Artisan news and archive

Chanel's le19M to host three-month long exhibition in Dakar, Senegal

After Chanel showed its Métiers d’Art collection in Senegal’s capital city in December, the Maison’s craftsmanship hub, le19M, is launching a three-month international programme in Dakar. In a statement le19M said the entire country of Senegal is replete with artisanal expertise, a heritage to which le19M is particularly sensitive. In...

Culture

LVMH and Elle launch second Prix des Artisanes

LVMH and Elle have partnered on the second edition of Prix des Artisanes, a competition and prize that promotes the savoir-faire of craftswomen in applied arts. Now in its second year, the prize is held in association with the Institut National des Métiers d’Art and the Artisans d’Avenir network. In a statement LVMH said it supports lesser known...

Fashion Featured

Craft clusters, how one sustainable brand uses India’s textile heritage

Launched in 2009 the brand Injiri, meaning real India, focuses on textile development and sustainable usage of materials from across India which, perhaps more than any other country, has long supplied the fashion industry with extraordinary handwoven textiles. But how much do we really understand of these centuries-old techniques and what goes...

Fashion Featured

Is the artisan fashion’s most misunderstood figure?

Artisan is a broad term that has become hip even as its definition has become increasingly meaningless. Co-opted by everyone from tortilla chip manufacturers to pizza chains the word suggests nobility of craft, but in the fashion industry it is often little more than a marketing buzzword that can mask a grim reality of homeworkers operating in...

Fashion Featured

The Gender-Bending Evolution of the Bias Cut

Although back in the headlines this week, the technique of bias cutting was referenced as far back as the Middle Ages. In the pre-knit era it was used in the creation of hose to improve fit, and bias strips of fabric had been regularly used to trim garments with ruffles and bind hems. But it wasn’t until the 1920s that it was elevated from a...

Fashion

Maison Martin Margiela co-founder Jenny Meirens has died

Jenny Meirens, co-founder of Maison Martin Margiela has died at the age of 73. Paid tribute to by the fashion house in an Instagram post, featuring a photo of Meirens and Margiela together. In memory of Jenny Meirens, business partner of Martin Margiela and one of the visionaries behind the scenes at Maison Margiela. #rip Photo by Anders Edstorm...