Crafty Bayeux artisans give traditional French lace a modern touch

Artisans in Normandy are carrying on the traditional practice of lacemaking that dates back to the Renaissance. Shedding the dusty image of decorative doilies, the Bayeux Conservatory of Lace has rejuvenated the art through creative workshops and a boutique – proving just how modern lace can be.

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Butterfly brooch of traditional French lace, handmade by artisans from the Conservatory of Lace in Bayeux, Normandy. © Caroline Michaud

Bayeux, like many towns in the north west of France, is renowned for its lacemaking, a craft kept alive thanks to a group of artisans who run the Conservatory of Lacemaking (Conservatoire de la Dentelle de Bayeux).

Through the large front windows of the 15^th century building known as the ‘Maison d’Adam et Eve’, visitors can see into the workshop, where an art that has been around for several hundred years is still practiced.

“Lace was worn in France from around the 16th century. Catherine de Médicis brought the craft from Italy,” lacemaker Cécile Roquier explains to RFI, referring to the Queen of France (1547-1559), who was an important patron of the arts.

Roquier indicates a green velvet wheel where bobbins are spread out in a fan shape. The small wooden handles contain the threads used to make what is known as bobbin lace.

Bobbin lacemaker Cécile Roquier in action at the Conservatoire Dentelle de Bayeux (Conservatory of Lace in Bayeux), Normandy, October 2022. © Caroline Michaud

“Under Louis XIV, Colbert decided to open lacemaking factories in France. Several were set up in Bayeux, Alençon and Argentan in Normandy, for example. There were others, in Auvergne and all across France”.

“From then on, Italian and Flemish artisans came to explain how to make lace. We then created our own style of lace, with the same techniques using bobbins or needles, all while changing the patterns to adapt to French style,” Roquier continues.

Lace from Bayeux is in the "Chantilly" style, she says, which means it has a very fine thread with a slightly thicker cord to underline the designs, often with flowers and leaves as motifs. Many of the pieces are black, a colour that came into fashion under Napoléon III and was not necessarily associated with mourning.

“At the time you had to have clothing with lace on it to attend the royal court, and families went broke trying to have the right outfits,” Roquier goes on, pointing to a shawl that would have needed some 10,000 hours of work to complete.

A handmade lace design seen at the Conservatoire Dentelle de Bayeux (Conservatory of Lace in Bayeux), Normandy, October 2022. © Caroline Michaud

Roquier and her colleagues at the Conservatory host regular workshops for people interested in learning this craft, which has significantly evolved away from its connection to a grandmothers' pastime or a wedding trousseau for young brides.

The items on display in the boutique, are far from old-fashioned. There are necklaces, brooches, rings and earrings in an attractive array of colours. Images from fashion magazines on the walls show models in haute couture with accessories made of lace.

Nearby, Véronique Thomazo is holding a small image of a young lady wearing a flouncy black dress. She describes how she will use a needle to make the lace around this pattern. The lacemaker, whose family is in the textile business, joined the Conservatory in 2007.

“In Argentan there were royal workshops opened by Colbert, meaning that lace could be made in France and not just in Venice. During the revolution, lacemakers were unfortunately guillotined at the same time as other nobles, so needle lacemaking became a lost art,” Thomazo tells RFI.

Le Conservatoire Dentelle de Bayeux (Conservatory of Lace in Bayeux), Normandy, October 2022. © RFI / Ollia Horton

In the late 1800s, a man called Ernest Lefebure decided to revive lacemaking in the region, she says. He did some research in Argentan and he brought lacemaking back to Bayeux.

The pieces won many prizes and it was decided that lacemakers needed to be trained locally to keep the trade alive.

Despite the arrival of machine-made lace, Thomazo says traditional handmade lace has not lost its charm.

In fact, it has come back into fashion over the years, thanks to orders placed by luxury designers in Paris who want to incorporate something truly French into their outfits.

The conservatory has worked with fashion houses of Balmain, Dior, Lapidus, Hermès, as well as contemporary artists.

Despite what looks to be a nearly impossible task, the lacemakers explain that anyone can learn, it just takes some creativity, a pair of good eyes and some patience.