The seamstresses and specialist artisans who make couture by hand, and the workshops luxury could not exist without.
By Shreya S · Last reviewed 1 November 2026
On this page: The petites mains · The métiers d’art · The Ayerhs view
The petites mains
Who are the petites mains?
French for “little hands”, the petites mains are the skilled seamstresses and tailors of a couture house’s ateliers, who cut, sew, drape and finish each garment by hand. A single couture gown may pass through dozens of their hands.
How is a couture atelier organised?
- Première d’atelier: the head of an atelier, who translates the designer’s sketch into a garment
- Seconde: the première’s deputy
- Premières mains and secondes mains: experienced and junior seamstresses
- Apprentices, who often train for years before working on show pieces
Houses usually have a flou atelier for soft, draped dresses and a tailleur atelier for structured tailoring.
Read on Ayerhs: What is an atelier? · Haute couture, explained
The métiers d’art
What are the métiers d’art?
The specialist crafts that supply couture: embroidery, feather and flower making, pleating, millinery, glove-making, shoemaking and costume jewellery. Many are small, century-old Paris workshops.
What is Chanel’s le19M?
A building in north-east Paris, opened in 2021, that houses the specialist workshops Chanel has bought over the years to save them, including the embroiderer Lesage, the feather-maker Lemarié, the pleater Lognon, the milliner Maison Michel and the shoemaker Massaro. They work for Chanel and for other houses.
Is couture embroidery made in India?
Some of it. Indian embroidery ateliers, especially in Mumbai, have worked for European luxury houses for decades. Dior paid tribute to its long partnership with Mumbai’s Chanakya ateliers with a show at the Gateway of India in 2023.
Read on Ayerhs: How Aditi Srivastava Refuses to Reduce Indian Craft to Aesthetics
The Ayerhs view
Do the makers get enough credit?
Rarely. The designer takes the bow, but the artisans make the magic real. Luxury that wants to be taken seriously should name and celebrate its makers.
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