French lace: history, technique, reviews

2024 Author: Priscilla Miln | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 00:21

France is not the birthplace of lace, but it was this country that gave the world a variety of weaving techniques and made lace synonymous with luxury and refined taste. Today, it is often French lace that adorns the fashionable outfits of stars and public figures around the world. It is available to any woman.

The origin of lace in France

Following Italy and Belgium, France becomes the third European state in which high standards and traditions of lace making are born. In the 16th century, the fashion for lace in France becomes very stable thanks to Queens Catherine and Marie de Medici. Both of them were Italians and brought their love for lace from their country. Catherine even invited an artist from Italy named Vinciolo, who creates a large collection of lace patterns that existed in the world at that time.

It was Italy, as the birthplace of lace, that supplied openwork weaving with the then fashionable reticella ornament to France. Of course, such lace was fabulously expensive and was available only to the richest Frenchmen.

Naturally, the desire of Parisian fashionistas to have such production at home was great. And already in the middle of the 17th century, craftswomen appeared in Alencon who tried torepeat the Venetian lace technique.

Even the Minister of Finance did not stay away from the problem. He understood that money was going abroad, and there was a gold mine in the production of openwork. He made Alençon the center of the craft. Moreover, in his castle, he created a kind of school, where he ordered 30 craftswomen from Venice to teach local girls the art of weaving.

However, Italy was not ready to share its secrets of craftsmanship with other countries. Like glassblowers, lacemakers were persecuted by the Italian authorities, and soon the craftswomen were forced to leave France. However, they managed to teach the French women the craft, and just a year later the Minister of Finance presented the first local lace to the king. French needlework impressed the king, and he ordered not to order more lace from other countries. Everyone was obliged to appear at the court only in the products of local craftswomen.

Further history of French lace

It should be noted that the needle-sewn guipure produced in Alencon not only was not inferior in quality to Italian, but even surpassed it. The pattern of French lace was smaller, more elegant and varied. Craftswomen embroidered not only ornaments and floral motifs, but also figures of animals and people. They created a large number of nets that serve as the basis for future lace and allow even more diversification of the composition. The ornament was braided not only with horse hair, even human hair was taken for finer work. And the drawings themselves were inventedoutstanding artists of that era.

In the 17th century, guipure as the basis for embroidery was replaced by a lighter and more delicate tulle, and by the end of the century there was a tendency to place the pattern only along the edge, filling the rest of the space with the so-called "bulk" ornament - a scattering of butterflies, flowers or flies.

Chantilly lace

One of the varieties of French lace, which has become so popular that it is widely used to this day - Chantilly. This is lace woven from black silk thread. It owes its name to a small town near Paris, where in the 19th century so-called blondes began to weave - another type of weaving. Chantilly lace later gained popularity when it was made in Cannes and Bayeux.

Chantilly features not only black color, but also a grid in the form of honeycombs, as well as an ornament that can change the frequency of weaving threads for a more voluminous pattern. The outlines of the pattern are also embroidered with a thicker thread, which makes the pattern more expressive.

Chantilly became most popular under Napoleon III, mostly large things were sewn from it - capes, mantillas, umbrellas, skirts.

Chantilly - from history to the present

Technological progress gave Chantilly a new impetus to popularity. It became possible to sew lace by machine, which made it more accessible. At the beginning of the 20th century, a dress consisting of a light cover and a Chantilly top layer becomes very fashionable throughout Europe. Silk and black are added to it.velvet for more drama.

With the advent of cinema, Chantilly becomes a companion of film stars - Ava Gardner, Marlene Dietrich, Rita Hayworth use the dramatic and fatal character that this lace has.

The French charm of Chantilly is not forgotten by modern designers. It can be found in evening dresses from Prada, Valentino, Elie Saab and other leading designers.

Shuttle tatting lace

This lace got its name from the French word for "frivolous", but did not originate in France. This is such an ancient type of needlework that its roots could not be traced. However, it was from France that it came to Russia, where it received a French name for lace.

This is a shuttle lace, which is woven by hand from knots. For tatting, thicker and coarser threads are used than for other types of lace, and initially this technique was used to create mainly interior items - curtains, bedspreads, lampshades. In the 18th century, tatting also adorns clothes.

Today, decorative elements of a costume, jewelry and bijouterie are made using the tatting technique. For the production of tatting, they take a thick silk or cotton thread and, using knotted weaving, create a fancy three-dimensional composition.

Modern French lace production

Modern technologies make it possible to create lace by machine, which has made it an affordable and very common decorative costume decoration. However, even today there are manufacturers who createhand-made masterpieces, as it was in the 17th century - real French lace. Its price is quite high, but the quality is unsurpassed. Such lace is created, for example, in the SOPHIE HALLETTE and RIECHERS MARESCOT workshops, and their lace, like 200 years ago, is a luxury item. "Burberry", "Gucci" and other fashion houses sew outfits from their lace. It is worn by Kate Middleton and Queen Elizabeth.

There are also more affordable manufacturers, for example, today in Russia you can buy ready-made lace outfits made using technologies that repeat French lace. Indonesia is an example of this - it is this country that produces clothes under the brand name "French lace".

But those who want something unique are invited to buy authentic vintage French lace. Vintage ribbon lace is sold at a price of 350 rubles, depending on its age, and more beautiful needle lace can be bought for about 1200 rubles. Typically, these rarities can be found in flea markets throughout France or in speci alty stores selling vintage fabrics and accessories.

Despite the abundance of types of lace that exist all over the world, including in Russia, it is French lace that has continued to be a model of elegance and sophisticated style for many centuries.