The Franaud Group: transparency, reliability and versatility

Based in western France, the Franaud Group comprises four clothing manufacturers and a product development unit specialized in high-end and luxury ready-to-wear: La Ferrière Couture, L'Aiguillon Couture, Legé Haute Façon and Arnoise Collage Confection. Behind this organization lies a clear ambition: to preserve and structure French industrial and artisanal savoir-faire, while offering brands and Homes an agile, responsive and coordinated production capacity.

Founded by Françoise Piou and Arnaud Nassiet, the Franaud Group is now a key player in French garment making. Thanks to a strategy of synergy between workshops and a continuous rise in skills, the Franaud group is capable of both meeting the demands of luxury goods and keeping savoir-faire alive in the region.

An organization by workshops: specialization and complementary know-how

The Franaud group benefits from the alchemy of a management duo with complementary profiles. Françoise Piou built an international career in purchasing and industrial textile production management, before returning to her native region to "rediscover contact with the material" by taking over the La Ferrière Couture workshop. Arnaud Nassiet, meanwhile, brought glassmaking and management experience to the table, before joining Françoise to take over the Legé Haute Façon and L'Aiguillon Couture workshops together.

Under their impetus, these takeovers spurred the design of the fourth workshop, and gradually a group was formed. The workshops were structured, modernized, upgraded and diversified with new equipment and savoir-faire: knits, featherwork, gluing. "Our main investment has always been in buildings, equipment and machinery... And this has been the case each time we've developed a new savoir-faire", Françoise Piou emphasizes. Moving upmarket for luxury has been a real challenge, and Françoise Piou is well aware of the human intensity demanded by this work of sophistication, she explains: "when I took over La Ferrière, with the move upmarket we were going from 300 pieces a day to 50 luxury pieces, because the value lies elsewhere and this change there is experienced in the body".

One of the group's strengths lies in its clear and legible organization: each workshop is identified by a main, recognized and valued savoir-faire. "La Ferrière Couture (founded in 1972) focuses on garment making for pants and skirts in warp and weft, tailoring or silk. Legé Haute-Façon develops flou / soft dressmaking and hand-sewing techniques, notably for wedding dresses. L'Aiguillon Couture is asserting itself in structured knits and featherwork, while Arnoise Collage Confection is innovating through assembly by gluing or sewing using ultrasonic or laser cutting", explains the co-director.

A management duo at the service of agility and transmission

"Each workshop has its main savoir-faire, but also a second or even a third. This allows us to juggle from one workshop to another, to be agile and versatile". This organization gives the group a rare flexibility in garment making: in the event of departures, peaks in activity or specific needs, employees can be redeployed, skills pooled, and savoir-faire passed on from one workshop to another. This is essential at a time when garment making professions can no longer rely on a single key person. Indeed, the workshop managers, present since the group's inception "manage everything, so we need to structure our workshops because tomorrow when the person retires we won't have all these skills in one person. We need to communicate, train and inform", says Françoise Piou.

Training and versatility are thus at the heart of the model. "It takes a minimum of three years to upgrade a person's skills in flou / soft dressmaking," Françoise Piou reminds us. Thus, the group recruits, trains and encourages up-skilling, and manages according to a Lean Management logic that "brings people together and elevates them, it's a foundation that federates the company, we no longer need people who are alone and isolated", testifies the co-director.

Technical diversification supports this dynamic. The Arnoise workshop, the only entity created by the group, has, for example, invested in ultrasonic/laser presses and machines to guarantee fusing quality. "We're constantly testing to find the right glue, the right temperature, the right thickness and the right suppliers. This workshop is like an anthill," Françoise explains. With its established savoir-faire such as flou / soft dressmaking and, above all, structured pants with luxury finishes, and those acquired in recent years such as featherwork for fashion accessories and high-end Knits, the group intends to continue its progression, convinced that the future of Made in France lies in the alliance between innovation and artisanal excellence.

CSR commitment and ongoing adaptation

The Franaud Group's commitment can also be seen in its structured CSR approach: Origine France Garantie label, GOTS certification, and the forthcoming Les Ateliers Engagés label scheduled for early 2026. These initiatives reflect a commitment to social, environmental and human responsibility, in response to the growing demands of Home. "Luxury houses challenge us strongly on CSR subjects, particularly with audits and their vision", stresses Arnaud Nassiet.

The management duo embody a hands-on management style, "we go to all the group's workshops every week", he confides. It's a close-at-hand approach that keeps them in touch with the realities of their work, their teams and their customers. But the challenges remain: international competition, strain on human resources, and fluctuations in the luxury market. A clear-sightedness that underlines the resilience needed to maintain a solid French contract manufacturer model.

Finally, while the group asserts its high-end positioning, it remains pragmatic: "At La Ferrière, for certain orders we sometimes go a little outside luxury, which enables us to hire and teach young people the gestures". This ability to adapt without denaturing itself sums up the Franaud spirit: a balance between heritage and modernity, excellence and territorial roots.

The Franaud group embodies a successful marriage between regional industrial history and ambition for excellence. Thanks to the vision of Françoise Piou and Arnaud Nassiet, the specialized organization of its workshops and its constant commitment to transmission and innovation, it demonstrates that French manufacturing can combine finesse, agility and responsibility to continue to make garment making savoir-faire shine on the territory.

To find out more, discover the fact sheets for the Franaud group's various workshops:

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