Maison Michel

Origin: 1936, Paris, France

Designer: Laetitia Crahay (Artistic Direction)

Field: accessories

Style:

For several seasons already, there has not been a runway show without hats or head accessories: riding helmets, caps, berets or draped turbans…

The Michel House, rich with a tradition of the exceptional, is perhaps the one who knows best how to answer this new passion for the hat by incarnating the most incredible visions of couture designers.

Michel is founded in 1936 by Auguste Michel. In 1968 with the arrival of two talented milliners, Pierre and Claudine Debard, the House becomes the preferred supplier for all the biggest names in fashion.

In 1975, Pierre Debard had the idea to revive the Weissman, a wonderful machine to assemble straw with an invisible seam.  He trains a new generation of hat makers and offers these sewn straw models to the great fashion designers. Pierre Cardin adopts them, followed by Dior, Givenchy, Yves Saint Laurent… Later Karl Lagerfeld for Chanel, Givenchy, Oscar de la Renta, Kris Van Assche and others don’t hesitate to ask the Michel House for miracles: extremely rare straw, an avant-garde toque, a vinyl Borsalino or another precious or unusual head covering.

The house has preserved a treasure of over three thousand oval forms perfectly sculpted in a soft wood, linden wood.  An impressive reserve of ancient straws and felts overflows from the drawers.  All the secrets of the trade are between the hands of a couple specialized and complementary artisans: the hatter shapes the hat while the milliner sews, garnishes, and finishes it.  By taking over the Michel House in 1997, Chanel wanted to keep and preserve this unique know-how, fully showcasing it in the desire of current fashion.

Laetitia Crahay, in charge of Chanel’s accessories and jewelry and artistic director of the Michel House, has imagined since 2006 a very contemporary collection of hats, accessories and head jewelry—unexpected variations full of poetry along the themes of straw hats, wide-brimmed hats, berets, rain hats, bonnets and caps.

Fall/Winter 2011:

Looking ahead to Fall-Winter 2011/12 at Maison Michel, Laetitia Crahay, Artistic Director at Maison Michel and Head of Accessories/Jewelry at Chanel, creates an

artistic collection where absolute esthetics reign. True to her signature style, Laetitia Crahay navigates between gothic chic and refined humor, taking in graphic romanticism along the way. The ample array of styles on offer will speak to the multiple facets of any wearer’s personality. Contemporary gossamer headpieces set the tone with full lace veils that rest on headbands adorned with metallic feathers. Masculine cashmere caps are draped with chains, while spiked combs transform into crests and tiaras once placed in the hair. A poetic radicalism infuses chronicles of everyday extravagance. New proposals and materials are brought forth, from pearl-adorned fur ear muffs to pillboxes of astrakhan, satin and lace, sprinkled with flowers,

feathers and dark polka dots. Playing with scale, dainty mini berets and top hats are

decidedly light-hearted, and mischievous vinyl and pvc hoods with bear ears have a cinematic feel – a cheeky nod to modern and pop heroines. Finally, the quintessence of classical romanticism wraps up the collection in the perfection of borsalinos, trilbys and floppy felt hats, whose clean lines play with complementary colors. A collection to fill our heads with dreams of élégance and refinement.