At the inauguration of le19M, the President of France emphasised the importance and the prospects of handcraftsmanship professions in France
On January 20th 2022, le19M was inaugurated by Bruno Pavlovsky, President of CHANEL SAS and President of le19M, in the presence of Emmanuel Macron, President of France, and his wife Brigitte Macron.
Also present were Jean-Michel Blanquer, Minister of National Education, Youth and Sports, Elisabeth Borne, Minister of Labour, Employment and Integration, Roselyne Bachelot, Minister of Culture, Emmanuel Grégoire, First Deputy Mayor of Paris, François Dagnaud, Mayor of the 19th arrondissement of Paris, Karine Franclet, Mayor of Aubervilliers, Mathieu Hanotin, President of the Plaine Commune and Stéphane Troussel, President of the Seine-Saint-Denis Departmental Council.
le19M, the new space dedicated to the fashion Métiers d’art
The creation of le19M, a place of work and encounters dedicated to the fashion Métiers d’art, is the culmination of a process that began in 1985 with CHANEL’s earliest acquisitions of ateliers and factories. The 25,500 m² building, designed by the architect Rudy Ricciotti, today welcomes eleven Maisons d’art and an embroidery school, with more than 600 artisans, employees and apprentices.
For Bruno Pavlovsky, President of CHANEL SAS and President of le19M, “Transmission is at the heart of le19M’s mission: contributing to the continuation of a unique Parisian and French heritage, inspired by Haute Couture, but also to promote these exceptional crafts. We want to attract new talent to participate in the growth and global influence of French fashion.”
Located between the 19th arrondissement of Paris and the town of Aubervilliers, le19M is a link between the world capital of creation and fashion and a vibrant up-and-coming area. With its gallery open to the public, le19M weaves links between these exceptional artisans and numerous different audiences: local residents, organizations, schools, students and passionate amateurs…
After visiting the ateliers, Emmanuel Macron, President of France, speaking to the artisans and young apprentices of le19M, declared: “Your crafts are the Métiers d’art. And I want all our young people, like those I have met today, who have this passion, to be able to access them if they so wish. Because the crafts that you are learning or of which you are the custodians are extraordinary crafts that are rooted deep in our history and that make each one of you a unique link in a collective adventure.”
A commitment to the recruitment and training of young people
le19M is the bridgehead of a wider universe of ateliers and manufactories located throughout France, representing 13,000 people, including 4,500 who work in the CHANEL maisons d’art and manufactories. “The recruitment needs of the fashion and creation sectors are significant,” underlined Bruno Pavlovsky, President of CHANEL SAS and President of le19M. “We must create vocations in order to attract more and more diverse talents into these fields of excellence, which are the very soul and essence of luxury. We are convinced that handcraftsmanship professions are, more than ever, the professions of the future for France.”
In this spirit, he announced CHANEL Mode’s commitment, within the framework of the “1 young person, 1 solution” agreement, to recruit and train more than 1,200 young people under the age of 30 per year over the next three years.