THE FINESSE OF ALENÇON LACE...
THE ART OF LACEMAKING AND THE ANCIENT CITÉ DES DUCS:
AN ETERNAL LINK
Ruffs, jabots, headpieces, wedding dresses and veils... In the 17th century, all nobles and high clergymen wore Venice lace which was very fashionable at the time. But in 1650, Marthe de la Perrière, a lacemaker from Alençon who was keen to perfect this delicate art, encouraged her young apprentices to create their own technique.
They gradually invented Alençon lace, a very fine needlepoint lace of a rare and unique quality.
In 1665, Colbert decided to establish a Royal Manufacture in Alençon and turned this unanimously appreciated needle lace into a reference that would put an end to the import of foreign imitations. This production employed nearly 10,000 people during the first half of the 18th century and, at the first Universal Exhibition,
held in London in 1851, Alençon needlepoint lace was recognised as the "queen of laces".
WORLD-UNIQUE CRAFTMANSHIP INSCRIBED ON THE UNESCO INTANGIBLE CULTURAL HERITAGE LIST
Through the centuries, the lacemakers’ savoir-faire was passed on through the traditional teaching methods of oral explanations and hands-on practice. Nowadays, only the ten or so lacemakers of the Atelier National du Point d’Alençon, created in 1976, still work to preserve this unique expertise. It takes nearly ten years for a lacemaker to master this art which is carried out only by hand, since no machine is capable of imitating it.
Just imagine... It takes 7 to 15 hours to produce a piece of lace the size of a postage stamp!
The workshop is attached to the Mobilier National department, which is gradually guiding the lacemakers towards a more contemporary production so that they can apply their own techniques to modern artistic models.
Famous across the world for its fine mesh and intricate detail, Alençon lace is inimitable.
Naturally then, it was added to the list of UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage in 2010.
