Maison Michel

Michel was founded in 1936 by Auguste Michel. In 1968, with the arrival of two talented milliners, Pierre and Claudine Debard, the House becomes the preferred supplier for all the biggest names in fashion. In 1975, Pierre Debard had the idea to revive the Weissman, a wonderful machine to assemble straw with an invisible seam.

He trains a new generation of hat makers and offers these sewn straw models to the great fashion designers. Pierre Cardin adopts them, followed by Dior, Givenchy, Yves Saint Laurent… Later Karl Lagerfeld for Chanel, Givenchy, Oscar de la Renta, Kris Van Assche and others do not hesitate to ask the Michel House for miracles: extremely rare straw, an avant-garde toque, a vinyl Borsalino or another precious or unusual head covering.

The house has preserved a treasure of over three thousand oval forms perfectly sculpted in a soft wood, linden wood. An impressive reserve of ancient straws and felts overflows from the drawers. All the secrets of the trade are between the hands of a couple specialized and complementary artisans: the hat-maker shapes the hat while the milliner sews, garnishes, and does the final retouches. By taking over the Michel House in 1997, Chanel wanted to keep and preserve this unique know-how, fully showcasing it in the desire of current fashion. Laetitia Crahay, Head of Chanel’s accessories and jewelry and Artistic Director of the Michel House, has imagined since 2006 a very contemporary collection of hats, accessories and head jewelry—unexpected variations full of poetry along the themes of straw hats, wide-brimmed hats, berets, rain hats, bonnets and caps.