François Lesage, widely acknowledged as the greatest couture embroiderer and an iconic figure inside the fashion world, died on Wednesday night at age 82. Though he had been ill for a number of years, he remained active in his eponymous business until recently.
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The company, which has been owned by Chanel since 2002, will continue under the leadership of Hubert Barrère, recently appointed artistic director. However, Lesage’s death marks the loss of yet another building block of the haute couture. As Karl Lagerfeld, Chanel’s creative director, said at the time of the Lesage purchase in 2002: “There is no couture without embroidery and no embroidery without Lesage.” (That’s Lesage embroidery on the left on a Chanel ”Metiers d’Art” dress shown last year. )
Despite the additions of names like Armani and Versace, the haute couture collections have shrunk to a mere three days, and M Lesage’s death will reignite the debate about the purpose of the sartorial art form, and its role as an expression of French culture.
Vanessa has been the FT’s fashion editor since 2003, and is based in New York, though she lived in London for 12 years.