From June 14 to July 2, 2011, Galerie Joyce, located in the Galerie de Valois in the heart of the Jardins du Palais Royal, will host an exhibition retracing the birth of the ESMOD school, which took place 170 years ago in a building on the Place de Valois in 1841.
This exhibition traces the history of a family saga dedicated to the evolution of fashion and its know-how.
In 1841, Alexis Lavigne, Master Tailor to Empress Eugénie, witnessed the beginnings of ready-to-wear clothing, and never ceased to develop the techniques of his trade. He filed numerous patents, including those for the flexible centimeter, the mannequin bust and cutting methods.
A humanist to the core, he passed on his know-how to a whole generation of young tailors, setting up his own school; soon followed by his daughter Alice, deeply committed to opening up vocational education, contributing to the emancipation of women and turning his establishment into the famous “Guerre-Lavigne” school, and then by his granddaughter and great-grandson, who set up all the current ready-to-wear techniques.
Whether manual or computerized, these methods are still used today in the international school that ESMOD has become, renowned for training many fashion professionals.
Archives from the school’s inception to the present day will be on display, as will its history and the development of its network both in France and internationally, with 22 schools to date in 15 countries across 5 continents.
Saga de mode, 170 ans d’innovations” exhibition from June 14 to July 02, 2011.
Free admission Monday to Saturday, 11:30am to 6:30pm.
Galerie Joyce: 168, Galerie de Valois, Jardins du Palais Royal 75001 Paris
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