A visit to Legeron - Paris

Whilst studying millinery professionally some 12 years ago now, I visited Paris and the house of Legeron which is renowned for its handmade flowers. The atelier first opened in 1727 and was taken over by the current owner's Great Grandfather in 1880. The business has remained in the same family ever since. Bruce Legeron (pictured above) is now at the  artistic helm of the business.  Famous couture houses such as Dior, Givenchy, and Dries Van Noten adorn their collections with the gorgeous blooms created here.

I had such vivid memories of my first visit to Legeron that I was determined to go there again during my Mobile Makery tour and what's more, this time, I wanted to see behind-the-scenes. I had another special reason for learning more as my Belgian friend Dorothée had recently acquired an incredible flower-making press and all the accompanying tools from a milliner in Brussels who'd sadly decided to sell up. Dorothée wanted to find out as much as she could about the art and craft of couture flower-making, and so we decided to go to Legeron together.

The atelier itself occupies two floors of an incredibly romantic old building. Go up the wooden stairs which smell of melted wax and ring the bell. You're led into a room full of hand-made flowers tucked away inside dozens of small drawers lining the walls. The flowers are created from every conceivable material - cotton, silk, plastic, rubber, leather - and come in every shade of every colour. Dorothée and I had made an appointment so that we could meet the famous Monsieur Legeron ourselves but to our disappointment he wasn't there. Our 'behind-the-scenes' visit was looking unlikely until the company's website designer (the son of one of the women who make the flowers!) gallantly stepped into the breach and offered to show us around. 

First we saw fabric stretched out on wooden frames ready to be stiffened with (mostly) gelatine. Then we were shown how the petals are stamped out (there are hundreds of different shapes) ready to be individually dyed.

It's Mr Legeron himself who hand-dyes the petals. His tiny workshop is at the heart of the atelier and it has more than a touch of magic about it. Tints of different shades are created and then painted onto each petal. As you can see from the picture below, every flower has a unique top-secret 'recipe' to determine its finished appearance. Shhh.......don't tell a soul! The petals are left to dry slowly overnight.

Next, the petals go to the workroom where a small expert team assembles each flower using a variety of heated metal tools to coax the flat forms into life. It takes about 10 years to become fully apprenticed. The longest-serving member of staff has been at Legeron for 40 years. In a world where skill has been replaced by speed it's a reminder that true quality doesn't come cheap.

Leather 'fabric' adorned with 3D flowers.

My friend Dorothée proudly modelling a Legeron silk bloom.

Already entranced by our mini tour of Legeron, Dorothée and I were in for another treat. Our guide went and rummaged around in a back room and came back with a large ledger. Inside were original sketches for hats dating back to the 1950's detailing the trims with which they were to be adorned. Take a peek for yourselves here below!

It's enough to get a girl hatting again!