INSIDE - THE MAKING OF CHRISTOPHE LEMAIRE´S BAG

Inside is the new feature on Tedore; it´s a sort of behind the scenes or a process or the making of. A good way to discover details, techniques, people,…and to show you what is (really) behind of the “glittery” side of fashion (and not only). It´s not just a final product that we see and/or buy; it´s a whole process. 

Who else can be the perfect first than (my) one and only Christophe Lemaire…

We know that proverb “Behind a successful man stands a great woman”; this is also the case of Christophe Lemaire. Something like eight years ago he met his partner, muse and nowadays brand´s studio director Sarah-Linh Tran. That time she was still a student and Christophe was just to restart his namesake label. They discovered that they had a certain sensitivity and complicity about aesthetics and style and art and movies, so they start to work together. The “collaboration” was and still is really fruitful and the brand has really grown in renown; the result is what we see and know about the brand these years.

For the marvellous F/W 2014/2015 collection they´ve created two styles of mould, seamless leather bags: a tall, elegant tote and a caramel-coloured cross-body bag. And what a bags! From the first time I saw them on the F/W 2014/2015, they went straight to my whish list (as the whole collection). I must say best bags that I´ve got the privilege to see so far, because they got what a perfect bag should have - originality, craftmenship, elegant, but still daily and most important, timeless. 
In September you can get them at Lemair´s Paris boutique; they will be available in the limited edition of fifteen pieces.  They cost 2.085 and 1.925 Eur; the price really reflects the long and a hard process that requires making them. In Paris, under hands of the master craftsman Carlos Penafiel (who is specialized to create 3-D leather 

a vegetable-tanned leather is cut according to a pattern

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the leather pieces soak in water for several hours

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after the leather is removed from the water, it becomes “hard to control” 

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each bag style has a corresponding sculpted mold with two halves

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the wet leather is wrapped around the mold

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using a special tool, Penafiel pushes and stretches the damp leather so that it will adhere to the mold’s shape

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the leather dries on the mold (shown at left), which causes it to become hard and retain its shape (at right)

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a metal frame is inserted into the molded shape along the outer edges, and a lining, strap and snaps are attached with invisible stitching; soft leather pieces between the two clamshell halves allow each bag to open and close

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the finished product requires an annual waxing to maintain its luster; over time, Lemaire says, “all the little defects and irregularities of the leather will be revealed

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/ Original images courtesy of Charlotte Tanguy - The NY Times Style Magazine /