The brief and fleeting spectacle of a runway show is the culmination of months and months of hard work. Much of that work, in the haute couture arena, is done by workers whose skills in the intricate arts of beading, embroidery and other finishings are a big part of delivering that wow moment on the runway. But the workshops of Paris are finding that these workers are in short supply. Many of the artisans are aging and there are not enough new workers interested in the painstaking but low-paid labor. An Associated Press article reports that much of the knowledge of the work will die out once the Parisian "petite mains" or "little hands" retire. Hat blockers, flower makers and cobblers are particularly prized by Chanel, Lacroix and other houses that specialize in elaborate haute couture. One possible solution is to outsource to other countries but for the French, it is hard to part with the idea that made in France has its own unique cachet.France's "little hand" shortage
The brief and fleeting spectacle of a runway show is the culmination of months and months of hard work. Much of that work, in the haute couture arena, is done by workers whose skills in the intricate arts of beading, embroidery and other finishings are a big part of delivering that wow moment on the runway. But the workshops of Paris are finding that these workers are in short supply. Many of the artisans are aging and there are not enough new workers interested in the painstaking but low-paid labor. An Associated Press article reports that much of the knowledge of the work will die out once the Parisian "petite mains" or "little hands" retire. Hat blockers, flower makers and cobblers are particularly prized by Chanel, Lacroix and other houses that specialize in elaborate haute couture. One possible solution is to outsource to other countries but for the French, it is hard to part with the idea that made in France has its own unique cachet.