document: New Life for the Art of Lace-Making The Return of Lace as a Major Fashion Trend is Giving a Boost to a Once-Faltering European Business Caudry , France Lace , suddenly , is everywhere . Looking nothing like your grandmother 's doilies , lace is the fabric of whole dresses and suits for summer , as well as next fall . Lace has n't been this popular since Queen Victoria sat on the throne . The lavish lace is a dramatic change -- not only for high fashion but also for a European industry that has been dwindling since the 1920s . Europe was once famous for lace -- hundreds of types of Swiss , Belgian , French and at one point even English lace . Now , much of the lace shown on high-end runways comes from one town in northeastern France . The French lace industry was famous when Jerry Lee Lewis crooned , '' `` Chantilly lace and a pretty face ... '' '' in the 1950s . But Chantilly lace is no longer made in the French town of Chantilly . The high-end lace industry has mostly shrunk to the area around a town called Caudry , where rival companies Sophie Hallette and Solstiss supply the likes of Christian Dior , Chanel , Jean Paul Gaultier , Jason Wu and Valentino . The region is known for its stinky Maroilles cheese and the slurry of its '' `` Ch 't is '' '' dialect , made famous in France by the 2008 comedy '' `` Bienvenue Chez Les Ch 't is '' '' or '' `` Welcome to the Sticks . '' '' The factories here specialize in '' `` Leavers '' '' lace , using looms that imitate the intricate knotting of 18th-century handmade lace . These machine looms , named after the Englishman who invented them , can work cotton , silk , rayon , polyester , wool or other materials into exquisite laces that are sturdier than they look . -LRB- Handmade lace is now a hobbyist 's product , though some machine lace is embellished by hand . -RRB- Of course , the Leavers machines are far slower than the knitting machines now used to make mass-market lace in China . Heidi Cho , who trades in lace at Victorian Lace & Trim , a Los Angeles-based lace wholesaler , sells large quantities of Chinese lace to fast-fashion and budget-clothing manufacturers in the U.S. '' `` The China quality is low , but the price is low , Ms. Cho says . Created with an entirely different technique , it is n't nearly as nuanced or beautiful . Still , Chinese factories have n't made headway into the market for couture-level lace -- largely because new Leavers machines have n't been manufactured in decades . Outside of bridal trims and lingerie , lace has n't been a big part of women 's wardrobes in recent decades . Perhaps that 's partly because it 's so truly , almost wholly feminine -- in an era when women have been focused on competing with men . The fashion industry 's most contrarian designer , Miuccia Prada , prepared the way for lace 's comeback . For fall 2008 , she used heavy Swiss-made lace -- a type more often used in curtains -- in Prada 's skirts , dresses and accessories . French lace makers celebrated , knowing Prada was likely to influence other designers . Sophie Hallette 's U.S. sales representative , Jane Pincus , recalls that she was at a Paris fabric trade show in the spring of 2008 when word spread about the huge Prada order . '' `` There was champagne popping in the booth , '' '' she says . '' `` The sheer size -- they put it on every product -- the shoes , the bags . '' '' Then the financial crisis hit , with Lehman Brothers collapsing in September . Many designers stripped expensive details from their collections to slash prices . In late 2009 , Don O'Neill , designer of the midpriced Theia line , used a wedge of Sophie Hallette lace at the neck of a gown that was priced for retail at $ 450 . He says one U.S. luxury retailer asked him to use cheaper Chinese lace to bring the price of the dress closer to $ 350 . The French lace cost $ 22.33 per yard , compared with $ 2 or $ 3 per yard for lace from China , he says . This was n't the most expensive lace -- in fact , the average wholesale price of Sophie Hallette lace is about $ 63 a yard , says Maud Lescroart , the company 's head of marketing . At retail , a garment is often priced at five or six times what it cost the designer to make , after markups by the brand , the retailer and sometimes middlemen . So $ 20 of lace can raise the ultimate price of a dress by $ 100 . '' `` They did n't understand why I would n't just put Chinese lace on it , '' '' says Mr. O'Neill , who refused to switch laces . Not every designer made the same decision . During the financial crisis , Sophie Hallette , which also owns the Riechers Marescot lace brand , laid off 25 % of its work force in Caudry -- a painful time for the family-owned company . Now , as the world economy sputters along in recovery mode , lace has a fresh new appeal for designers . Indeed , European couture lace provides a near-perfect metaphor for what 's going on in the luxury market , where designers have been rethinking classic materials from mink to pearls . Lace is expensive and utterly traditional , yet it 's being put to use in a modern , whole-hog way , such as a hoop-shaped lace skirt from Yohji Yamamoto or Valentino 's winter coat with lace stitched over a more substantial fabric . Some of the machines in action at the Sophie Hallette factory in Caudry are 100 years old , says Ms. Lescroart , who is the 38-year-old granddaughter of the company 's founder . Many jobs are inherited from parents . Eric Lernon operates a tulle loom that his father worked on as a tulliste . '' `` It 's like a 19th-century company in the 21st century , '' '' Ms. Lescroart says , glancing around the factory floor where she spent a good deal of her childhood . In a showroom , she and creative director Pierre Alain Cornaz pull out lace trims so complex that it takes a person two days to make one meter . Often details such as embroidery , sequins and other embellishments are added by hand . New lace patterns from Mr. Cornaz are drawn by hand -- every single thread -- by a team at the factory . The lace patterns they were drawing in February 2011 will be seen on runways more than a year later , in September 2012 , and the clothes will hit stores in January of 2013 . Threading the tulle loom takes two months and two people , says Ms. Lescroart . '' `` Tell the designers that 's why it takes so long to fill their orders , '' '' she jokes . In another room , women mend tiny faults by hand , holding the lace on their laps . '' `` This is a woman 's room , '' '' says Ms. Lescroart . '' `` It takes patience . '' '' Down a hallway in a laboratory , chemist Philippe Desmaretz measures dyes in beakers and vials . '' `` He 's got a lot of work now because of the shows , '' '' Ms. Lescroart says . '' `` All the designers want special colors . '' '' -- Contact me at Christina.Binkley@wsj.com or twitter.com/BinkleyOnStyle . Write to Christina Binkley at christina.binkley@wsj.com
doc_bio_tags: B I O O B I I O B O O O O B I I O O O B O O O B O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B O B O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B O B I O O O O O O B O O O B O O O O O O O O O O O B B O O O B O O O O O O O B O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B I O O O O O O O O O O B O O O O O O O O O O O B O B O B I I I O O O B O O O O O O O O O O O O O B O O O O O O O O O O B O O O O B O O B O O O O O O O O O O O O B I O B B O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B O O O O B I I O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B O O O B O O O O O O O B O B I O O B O O O O O O O O O O O B O O O B O O O O O O O O O O O O O B O O O O O O O O O B O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B O O O O O O B O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B I O O O O O O O O O O B O B O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B O O O O O B O O O O B O O O O O B I O O O O O O O O O O O O O B O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B O O O O O O O B O O O B O O O O B O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B O B O O O O B O O O O O O O O B O B I O O O B O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B O O O O O O O O O O O B I B O O O B O O O O O O O O O O O B O O B O O O O O O O B I O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B O B O O O O O O O O O B O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B O O O O O O O O B O B I O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B O O O O O B O O O O O O O O O O O O B O O O O O O O O O O O O O B O O O O O O O O O B B O O O O O O O O O O O O B O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B O O O O O O O B O O B I O O O O O B O O O O O O O O O O B O O O O O B O O O O O O O O O O O O B O O O O O O O O O O O O B O O O B O O O O O B O O O O O O O B O O O B O O B O O O O O O O O O B O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B O O O O O O O O O O O O B O O O B O O O O O O O O O O B I B O O O O O O O O B I O O O O O O O O O O B O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B I O O O O O B O O O O O O O O O B O O O O O O O B I O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B O B O O O O O B O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B O O O B O O B O O O O O O O B O O O O O O O O O O O O B O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B I O O O O O B O O O O O O O O O O B O O O O O O O B I O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B I O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B O O O O B O O O B I O O O O O O B O B I O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O