DESRUES TODAY
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At Plailly, in the Oise region, with its large atrium windows overlooking the countryside, Desrues’ 200 highly skilled employees work on machines that are able to mould, sculpt, dye, gild, emboss, enamel and polish the most precious jewellery and buttons for Chanel, its biggest client, as well as for Louis Vuitton and many others. Desrues has preserved a high level of know-how devoted to an exclusive niche market, a reminder of its special partnerships with the great French couturiers of its time (Chanel, Lanvin, Vionnet, Dior, Saint Laurent), but has also incorporated modern techniques in order to meet the needs of the luxury ready-to-wear market. Every one of the glorious items of personal jewellery belonging to Mademoiselle Chanel, given to her by Grand Duke Dimitri Romanov or the Duke of Westminster, has been reinterpreted and reproduced to the delight of Chanel’s clientèle. Equally, Karl Lagerfeld has never once created a collection which did not include unique pieces of jewellery designed to satisfy the most unexpected desires of every generation: toe rings, “dos-main” bracelets, hair jewellery and anklets alongside Byzantine crosses, cuff bracelets encrusted with hard stones, cascading pearls, necklaces and curb chains. Thanks to the combined talents of man and machine, eight times a year a new collection of at least 100 pieces is offered to the public. |
In the days leading up to the designers’ catwalk shows, the atmosphere within the company becomes feverish with activity. Each collection may require the creation of forty or so new buttons, plus a hundred new pieces of jewellery made from the most diverse materials with the most complex finishes. This makes each collection a real challenge for Desrues, which the firm handles brilliantly thanks to its skilled staff and a unique network of suppliers. Since it was founded, more than 80,000 products have left its workshops, a real treasure-trove covering 70 years of fashion. “Nothing is impossible to a willing heart”, this quote could actually be the motto for the Desrues’ company, where imagination supports both tradition and innovation with the same creative flair. |