(🇬🇧 EN) Mains d'Avenir: What Celebrating Artisans Reveals About Contemporary Luxury

Artisans have become the new faces of luxury maisons. Through Mains d'Avenir, an exhibition at Le 19M by Chanel, this article explores the transformation of an industry where the transmission of craftsmanship, once confined behind the scenes, has become both a strategic priority and a powerful brand narrative.

Renée Dekoupou

7/29/20268 min read

Luxury maisons are often described as being in pursuit of a new generation of clients. Far less attention is given to the fact that they are also seeking to attract a new generation of artisans.

That is precisely the ambition behind Mains d'Avenir, organized by Le 19M. Over three days, from June 5 to 7, 2026, artisans, schools, luxury maisons, recruiters, public institutions and visitors came together around a shared objective: to showcase the métiers d'art of fashion and decorative arts while inspiring new vocations. Live craftsmanship demonstrations, hands-on workshops, meetings with schools and training centers, a recruitment space, and a series of talks hosted by Le Monde on knowledge transmission, career changes, the realities of the profession and the future of craftsmanship all contributed to an event designed to connect those who practice these métiers with those who may one day choose to pursue them. The initiative continued until July 19 through a public exhibition.

It was this exhibition that I visited on July 5. I also took the opportunity to have lunch at Le 19M's restaurant and, for the first time, tried anchovy pizza. Surprisingly, that was not what stayed with me after I left.

As I left Le 19M, I thought I had attended an event dedicated to craftsmanship. With hindsight, I realized I had witnessed something far more fundamental: an industry grappling with a much bigger question. How does a luxury maison continue to demonstrate its value in a world where its name alone is no longer always enough?

Looking Beyond Recruitment

When it comes to craftsmanship, the diagnosis now seems widely accepted. Luxury maisons are said to be bringing artisans back into the spotlight because they are struggling to recruit. An ageing workforce, a wave of retirements, lengthy training programmes and the growing scarcity of specialised skills are often cited to explain the rise of in-house schools, communication campaigns and initiatives designed to introduce these professions to younger generations.

At first glance, this interpretation appears convincing. The figures themselves illustrate the scale of the challenge. By 2030, France's luxury, fashion and beauty industries will need to recruit tens of thousands of people to meet production demand, while several craft professions are already facing significant labour shortages. In this context, it makes perfect sense for maisons to invest more heavily in training, strengthen partnerships with schools and make these careers more attractive.

Recent initiatives seem to reinforce this view. The Comité Colbert has expanded its outreach efforts to younger audiences, Hermès continues to invest in its own training schools, and Le 19M was conceived as a place where art houses, workshops, educational spaces and public events coexist under one roof. Considered individually, each of these initiatives can be understood as a response to recruitment challenges.

Yet this explanation leaves an important question unanswered. If the objective were simply to attract new candidates, why are maisons investing so much effort in making their artisans visible to the general public? Why turn craftsmanship into a subject for exhibitions, social media content and institutional storytelling when the vast majority of visitors will never become leatherworkers, feather makers or embroiderers?

Recruitment explains part of the story, but not its full significance. Maisons are not merely trying to fill vacancies. They appear to be pursuing a broader ambition: bringing into the public eye what, for decades, remained behind the scenes. It is this shift that deserves closer attention.

More Than a Name

For decades, luxury maisons had little need to prove their excellence. Their history, heritage, iconic creations and creative direction were enough to justify their positioning. The value of a product rested as much on the prestige of the maison as on its intrinsic qualities. In other words, the narrative often came before the proof.

That balance has gradually shifted as consumers have gained access to new forms of information about products, how they are made and the conditions under which they are produced. They are no longer satisfied with buying into a story; they also want to understand what gives that story substance.

Social media has played a defining role in this transformation. What was once hidden behind the walls of ateliers is now visible to anyone with a smartphone. One of the most emblematic figures of this shift is Tanner Leatherstein, a leather craftsman and tanner based in Dallas, whose videos dismantling luxury handbags to examine their leather, construction and finishing techniques have attracted millions of views. Their appeal lies in more than their spectacle. They reflect a growing curiosity about the tangible foundations of luxury value.

The same shift can be seen in the rise of dupes. In an article published by Journal du Luxe, Alexis Amann argues that their popularity cannot be explained by price alone. It also reflects a changing relationship with value. The prestige of a brand is no longer, by itself, enough to justify a significant price premium when alternatives claim a comparable level of perceived quality. What is being questioned, in other words, is not simply the price of luxury, but the ability of maisons to make their value proposition both visible and credible.

At the same time, several luxury groups have seen their reputations weakened by revelations concerning suppliers and production practices. As organisations grow, their supply chains become increasingly complex, making them more difficult to oversee. A single failure no longer calls into question only a workshop or a supplier; it challenges the promise of quality on which the maison itself is built.

These developments stem from different causes, yet they produce the same outcome. Luxury maisons now operate in an environment where excellence can no longer rely on marketing alone. It is observed, scrutinised, compared and, at times, challenged. Prestige still matters—but it is no longer enough to earn trust on its own.

The New Faces of Trust

The growing number of open workshops, exhibitions and training schools reflects a broader shift in the role artisans play within the narrative of luxury. Once kept largely out of the public eye, they are gradually becoming some of the industry's most visible ambassadors.

In an interview with France Travail, Bénédicte Épinay, Managing Director of the Comité Colbert, captured this transformation in a remark that has since become emblematic: "Our ambassadors are our artisans. This is a major change for our maisons, which until now kept them hidden, as one would protect a trade secret. The veil has now been lifted."

Yet this newfound visibility rests on a less obvious reality: a maison can only showcase its craftsmanship if it is able to preserve it. Transmission therefore becomes just as strategic as communication itself.

Hermès offers a particularly compelling example. In an article published by Le Monde, Maxence Baseden, Managing Director of Hermès Leather Goods and Saddlery, explains that the maison's historic techniques "are not taught in existing leatherworking programmes across France." The Hermès Schools of Savoir-Faire were created to address this challenge, but their purpose extends far beyond recruitment. They ensure the transmission of techniques, working methods and a manufacturing culture that are unique to the maison. Training a leather artisan also means training a Hermès artisan.

That choice is revealing. At a time when technology could automate parts of the production process, the maison continues to prioritise hand-executed techniques such as the iconic saddle stitch, one of Hermès' historic signatures. The objective is not simply to preserve a technique, but to safeguard a way of making that is inseparable from the value of the object itself.

Le 19M follows the same philosophy. By bringing together specialised ateliers, art houses, training spaces and public exhibitions under one roof, it does more than ensure the transmission of craftsmanship. It also makes the conditions that sustain this transmission visible. Visitors encounter not simply finished objects, but the people, the gestures and the expertise that make those objects possible.

This shift reveals the new place artisans occupy within contemporary luxury. Their role is no longer confined to making exceptional objects. They embody the continuity of the maisons, give tangible form to their heritage and provide the most convincing evidence of the promises those maisons make.

On my way home that day, I found myself thinking less about the pieces on display than about the journey the exhibition had taken us through. The visit did not begin with a handbag, a garment or a piece of jewellery, but with a wall of tools. Each was accompanied by a story, a gesture or a craft, as if to remind visitors that before there are objects, there are the people who make them. Further on, the ateliers offered a close look at disciplines as diverse as featherwork, embroidery, millinery, leathercraft and jewellery making. The exhibition was not simply designed to showcase craftsmanship; it invited visitors to understand everything that makes it possible.

That immersion continued through the workshops we took part in and the conversations we had with artisans. One of the workshop facilitators told me she had begun her career in marketing before choosing to retrain in a craft profession. Her story reflects a broader reality often highlighted by luxury maisons: craftsmanship is increasingly attracting people who had never imagined such a career. These professions are no longer recruiting solely from traditional educational pathways. They are also drawing individuals in search of a different relationship with work, time and creation.

This openness also reflects the challenges facing the sector. Attracting a new generation means responding to changing expectations. Career progression, working conditions, geographic mobility and compensation now matter just as much as the opportunity to inherit a centuries-old savoir-faire. Preserving craftsmanship is therefore not simply about passing on techniques. It is equally about creating the conditions that encourage people to choose these professions—and to remain in them.

Perhaps that is the most important lesson of Mains d'Avenir. The future of craftsmanship depends not only on the transmission of techniques, but also on the ability of luxury maisons to inspire a new generation to carry them forward.