CHANEL and The King’s Foundation announce a specialist Millinery Fellowship in partnership with Le19M
The intensive programme aims to train the next generation of specialist milliners in the UK, with the support of Parisienne hat-maker Maison Michel at le19M in Paris and Artistic Director, Priscilla Royer.
Miason Michel hat in the Kitchen Garden at Highgrove.
The highly skilled 35-week residential Millinery Fellowship will be based at the CHANEL Metiers d’art Training Atelier at Highgrove and at The King’s Foundation at Trinity Buoy Wharf London. Students will spend time at Maison Michel in Paris and the programme will also include a two-week industry placement, based in the UK.
CHANEL and The King’s Foundation share a commitment to preserving specialist artisan crafts and skills and nurturing opportunities for a new generation. This vision is supported by le19M, the Parisian space designed on CHANEL’s initiative to bring together 11 of the Maisons d'art acquired by the House under one roof. The 25,500 m2 building houses over 700 artisans and the renowned training facility École Lesage, along with a multidisciplinary gallery, la Galerie du 19M.
Maison Michel hats at Barley Court workshops in Highgrove Gardens.
This new Millinery Fellowship aimed at postgraduate students, will explore the creative interface between skills, materials, making and design. The skills taught on the programme will include blocking, felt shaping, dyeing, feather and flower making anlong with key couture skills and finishes, working to a creative brief inspired by Highgrove Gardens. The programme will be delivered by highly skilled artisans and tutors, with mentorship and guidance given by the Creative Director of Maison Michel.
The inaugural Metiers d’Art Embroidery Fellowship started in January 2023 as a residential 24-week intensive course and recently welcomed its second cohort of students. These highly skilled Métiers d’art training programmes are based at the CHANEL Metiers d’Art Training Atelier located at The King’s Foundation Highgrove training facility in Gloucestershire, where a range of traditional skills are taught on site at His Majesty The King’s private residence and gardens.
The King's Foundation specialist workshops at Barley Court in Highgrove Gardens.
Daniel McAuliffe, Education Director at The King's Foundation, said: "We are delighted to continue our work with CHANEL and le19M on this exciting new programme. The Millinery Fellowship will be a much-needed postgraduate-level programme in the UK to prepare students to enter the workplace with the right skills, design confidence and industry insight.”
Maison Michel hats in the Kitchen Garden at Highgrove.
Bruno Pavlovsky, President of CHANEL SAS and President of le19M commented: “We were delighted to welcome Their Majesties King Charles III and Queen Camilla to Le 19M during the State Visit to France last September and we look forward to continuing our educational partnership with The King’s Foundation. Our longstanding vision has been to nurture and develop the specialist skills of the Métiers d’art in order to recruit, train and transmit their savoir-faire to the next generation. Initiatives like this fellowship programme are a way to highlight today’s relevance of these traditional métiers, ensuring they have a legitimate place in the creation of tomorrow. It also reaffirms our commitment to artisan skills, innovation, and sustainable development.”