Paris, France — It is an engrossing tale, the tale of the French textile industry. From Jean-Baptiste Colbert’s first rules and regulations for dyeing and drapery making in 1669, to industrial espionage in England, child labor in the 19th century to textile rationing in the 1940s. Textile making in France was once a major industry but has over the past decades suffered a deep decline. It was in fact the leading industry in France at the outset of the reign of the Sun King Louis XIV in 1643. Colbert’s rules would transform the industry into one where high quality prevailed. The minister would send out inspectors all over the kingdom to make sure everything was up to snuff so to speak. And he also created the royal manufactures which are still in operation today (albeit for the French Republic and its state commissions) at the Gobelins in Paris. These inspectors would send back fabric samples to Colbert and his administration.

And these samples have been preciously conserved with myriad others by the Archives Nationales which is currently holding an exhibition revolving around the textile industry in France entitled Made in France: A Story of Textile. The show brings together numerous textile samples along with the techniques and machines that made them, documents, drawings, photographs and garments. The textile samples are being shown to the public for the first time. The exhibition also underscores the various attempts by successive governments in the 20th century to stem the decline brought about essentially by the creation of synthetics and ongoing globalization.The number of people employed in the textile sector has dropped from 764,000 in 1970 to about 200,000 in 2009 and only four wool manufactures remain in the north of France which was once a hotbed of textile production.

But take heart, France still produces fabulous fabrics, among them the fine silk of Lyons used in couture and the lace of Calais and Caudry and its surrounding region where the lace for the wedding dress of Catherine, the Princess of Wales was made. The Archive Nationales is managed by France’s Ministry of Culture and it is the largest archive in Europe. The textile show is on until January 27th but the Archives Nationales (The National Archives) housed in superb private mansions in the Marais district of Paris is worth a visit in and of itself. We recommend the guided visits at 8 euros or the free guided visit of the splendidly decorated chancellery of the ground floor of the Rohan mansion. Reservations required at https://www.archives-nationales.culture.gouv.fr/en/web/guest/home.
Archives Nationales, Hôtel de Soubise – Musée des Archives nationales, 60, rue des Francs-Bourgeois, 75003, Paris, France. Tel: + 33 (0)140 27 65 35
©Trish Valicenti for The Gourmet Gazette