Désirant sauver cet art si français, Marguerite Courtois décide alors qu’elle commence ses études à 18 ans, de créer une entreprise de chapellerie, la Maison Courtois, afin de transmettre le savoir-faire d’un des tous derniers grands artisans chapeliers français. Femme élégante et raffinée, elle sublime cet art français dans des créations magnifiques, réalisées dans ses ateliers parisiens.
Suivez Marguerite Courtois, Directrice de la plus grande maison de chapeaux de Paris et Laurent Poultier du Mesnil, afin de découvrir combien l’art de la chapellerie à la française, rassemble des métiers et savoir-faire différents.
PLUS D'INFOS :
https://courtoisparis.fr/
https://www.instagram.com/courtoisparis/
https://www.facebook.com/courtoisparis
RÉAGISSEZ :
Hashtag #AlaFrançaise
Suivez Marguerite Courtois, Directrice de la plus grande maison de chapeaux de Paris et Laurent Poultier du Mesnil, afin de découvrir combien l’art de la chapellerie à la française, rassemble des métiers et savoir-faire différents.
PLUS D'INFOS :
https://courtoisparis.fr/
https://www.instagram.com/courtoisparis/
https://www.facebook.com/courtoisparis
RÉAGISSEZ :
Hashtag #AlaFrançaise
Category
📚
ÉducationTranscription
00:00 Dear friends, hello. Today we are going to talk about chapelleries.
00:04 No, I mislead you. We are going to talk about chapelleries and a very large chapellery.
00:09 What is best done in France, we will follow it, we will discover it.
00:14 We will meet a person who does both modeling and chapellery.
00:19 Who runs a company that is part of the living heritage.
00:22 Follow me, we will meet her.
00:24 [Music]
00:34 [Music]
00:44 [Music]
00:54 [Music]
01:10 [Music]
01:20 Hello Marguerite. Hello Laurent. After you. Thank you, welcome. Thank you.
01:25 So Marguerite, I absolutely need a hat, but it seems that hats are chosen according to the morphology of the face.
01:32 Well, that's true. So you're in the right place already because we're a real chapellery.
01:36 We make hats and it's a bit of a language abuse because we make crochet.
01:41 There are also hats, capes, bobs. In fact a hat is a crochet, it is full of different shapes.
01:48 What is important is to try. Crochets. Crochets. So what is interesting and fun is to try a lot of things.
01:54 Shall we go for a ride? Let's go for a little ride. What do you like? Do you like big bobs? Everything.
02:00 So, why don't we try a little simple Panama? So the hats here are made ...
02:08 So we have a workshop in Normandy, a workshop in Paris and otherwise, depending on the material, there is ...
02:15 This is Panama and we will see later, but Panama is knitted in Ecuador.
02:21 So for example, let's talk about this Panama. Yes. This one is under the bell, so I say "ho ho ho".
02:26 "Ho ho ho" precious. Here. Well, bravo, good reflex. It's called a Monte Cristi.
02:31 Monte Cristi, it's ultra ultra ultra thin, it's extraordinary. It's an absolutely extraordinary hat that is knitted.
02:37 It takes between 6 months and 1 year to be knitted. It is knitted in Ecuador because Ecuador is a country with a very particular climate.
02:45 Where there is a plant called the Paratoquia that grows there and the Ecuadorians have known how to do it since the illustrious and they knit.
02:54 A bit like we could weave a scooby-doo. They weave the hat, they weave a cone and then this cone is put in shape.
03:00 And so it's, I tell you, months of work and it's actually seen in the grade. And in terms of flexibility, then?
03:06 But the result is that it looks like it's fabric. Yes, yes, that's what's impressive.
03:10 It's extremely light, it's crazy flexibility, it's a real gem.
03:16 So the other hats are made in your workshop, we will visit them later. How did you come to the chapellery?
03:23 The story is a random story. I went to school and in my first year of school, I was 19 years old, I met an absolutely extraordinary chapeller called Frédéric.
03:32 I go to his chapellery and dozens and dozens of hats, I tell myself, but this job is great.
03:37 He tells me about his life, I realize that he has gold in his hands and that he is alone, that he has not transmitted his know-how and that we must put this know-how back on the front of the scene.
03:47 So I say to myself, why not, I think it's for me. So I tell him, we open the French hat shop in Paris.
03:55 He looked at me and said to himself, but who is she? The front, the nice ones.
03:59 The front, the nice ones, that's it, we're not going to do it. And in fact, two weeks later, he told me, we're going.
04:05 So we continue the visit? Yes, we continue the visit.
04:08 Today, most hats are mixed. Everything that is worn by men is worn by women.
04:13 The opposite is not necessarily the case. This is a capelin plus a woman's hat.
04:18 Lombard, I can pass it on to see.
04:23 What is extraordinary is that you do a lot of jobs that are completely different.
04:33 Yes, exactly. We think that the hat shop is a job. And in fact, it's a lot of jobs. Because when you work on the felt, you don't work the same way as when you work on the straw.
04:42 And you don't work the same way as when you work on fabric. Fabric is cut and sewn. We cut, we sew.
04:47 Whereas when you mold a felt hat, there is no seam. Well, there is seam to keep the hat, but otherwise we don't cut the felt.
04:56 How do you work to create hats, to customize them as much as possible?
05:02 At the beginning, there is a collection creation, to which I am part. We make a collection and from there, the customers will ask for customizations.
05:16 We have so many shapes, so many models that often, especially men, there is no need to tailor because we already have a lot of models.
05:24 So we will propose to change a ribbon or to go out with a small fabric.
05:29 The most common ones who ask for custom hats are women for weddings or events.
05:35 They will arrive with a dress, they will create their dress, they will say, "My dress is coral, I would like a coral hat."
05:42 So we pull the straw at the request and we really make Hazel's hat.
05:47 So when I came in, there was a hat that I found beautiful. It's this blue one. But you told me it has a story.
05:53 Yes, it has a story because it was created for ... In fact, we did not know that it was created.
05:59 It was an agency that asked us to make a hat. We made this hat and in fact, several weeks later, we realized that it was for Monica Bellucci.
06:07 So we were super happy. In addition, it was in a magazine, so it was very funny.
06:12 This hat is a parasol hat. It is a natural material and it is filled with burnt ostrich feathers.
06:21 So you see, the feathers are not continuous. There is feather, a thread, feather, a thread.
06:26 It's an incredible job. And then you see, it's full, you can't see anything, there's no texture.
06:32 And then it's light.
06:35 Oh yes, it's extraordinary.
06:39 So Marguerite, the shapes I saw earlier, of course we're going to go to the workshop,
06:46 but they are also used for the molding of hats, but not ...
06:51 So they are used for the molding of hats. So we can mold ...
06:54 What material? Yes, sorry.
06:55 Everything. We can mold felt or straw.
06:58 Straw too.
06:59 Or styrofoam. We can mold whatever we want. It's a bit like a cake mold.
07:03 You put what you want in it and then it goes in the oven, it cooks, we unmold.
07:07 Before talking about trends, I have the impression, it's an impression, we see a lot of stars wearing hats.
07:13 Do we go back to hats? Because there was a period when we left, as you said earlier,
07:18 the hats, 19th century, there is not a photo where we see a person without a hat,
07:23 it is not at the priest, whether it is a popular class or an easy class.
07:27 How come we lost the hats and are we really coming back to them?
07:30 You are right, before we did not go out in hats, there was a kind of cleavage from the post-war,
07:37 the 50s, with in particular the rise of the individual car, where we needed less to wear a hat.
07:45 We could move from point A to point B and so the hat gradually disappeared.
07:50 For the tenth year, it has been coming back because the hat is too funny.
07:55 It is an extraordinary fashion accessory, in addition to being effectively with comfortable functions,
08:02 protection, etc. and it is the expression of a personality.
08:07 So it comes back, it's on the shows, there are personalities that matter,
08:12 and so it re-dynamizes all that. We are super happy.
08:16 The trends of the moment are the capelines with large edges,
08:22 the canoes and indeed things a little XXL, a little extravagant.
08:29 We like it because we get out of the beaten path, it makes us do different things and we like it.
08:36 You talked about Pharrell Williams earlier, it's quite funny, it's true that he wears his hat.
08:41 Do we have other iconic personalities like that, that you see passing by?
08:46 There is Harrison Ford, who is emblematic, there is Alain Delon, the Queen of England.
08:52 There are quite a few references anyway, Audrey Hepburn, there are plenty of hats references.
08:57 It's a nice reference that we can find in the photos you have posted.
09:00 It's the spirit we wanted to give with this house and this shop,
09:07 everyone can wear a hat, in fact.
09:09 In the 50s, everyone wore hats, no one ever said "I don't have a hat head".
09:14 Today, if we say that, it's because, as there are no more offers, we will find a shape in a size.
09:21 So if it's not your shape and not your size, your conclusion is "I don't have a hat head".
09:25 There are necessarily, it may not be a hat, it may be a cap, it may be a smaller edge.
09:31 All variants are possible.
09:33 What would you say to a person who is afraid to wear a hat, who does not know how to get started?
09:37 I would tell him that nothing presses, so there is no need to decide right away.
09:41 My advice is to try lots of things, because by trying, we also understand, we realize.
09:47 Sometimes we have an idea, we say to ourselves that a hat has a certain shape, but in fact there are many other possibilities.
09:53 Try, it reassures.
09:55 A good advice is also to leave your hat in front of your front door, so when you go out, you think about it,
10:02 you wear it and you don't ask yourself too many questions and it's the best way to adopt it.
10:05 Why is wearing a hat so French?
10:08 That's a bit of the history of French fashion.
10:11 Paris is the capital of fashion and I think that in that, it has trained the hat with, because the hat is an accessory.
10:20 We are lucky to have great prices in France, especially the price of Diana, where the hat is emblematic.
10:26 There is the equivalent in England and I think it is a culture of the French hat.
10:32 There is also in England and not in other countries. So we are lucky.
10:35 When I opened the shop, the rue de Vabylon, which was the first shop,
10:40 one day a man entered the shop with a woman to buy a hat for his wife.
10:46 The woman didn't know what to choose, she hesitated.
10:50 And the husband, to reassure her, told her, "Don't worry, be courteous, that's the best.
10:56 My grandfather only wore courteous hats. "
11:00 Except that it had been three months since we had opened the shop.
11:03 I couldn't help but smile and at the same time I was very touched because it was a compliment.
11:09 It was a great compliment.
11:12 When I came back, I told this story.
11:16 Your parents were very proud.
11:18 Very proud.
11:19 There is also the anecdote of who is the only person who has the right to wear a hat in all circumstances.
11:24 The Pope? No.
11:29 No, but it's an important person, you're right.
11:32 Okay. French or foreigner?
11:34 Foreigner.
11:35 The Queen of England?
11:37 Bravo!
11:38 That's it?
11:39 Exactly.
11:40 So, in a way, he has the right to keep his hat.
11:42 Yes, exactly.
11:43 It's a nice story.
11:44 Now I need your favorite artist.
11:47 There is an artist that I like.
11:50 It's Coluche.
11:52 I like Coluche a lot because he was a man who loved to make people laugh.
11:58 I think that laughter keeps us alive, it makes us want to laugh.
12:04 I appreciate that. In addition to his job as a comedian, he was a committed man who was aware of his environment and who set up the heart restaurants.
12:16 I think he was a man of a thousand colors and I like that.
12:21 Pretty.
12:22 Favorite period?
12:23 My favorite period, I think it's the 19th century.
12:28 Yes, the great period of the very beautiful hat.
12:31 Very beautiful hat, it's a period of progress, of revolution.
12:35 It's the industrial revolution, it's politically there are changes, socially there are changes.
12:42 It's a moving period, I like it.
12:44 Okay. And then the last one, well, just your favorite work.
12:49 I'm going to choose a song.
12:51 Ah!
12:52 I'm going to choose the song "I love you, I love you, I would love you" by Francis Cabrel.
12:57 Ah!
12:58 Why did I choose this song? Because obviously it's a love song.
13:02 And love is very important because it's what makes us want to do things, it cheers us up.
13:08 But it's not just a love song, it's also about nature, it's about projects, it's about dreams, it's about secrets.
13:16 And that, that, that makes you dream.
13:18 Welcome to the studio.
13:21 Great.
13:23 And very effective people behind.
13:25 Exactly.
13:26 Exactly.
13:27 That's what matters, by the way.
13:30 Absolutely.
13:31 Transmission is a very important thing for us and we really take great care of it.
13:40 Okay, so here we have Jenny who traces the skin, so we always trace on the wrong side because the hair on the side is annoying.
13:49 She scratches with a pen on purpose and then she will always cut on the leather side and not on the hair side.
13:59 Because it allows you to be more precise, it allows you not to cut the hair.
14:02 The pattern is made to make a cap that will be assembled.
14:07 So we will assemble all the tips together and then we will do the middle seam behind.
14:13 So what are the different steps?
14:15 The first step is to choose your material. So here, for example, we choose paracisal.
14:21 It is a natural material that is straw, a kind of straw.
14:25 Okay.
14:26 This cone, it's a cone shape, we're going to shape it into a shape.
14:32 So we choose the shape.
14:33 And you don't receive it like that already?
14:35 Yes, we receive it like that.
14:36 You receive it like that.
14:37 It's made like that, in this shape.
14:39 Okay.
14:40 So we're going to wet it and then we're going to choose the shape.
14:43 So here, in this case, it's the Kelly shape.
14:45 Why? Because it's a little cap that reminds us of Grace Kelly.
14:51 And we're going to, in fact, the cone is going to be wet and we're going to put the mold on the shape.
14:57 So there, it's already molded, it's drying.
15:00 We put a little leg around it to be able to hold the hollow well and let it dry in this shape.
15:06 And then, when it dries, we're going to unmold it.
15:09 So we're going to remove the leg, we're going to unmold it like a cake.
15:12 It's going to look like this little Kelly.
15:14 What does it look like?
15:15 I'm going to try it for you.
15:17 So there's no head yet.
15:18 Then we'll put the head like that.
15:19 Of course.
15:20 And me, on me, it's going to look like this.
15:23 Oh, that's too cute.
15:24 Well, it reminds me of Carla Bruni when she was in England.
15:28 Well, it's pretty flattering.
15:29 Yes, yes, yes, it was very flattering.
15:32 So there you go, that's what it looks like.
15:34 Marguerite, we're coming to the end of our show.
15:36 So I'd like you to give us a few elements, if we want to know more about the Courtois house.
15:41 So we have two boutiques in Paris.
15:44 One next to the Montmarché, 8 Rue de Babylone.
15:47 And one that's in the Marais, 17 Rue de Sévigné.
15:50 And if not, you can come and see us at the workshop.
15:53 We can come to the workshop.
15:54 It's great.
15:55 Actually, if people are very nice, we open the doors.
15:57 Okay.
15:58 So that's 21 rue du Faubourg-Presse-Linière in the 9th.
16:01 But you're moving soon.
16:03 In a year, we'll be in the 20th.
16:07 Okay, but it's exciting to see all these shapes,
16:10 the way people work, etc.
16:13 It's beautiful, really beautiful.
16:15 And you keep a beautiful art to the French.
16:18 We give our best, and we like it.
16:20 So that's what matters.
16:21 Thank you very much, Marguerite.
16:22 Thank you.
16:23 See you soon.
16:24 Don't think you don't have a hat on.
16:26 There are hats, that's for sure, but hats,
16:29 it's because you have to find the hat you need.
16:32 So, my challenge is simple.
16:35 Wear a hat.
16:37 Before wearing a hat, try on a lot of hats.
16:39 You'll find yours.
16:41 I wish you a good continuation in hats.
16:45 [music]
16:52 [BLANK_AUDIO]