than ever !
The green mood obliges, it makes
a strong comeback in eco-friendly
homes.
Linoleum is a revolutionary floor
covering patented in 1863 by the
Scotsman Frederick Walton.
A homogenous surface,
elastic, no joints, absolutely
waterproof, easy-care… and it
kills bacteria! And all that thanks
to homogenized linen oil which
replaces rubber.

Zero waste :
an example, shives
Shives, tiny wood fragments
at the center of the linen plant’s
stem, are salvaged after milling
and used for animal litter.
As mulch with a neutral Ph, it
conserves 12 times as much
water as traditional straw.
Perfect for our rose bushes!
In eco-construction, used in
particle panels for partitions,
doors, furniture…

Concerning flax and hemp
“Concerning flax and hemp growing’s environmental
impact, the evaluation report emphasizes that these crops
clearly need less fertilizer and chemical pesticides than
replacement crops. In addition, they have positive effects
on diverse agricultural eco-systems and landscapes. In
this context, growing these fibers offers a welcome
‘environmental pause’ (…).”
SOURCE:
Advisory Commission Report to the European Parliament, Brussels, May 20, 2008

Bondage
France, Belgium and the Netherland
are historical producers of ropes in
linen and hemp.
C. MEINDERTSMA
FOR THOMAS EYCK
www.thomaseyck.com/

Linen / Denim
A symbol of the 60’s counter-culture
and a sure value in our closets today,
denim canvas moves off on a tangent to
pair up with linen for jeans that finally
respect the environment.
KUYICHI
www.kuyichi.com

James Bond
in beautiful sheets
In “Quantum of Solace” a well-
trained eye will note the king-
sized bed and very pretty James
Bond girl draped in ivory linen
manufactured in a fine weave in
Meulebeke for the film.

From Venice to Calais, lace
“Linen has never been so airy
as in one of its mysterious
handwritings : lace.”
Clauque Fauque , Secrets of Linen,
ed. La Découverte et Syros, 1997
With its experimental fabric
collections, the LINEN DREAM
LAB explores modern
interpretations : re-embroidered
lace for Couture, tulle Bobbin
lace for lingerie, guipure lace for
room dividers.
LINEN DREAM LAB

Set and match
The anti-tennis elbow racket exists!
Lighter and easier to manipulate.
It absorbs vibrations and shocks
on impact thanks to 15% of linen
fibers which reinforce the carbon
fibers.
ARTENGO
www.artengo.com

Wrap up in linen
Everyday they carry around our mail
and baguettes :
canvas bags used by bakers and
mailmen have historically been made
in pure linen fibers (400 g/m 2 ).

Lino Maestro
All Europe’s legends and popular
music evoke the spinning wheel
and the shuttle; the spectacular
transformation of a plant into
woven linen is often linked to a
certain “white” magic and even
fascinated in the 20th century
with Claude Debussy’s opera, an
ode to the “Girl with Flaxen Hair”.

Medicinal virtues
In the 11th century, Hildegarde
von Bingen, a Benedictine nun,
mystic and musician already
spoke of linen’s curing benefits
for the skin and advised using
linen compresses.
Today, we can relieve allergies
or resolve hyper-sensitive skin
problems by wearing linen
clothes or dressings and using
creams with a flax oil base.
Even the term “toilette” comes
from toile (broadcloth - of linen),
the only fabric suggested for use
on the skin.

Beautiful linens
The French words linge
(linens), lingerie and lingère
(laundrywoman) are all derived
from the word “linen”.
Today household linens have
had a colorful “lifting”, a far cry
from grandmother’s trousseau.
Linen has become innovative and
spectacular : fabrics with metallic
reflections, vibrant colors,
voluptuous bath sheets.

Alsacian madras is in linen !
In the 17th century, many
weavers set up shop in Alsace’s
Muttersholtz region and invented
the kelsch, a red and blue plaid
linen fabric… Still up to date
today!
GANDER
www.tissage-gander.fr

Micro-climate
If we choose linen sheets, we will sleep better.
Linen communicates real freshness through its
mysterious power allowing it to keep an outdoor
freshness while absorbing 20% of its weight in
water.
Our skin has over 5,000 sensory cubic cms, that
directly influence our rapid eye movement sleep!
BELLORA
www.bellora.it

“Linen is
to the couture designer
what marble is
to the sculptor,
a noble material.”
Christian Dior

Design and linen
A chair with a spirited line,
doubly light and recyclable,
made in composite linen.
Why linen ?
It is lighter than glass fiber,
does not use much energy
and offers “maximum resistance
for a minimum amount of material”.
F. AZAMBOURG
FOR DCS
www.design-cs.fr

In the shadow of
Haute Couture
Couture patterns are in 100% linen.
Madeleine Vionnet numbered and signed her
models on a linen label sewn inside the dress.

Japan
In Japan, linen is nicknamed
“woven wind”, in reference to the
harmony between the one who
wears it and the natural elements.
Among the nine traditional
engagement presents, white linen
thread symbolizes “understanding
each other until old age when our
hair will turn white”.

Little papers
Bank notes, especially green dollar paper,
valuable papers, bonds and bible paper
but also cigarette rolling paper are all
manufactured using a base of linen and
hemp fibers to assure durability.

“ I like linen because it is
a noble fabric with
unlimited possibilities.”
Giorgio Armani

“ You know this woman.
She has made the whole
city’s reputation.
She is made of linen and
hemp and her ornaments
are natural.
Fine, but resistant, she
is specially conceived to
preserve the taste and
aromas of your favorite
fantasies.”
Jean Baudrillard
Cool memories IV, 1995-2000

Outdoor hemp
Outdoor furniture design, sturdy,
resistant to rain… we want it !
Especially when it is more
ecological like this day bed in
woven hemp fibers!
EGO
www.egoparis.com

POP
Don’t make assumptions!
Linen better absorbs color in
subtle, vibrant, deep, rich tones
while consuming less dye.
Fibers play with light and send
back a light, natural shine.
Let’s opt for indigo, fuchsia,
purple and Klein blue!
LUCE DAL LINO, MILANO

“For me, linen evokes freshness
and authenticity, the charm
of a young woman feeling well
in her time, unfettered
by heartbreak.”
Hanae Mori

An irreproachable eco-profile
If linen has always been recognized for
its natural aspects, today its ecological
qualities are confirmed by the results of
the first Life Cycle Analysis (LCA).
This is done following current ISO rules
and takes into account the linen growing
process to the recycling of used linen
garnments.
Source: Bio Intelligence Service, 2008

Agriculture and CO 2
450,000 tons of gas emissions
contributing to the greenhouse
effect are avoided
50,000 equivalent tons of petrol
are economized;
390 tons of phyto-sanitary
products are economized
Source: European Audit Commission, March 2007

Dynasty forever
Linen-producing companies
are generally family-owned.
Growing and working linen
requires a passion and the
necessity of an almost-
ancestral knowledge paired
with visionary talent.
This know-how, passed from
father to son, is based on a
very specific linen vocabulary.
LARUSMIANI

DO AWAY with waste
Drive away in linen!
Used by the automobile
industry to reinforce car
doors or dashboards,
composite linen lightens
vehicle weight and helps
save gas.

“I find that linen is an extraordinary
fabric, because it is a fiber which,
each time we use it, offers surprising
results. It intensifies colors, stitches,
shapes or techniques for passionate
researchers and designers.”
Ottavio et Rosita Missoni

Oil painting…
Jan Van Eyck (1390 – 1441) invented
oil paint made out of… linen oil.
Beginning in the 15th century, Venetian
painters used canvas, it was then used
in Flanders following Rubens’ influence.
Linen canvas covered by a coating
allowed paint to fix itself and finally
initiated – thanks to its lightness –
giant formats.

My first linen T-shirt !
100% linen knits possess all
linen’s qualities: a soft hand,
comfort, shine and – the ideal
quality – they don’t wrinkle.
The newest innovations include
a linen piqué! When will linen be
used for sport fabrics?
PETIT BATEAU
www.petit-bateau.fr

After sailing canvas…
A reduced version of yesterday’s
magnificent tuna boats, La Gazelle
des Sables is the first boat with
a linen in its hull.
Responsive, easy to manipulate,
light and simple to use.
Its key points? Self-righting and
very stable, thanks to its liquid
ballast. And ecological thanks to
linen fibers.

Bespoke Linen
London – The Savile Row Bespoke
association has federated 5-star
tailors who perpetuate the tradition
of made-to-measure suits in wool…
and linen:
from uniforms for the African Corps
to Sir “Michael Philip” Jagger’s
white suits, from the Blue Angel’s
andro-chic to Fred Astaire’s
spinning coattails, from Beau
Brummell, Ava Gardner or Rudolf
Valentino all the way to Jude Law…
TAILORS IN LINEN

Hemp & linen :
ecological insulations
Perfect insulations for gables,
roof linings, partitions, walls,
floors, structures and, in
general, any empty space
found in construction.
Obtained from fraying or
expanding hemp and linen
fibers, they are breathable,
air-permeable, sound or
heat-regulating and noise
resistant.

The first Linen Comic Strip
70 meters recount the adventures
of William the Conquerer.
The famous linen tapestry
embroidered in the 11th century
by Queen Mathilda can be
discovered in perfect condition
at the Bayeux Museum.

Linen in winter
Breathable and mostly associated
with summer, it is also insular
and heat-regulating, ideal for
wintertime.
It joins its qualities with those
of cashmere, alpaca or silk to
protect from the cold and drastic
changes in temperature.
And to experience winter in linen,
new coatings are now developed
for parkas, trenches or coats.
100% MALE

A leader in crop rotation
Its rotating cultivation without
pesticides or defoliants, its deep
root system that restructures
the earth and its non-abrasive
harvesting procedure for soil
make linen an excellent leader
in crop rotation.
Subsequent culture in the
same soil is 20% to 30% more
productive per hectare.
LINUM USITATISSIMUM

The Romans inspire the Grenelle
Agreement on the Environment
They were the first to recognize
linen and hemp’s insulating power
for dwellings.
The Grenelle texts praise biosourced
construction materials such as hemp
or linen batting and hemp concrete:
labelling and certifying eco-materials
is en route!

Arty
Sheila Hicks, artist, painter and
photographer, uses versatile linen
at the heart of her creations.
Linen, light and color - a vibrant
trio for a majestic work moving
away from textile art and
imposing itself “off the wall”.
BANISTERIOPSIS
www.sheilahicks.com

1 hectare of flax produces
20,000 km of yarns
or 3,750 m2 of fabric (250g/m2 base)
or 2,200 shirts
or 1,375 chairs

Concrete mariage
Hemp mortar and concrete
benefit from triple porousness:
of hemp grains, of a chalk-based
joining material and of the spaces
between the granules. These
thermal sound regulating and
energetic performances answer
construction and renovation
needs for indoor partitions or
external walls.
Italian masons’ famous “mariage
for love” !

“In Antiquity, linen was used
to swath newborns but also
for burial cloths. It is thus a fabric
for life and death, a universal fabric,
par excellence.”
Antonio Marras, Kenzo

Linen meter
In linen, we use the fruit’s grains
and then the stems for everything
else.
A linen plant is one meter of long
fibers and one meter of roots
which remain in the soil after the
plant is pulled out to fertilize the
ground for the next planting.

Merci Napoléon !
1815 – Napoleon launched a
contest to invent an automatic
loom, then he got stuck at
Waterloo.
The winner, Philippe de Girard,
never received his prize. Obliged
to emigrate, he created his new
linen weaving mills first in Austria
and then Poland where the city of
Gyradowa still bears his name.

Anti-inflamatory
Its capsule-shaped fruit contains
ten grains, used in cosmetics for
their rich poly-saccharins and
their anti-inflammatory actions.
Linen forms a protective microfiber
on the skin’s surface to help
reduce irritations.
In the Middle Ages, linen offered
relief to sick patients infested
with the Plague.

Where does
the best flax grow?
“Attached to the earth but open
to the world”, is the connecting
thread of linen’s European
story. From Riga to Belfast, from
Courtrai to Venice, from Saint
Malo to Cadiz, from Lille to Milan,
it influences markets around the
globe but is also synonymous
with a typical European art of
living.
68% of the world’s linen fabric
production comes from European
soil.

Masters of Linen
The Masters of Linen brand
Designates CELC member spinners
and weavers combining European
traceability, quality an creativity.
It guarantees end consumers an
excellent product from a local
industry.
The specifications include over
60% European yarn supply,
strictly controlled.
It is available for accredited
mills and their clients, editors,
designers, brands, providing
product guarantee for the final
consumer.

I European Flax
The 10,000 European
Confederation of Flax and
Hemp member companies
express themselves through
This signature with a heart.

CELC
The European Confederation of flax and hemp (CELC) is the
only European agro-industrial organization bringing together
and federating all stages for linen & hemp production and
transformation.
Created in 1951 and composed of 10,000 member companies
from 14 countries, the CELC stimulates exchanges of industrial
know-how and market expectations and coordinates innovation
throughout the industry.
The CELC assures the promotion of the European linen and hemp
industry in the textile-clothing and home decorating sectors.
The CELC turns towards the future and new outlets beyond textiles
such as composites with a high technological value or eco-construction
products.

Linen & Hemp Dream Team
CELC
PROMOTION
Marie-Emmanuelle Belzung
DIRECTOR
celc.sg@mastersoflinen.com
France Courtier
ASSISTANT
celc.sg@mastersoflinen.com
COMMUNICATION SECTION
communication@mastersoflinen.com
Alain Camilleri
COMMUNICATION DIRECTOR
Sophie Vandamme
PROJECT MANAGER
TEXTILE SECTION
trends@mastersoflinen.com
Marie Demaegdt
PROJECT MANAGER
TECHNICAL SECTION
technical@mastersoflinen.com
Julie Pariset
PROJECT MANAGER
Joris Baets
TECHNICAL ADVISOR
Frédéric Douchy
PRESIDENT
Alain Blosseville
PRESIDENT PROMOTION
STRATEGIC PARTNERS
FR – CORPORATE
Cosi Communication
Dimitri Soverini – dimitri@cosicom.net
FR – BTOB & BTOC
14 Septembre
Stéphanie Morlat – stephanie@14septembre.fr
UK
Susan Mc Hugh Associates
Susie McHugh – susie@susanmchugh.com
Sue Spencer – suespencer@susanmchugh.com
IT
Elementi Moda
Ornella Bignami – el.moda@elementimoda.it
Thanks to Catherine Dauriac, Writer
Carol Lipton, Translator
Vincent Lappartient, Photographer
Pam&Jenny, Graphic design