Weaving, Embroidering, Embellishing: A Tribute to Paris’ Hidden Hands

Bustier Schiaparelli par Daniel Roseberry, Baqué Molinié (broderie), Haute couture, automne-hiver 2022-2023 (© Courtesy of Schiaparelli)

Robe de mariée Givenchy, Lemarié (fleurs artificielles), Haute couture, printemps-été 1988 (© Paris Musées / Palais Galliera, musée de la Mode de Paris)

As Paris settles into winter, the Palais Galliera is preparing to honour the city's artisanal heritage with an exhibition that puts craftsmanship squarely centre stage. Opening December 13, Weaving, Embroidering, Embellishing: The Crafts and Trades of Fashion will be the first in a new trilogy of shows exploring the métiers that have defined Parisian fashion for over two centuries.

The exhibition uses the flower as its thread—not as mere decoration, but as a technical challenge that has pushed artisans to their limits for generations. From 18th-century silk blossoms to contemporary organza constructions, the floral motif demands botanical precision in colour, sculptural understanding of volume, and an intimate knowledge of materials that only comes from years at the worktable. It’s a deceptively simple choice that quietly reveals the ingenuity behind Parisian excellence.

More than 350 pieces—garments, accessories, archival photographs, textile samples, and tools—will create a conversation between established names like Lesage and Hurel and contemporary practitioners including Baqué Molinié and Aurélia Leblanc. Some works have been created specifically for the occasion, signalling that this isn’t a nostalgic backward look but an active dialogue about how these techniques continue to evolve.

What sets this exhibition apart is its focus on details. Tables fitted with magnifying glasses will invite visitors to examine exactly how a printed petal meets embroidered silk, or how a leaf achieves its three-dimensional relief. It’s an unusual opportunity to see fashion’s construction rather than its finished theatricality.

The timing is significant. Since Chanel opened its 19M complex in January 2022, bringing together 11 ateliers under one roof in the 19th arrondissement, there has been a marked shift in how these métiers are perceived and valued. The Galliera's show continues this momentum but with a more contemplative approach, one that honours continuity over spectacle.

Parisian couture has always depended on the petites mains—embroiderers, feather workers, textile designers, pleaters, artificial flower makers—whose names never appear on runway credits but without whom no collection could exist. By centring these artisans in its narrative, curated by Émilie Hammen, the exhibition acknowledges what sustains couture when trends change and attention moves elsewhere: the transmission of knowledge from one pair of hands to another.

For those who understand that couture’s real poetry lives in the workroom rather than the catwalk, this exhibition offers something increasingly rare—an intimate look at the discipline and intelligence behind Parisian craft. Not the Instagram moment, but the stitch itself.

Weaving, Embroidering, Embellishing: The Crafts and Trades of Fashion runs from December 13, 2025, through October 18, 2026, at the Palais Galliera.