"I am deeply committed to the savoir-faire that has been passed down for centuries, sometimes for millennia. It carries within it the memory of time, cultures, and the hands that preceded them. Integrating them into my creations is not merely preserving a technique: it is transmitting that memory and giving a new soul to the work."
—Minhua Lysandre
THE SILK THREAD
For millennia, silk has been intertwined with the history of China and its arts. A precious material, it was closely linked to imperial workshops, where weaving and embroidery gave birth to fabrics destined for the court.
With a singular fineness and luster, silk thread captures light and reveals a particular depth of color. Divided into ever finer threads, under the needle it becomes an almost pictorial line, capable of translating the most delicate nuances.
SILK EMBROIDERY
Inherited from a Chinese tradition spanning more than two millennia, silk embroidery elevates the art of thread to a remarkable degree of finesse.
Silk thread can be divided until it becomes almost imperceptible. Stitch by stitch, its direction, density, and nuances are precisely controlled, bringing forth light, shadows, and depth. In double-sided embroidery, the image is constructed simultaneously on both sides of the silk, while threads, passages, and finishes remain hidden. The mastery of the gesture becomes almost invisible.
At LYSANDRE PARIS, this ancestral savoir-faire finds its expression particularly in the Fantasy Clutches©, an iconic creation of the House. Each piece requires nearly 390 hours of work, during which the embroidery is slowly built, stitch by stitch, until it becomes an integral part of the work.
The needle draws, the silk captures the light.
The thread becomes a line, and the embroidery becomes a painting.
CALAIS-CAUDRY® LACE
Heir to centuries of know-how, French lace is the result of mastery where precision of movement meets extreme material fineness.
Calais-Caudry® Lace perpetuates exceptional know-how on Leavers looms, whose mastery has been passed down and perfected over generations. The intertwining of thousands of threads allows for the creation of highly complex designs, where transparency, density, and relief give the material a unique depth. Under light and in movement, the pattern appears, disappears, then reveals itself anew.
Its preciousness comes as much from this complexity as from the time and know-how required for its creation. Each lace thus carries the memory of a craft, a gesture, and a textile history deeply rooted in French heritage.
At LYSANDRE PARIS, it becomes a creative material: light yet structured, delicate yet expressive, it gives the silhouette light, depth, and movement.
LEATHER GOODS
In its early days, LYSANDRE PARIS leather goods were created in collaboration with a family workshop in Italy, continuing a tradition of craftsmanship.
A few years later, Minhua integrated leather goods into her own practice, engaging with a French tradition shaped by nearly two centuries of expertise. Material and techniques thus became a lived, experienced, and hand-mastered knowledge.
This transmission marks a new stage in the history of LYSANDRE PARIS leather goods. Creation and savoir-faire are now united in one hand, allowing the Maison to progressively develop its own techniques, its own constructions, and its own language.
From material to object, each piece is conceived as much in its line as in its construction, seeking a balance between precision, character, and beauty.