Issue 119 Savoir-faire [coming next] Pre-order
All eyes will turn to Paris this summer with the Games of the XXXIII Olympiad. At Selvedge, we too have been swept along by the excitement that has brought our attention to Savoir Faire, the French concept of expertise in textiles. This issue we look at is the 50th anniversary of the Battle at Versailles – the evening a sociocultural shift took place that continues to resonate today. The editorial straddles the past and present iterations of Savoir Faire from irresistible flea market finds. We rubbed shoulders with the dealers on Sunday morning at Porte de Clignancourt, picking up some soft but sturdy vintage linen so appealing to contemporary designers, French slow fashion brand École de Curiositésecoles, Camiceria Eri bespoke shirt makers and Sasaki-Yohinten from Japan, and New York-based something in the air, as well as the selvedge team. We venture north to Méru and discover the Musée de la Nacre Mother of Pearl, housed in an impressive nineteenth-century former button factory. Here we learn that by 1900, shells were of greater value than the Pearl - and world markets were using the shells for cutlery handles, inlay work and millions of beautiful buttons, some of which made their way onto the First Nation blankets and the working dress of the Pearlies in the East End of London.
Traditional Savoir Faire, a treasure trove of textile expertise, is diligently kept alive by the petites mains; such as the pleater Karen Grigorian, who inherited skills from the 19th-century modiste and draws inspiration from 20th-century Autochromes from the Salon du Gout Francais – Nadia Albertini takes us behind the scenes at his atelier.
We root around Catherine Legrans’ Parisian Pied-à-terre and find it packed with textile treasures from around the world collected during the lifetime of a true adventurer. If you have been lucky enough to receive an invitation to a summer wedding, Sarah Bradocks Clerke introduces us to what modern brides are wearing in Something Old, Something New… Overall, I hope we have captured a certain Je ne sais quoi for you to enjoy. If we have when your appetite for all things french sign up for the 2026 Selvedge Textile Tour of France
Polly Leonard, Founder