Atelier France Confection: the Made in France wedding dress specialist
In Montgermont, on the outskirts of Rennes, Atelier France Confection and the Lambert Design brand of wedding dresses embody this delicate, precise couture, where each dress embraces a gesture, a story, a fabric to celebrate the greatest moments. In charge, Manuëla Coulombel and her team strike a rare balance between exceptional savoir-faire and agile craftsmanship.
For over two decades, she has observed market trends, women's desires and the new dynamics of retail, without ever losing sight of what's essential: creating beautiful, unique, tailor-made pieces for each customer. "We're not necessarily looking to expand the structure, today there are 25 of us in a beautiful, one-of-a-kind workshop and we want to preserve our savoir-faire", expresses the manager.
A takeover guided by intuition and tenacity
In 2004, Manuëla, her brother-in-law Roland and her husband Hervé took up the torch of Breton brand Lambert Créations. Founded in Rennes in 1920, Lambert Créations initially specialized in bridal crowns, before refocusing on wedding gowns in 1972. Today, Lambert Créations has 130 retailers in France and abroad, compared with 12 at the time of the takeover.
In addition, the decision to remain faithful to 100% French production has always been a clear priority. Each dress is made to order by a team of twenty expert seamstresses, who each assemble their own design, with no batches produced. This is one of the distinctive features of this atypical workshop.
The designs are based on a semi-measurement system: "our business is relatively seasonal. The boutiques work on a stock tool, they let the customer try on the standard model, and then we make it according to the customizations requested for each bride-to-be (addition of train, sleeves, change of fabric, over-measure for pregnant women etc)", explains Manuëla Coulombel.
The precise choice of fabric - lace, chiffon, embroidered tulle, silk - also guarantees impeccable quality. "We work on a just-in-time basis, ordering materials only when a customer requests them."
Diversification, from wedding dress to special occasions
As of 2013, Atelier France Confection is broadening its scope. "Given the seasonal nature of our wedding dress business, we had to find a way to optimize production downtimes, but we didn't know how to make batches and we didn't have the luxury codes", recounts Manuela Coulombel. To develop new savoir-faire, the workshop set about training its seamstresses in the luxury way and "began working for renowned, very high-end wedding dress designers in Paris, or exceptional pieces for the luxury sector", she recalls. This diversification gave rise to Atelier France Confection, which today produces for the Lambert Design brand as well as for other designers, even if the brand represents the majority of the workshop's output. It can also handle the development and garment making of small batches of 10 to 15 pieces, in flou and ultra soft draping / flou only.
The majority of employees are multi-skilled, our structure is agile and adapts to the demanding expectations of its customers and their special requests, often to very tight deadlines. "As a result, an absence is less noticeable than in a larger production line structure. This versatility suits today's employees perfectly, which wasn't necessarily the case at the time of the buyout", explains Manuela Coulombel. The result is almost no turnover, and a high level of team loyalty. "We have some people who have been here for almost 30 years, even though the average age is around 40. Today, employees need to be stimulated and to give meaning to their work. If they're bored, they leave. I'm happy to see that young people are staying!", exclaims Manuëla Coulombel.
A complete team accompanies each project: development, patternmaking, prototyping and garment making. Each operator masters all stages of garment making, "they assemble a design from A to Z", she explains. This enables the atelier to respond to a variety of requests and special projects for its other customers, cocktail dresses, ceremony / special occasions dresses, VIP or press orders.
A savoir-faire that endures in a demanding market
Lambert Design creates around twenty designs each year. The dresses follow the curves of a market that is both stable and diversified: women who are remarrying, pregnant brides-to-be, last-minute customers, followers of timeless minimalism or exceptional dresses.
Faced with changes in retail, boutiques communicate less and less about brands and more about the concept of their boutique. To meet this demand Lambert Design offers a range of wedding dresses under white labeling, more classic but with the same service and garment making quality as for the Lambert Créations brand. And continuing to nurture the direct relationship with its professional customers. "Boutiques call on us because they know we can do many highly technical, made-to-measure transformations, explains Manuëla Coulombel. Word-of-mouth is our best advertising. Owe have real expertise in our field and the trust of our customers."
The Lambert Design / Atelier France Confection pairing cultivates a skilful balance that preserves unique savoir-faire and offers its customers genuine works of fashion for key moments in life. "It hasn't always been easy, we've learned a lot, but we also know that nothing can be taken for granted, we have to remain attentive and open to changes in the world around us, without denying our values, while preserving our DNA. We must always ask ourselves what we'll do tomorrow", a tomorrow that the team builds every day with rigor, finesse and passion.
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