Couture: Sophie Halette In Caudry, France some 120 years ago, Eugène Hallette founded his lace firm, La Maison Hallette. The Frenchman grew his mill into the third largest lace manufacturer in France, with 6 burgeoning leaver rooms in full operation. But he died at the peak of his business, in 1889. Adopted by the Etienne Lescroart and his son, the renamed Sophie Hallette remains a luxury producer of lace and tulle fabrics, richly crafted and steeped in family history. A focused dedication to the craft of lace-making has established them as a true leader in their field, with 400 employees on their books and exports going out daily. Sophie Hallette laces are prized by top designers, used by recently by Valentino in Spring 2015. And it was the official lace used in making the wedding gown of Kate Middleton, ushering her in to be crowned the Duchess of Cambridge. The process of lace-making at the French mill begins with skilled drafters who sketch by hand new designs and patterns of lace.
Expert weavers then work on traditional Leavers and Bobin looms to create the laces and gossamer tulle. It's a meticulous process, which uses thousands of miles of thread crossing over 5,000 shuttles and 12 tons of cast iron. Once off the loom, an artisan scans for imperfections – ladders, bobbin holes and warp-threads mostly – taking a needle to reconstruct the missing stitches, sometimes spending 15 hours on a single cloth. Now woven and error-free, the lace visits the dyer, who paints beautiful custom hues using pipettes, transforming the fabrics into a gorgeous rainbow of colors. The clipping shop cuts and trims loose threads, before scalloping the piece by machine or by hand with scissors.Our favorites include the Chantilly lace in powder pink, [caramel (https://www.commonshare.com/capabilities/caramel) cotton-like leavers lace and noir cotton French lace with guipure border.
Ready to Wear:Litmans Litmans is one of the top lace producers in England. Established in 1946 by Alan Litman, the company’s roots can be traced back to the beginnings of the English Nottingham lace industry. But it’s Litmans unique approach to fabric - developing cutting-edge fabrics using an ever-increasing range of natural and synthetic raw materials - that has set it apart for other local firms. Aesthetically, they craft lace designs that are rare in beauty and usually hard to find. After 68 years of operation, the firm continues to grow by expanding into other luxury textiles: nets, tulle, organza, chiffon, guipuire, satin, and embroidered pieces - effortlessly threaded like a tapestry into ready-to-wear bridal gowns. Their laces have graced the racks of several high-street chains, online retailers and top designers, impressing fabric buyers and designers with their seasonal stall at Premiere Vision in Paris. Carving a evening wear name for themselves in contemporary fashion, Litmans' lace has dressed the bodice of Lady Gaga, Adele and the Queen of England. Lead by Stuart Prime, who acquired the firm in 2007, Litmans has received an influx of orders of Nottingham-made lace specifically in the last eight years. Starting with a black pattern first, Litmans was driven by demand to add more colors, and soon had seven different lace patterns on the run. Incredibly, the mill still operates off only two machines with plans to expand due. It employs 17 people at its Radford Road headquarters, and stocks around 3,000 different products, selling about 500,000 meters each month. Exports currently account for roughly 33% of the business but in recent years, they have been as much as 60% of its trade. The people's choice for fabric, Litmans is an affordable and contemporary lace maker.
*InnovationErco Pizzi *Di Franco Michelino founded Erco Pizzi in the Italian town of Gallarate in 1975. Since then, Di Franco heirs have continued with the business, opening a new state-of-the-art facility in the town of Besnate in 1996. Today, Erco Pizzi makes elastic and stiff lace, tulles and powernet, knitted jacquard and embossed fabric - all created with 'Made In Italy' quality and care. The mill is constantly engaged in researching and developing new styles in response to new fashion trends, which sees Erco Pizzi sell lace for bridal lingerie andcorsets, and big gown labels.The innovation comes in their product, made utilizing fibers such as chenille, lurex, lycra and dorlastan yarn, as well as more typical nylon, polyester, cotton, wool and viscose. And they give light and color to fabrics thanks to high quality laminations that meet the need of the shiny fashion world. Erco Pizzi uses the latest generation looms - Raschel Multibar, Multibar Fallplate, Musterpress, Cliptronic, Jacquardtronic, Textronic, which work side by side with traditional mechanical looms developed back in the Sixties. Together, the old and new perform specific processing to weave special yarns to make their bridal lace. As it stands, the Erco Pizzi is continuing its research to improve softness in natural yarns, offering extra comfort without sacrificing elegance in look and feel.