The Maison du Savoir-Faire et de la Création at the Palais de Tokyo

Promoting the richness and diversity of savoir-faire is the mission of the Maison du Savoir-Faire et de la Création, which is taking up residence at the Palais de Tokyo to showcase savoir-faire to international players, and strengthen links between manufacturers and designers, the gamble is a big one. "In 2011, relocation appeared to be a militant or heritage issue. Today, it has become a strategic issue.... Sylvie Maignan, head of the Maison du Savoir-Faire et de la Création, explains the stakes involved in a project that is resolutely forward-looking, and strengthened by a unique heritage.

The Maison du Savoir-Faire et de la Création was created in 2011. Fifteen years on, what are its new challenges?

Since its creation, the MSFC has established itself as a structuring and visibility tool for French manufacturing. Today, it is of course a question of continuing to promote the richness and diversity of French savoir-faire in the apparel sector to national and international fashion players, the latter representing 20% of our visitors.

However, in a tense international context, the stakes are changing, so we are keen to promote made-in-France since it represents a real economic challenge. We support brands in prioritizing more responsible and local production by facilitating ever more qualified connections, supporting the transmission and attractiveness of garment making professions that create jobs and value.

Within a tense economic context, what has been the outcome of the platform enabling French manufacturers and production workshops to be promoted?

France is fortunate to have preserved an industrial fabric of 450 clothing contract manufacturers representing 11,000 jobs with production generating sales of around 600 million euros. As for the platform listing over 600 companies in the region, it now represents the largest qualified database in the sector, promoting French garment making and remaining free of charge as part of our public-interest mission.

In practical terms, it brings new markets to workshops, facilitates initial contacts between brands and manufacturers, raises the profile of companies with often little-known savoir-faire, and promotes the diversity of the French industrial fabric. In a changing environment, it acts as a tool for access to local manufacturing, particularly for creative brands and/or those partially relocating their production. Today, the platform brings together:

• More than 600 French manufacturing professionals (fashion and apparel, all specialties and regions combined).
• More than 700 user brands, both French and international.
• More than 32,000 visits in 2025, testifying to strong, ongoing momentum.
• More than 200 connections, with a high satisfaction rate: 83% on the brand side and 73% on the manufacturer side.

These figures illustrate the growing interest of brands in qualitative, sustainable and value-bearing French production at a time when traceability, short circuits and responsibility are becoming central issues in fashion.

How different is the context compared to the early days?

In 2011, relocalization appeared to be a militant or heritage issue. Today, it is becoming a strategic issue for French and international brands seeking short circuits to limit their carbon footprint, volume control to avoid overstocking, greater traceability and an affirmation of CSR, reinforcing customer confidence and a need for agility in the face of increasingly uncertain markets. Brands come to produce in France to build lasting relationships with industrial partners, and benefit from exceptional savoir-faire and indisputable quality.

Which sectors are most concerned?

The players producing in France are mainly Luxury houses, high-end and premium brands that make French savoir-faire a signature of their prestige. There is also growing interest from young designers who can afford the cost of manufacturing in France.

What is special about the clothing sector?

It's a sector where value is based as much on design as on mastery of gesture, technical skills and constant adaptation. French workshops stand out for their embodiment of "doing", the tangible and the long time it takes to learn the savoir-faire. They tell human and heritage stories with strong regional roots. They have the capacity to work on small and medium batches, right up to the very largest, with very high standards of quality, direct proximity to brands and production flexibility that is rare on an international scale. It's also a sector that is well advanced in CSR, due to French and European regulations, and whose workshops have managed to turn it into a competitive advantage.

Your main missions?

Affiliated with the UFIMH and financed by the DEFI, the Maison du Savoir-Faire et de la Design is dedicated to promoting the industrial and artisanal savoir-faire of the French apparel industry. Through its digital magazine, referencing platform and personalized consulting services, the MSFC highlights French clothing manufacturers and garment making workshops, and facilitates contacts between principals and manufacturing professionals. By strengthening the industry, MSFC is playing a full part in the renaissance of the fashion and clothing industry in France, at a time when the challenges of relocation are more topical than ever.

Of the 600 companies listed, which are fashion-related?

The vast majority are directly involved in fashion and apparel: warp-and-weft manufacturers, knits, lingerie, tailoring, flou, leather, sportswear, technical or luxury pieces. Added to this are product development units, textile finishing workshops (dyeing, Finishing...) and personalization workshops (embroiderers, printers...), as well as French manufacturers of textile materials and components.

What are the current challenges?

The aim is to make the sector's technical professions attractive and to promote training in this area in order to maintain and pass on know-how in the workshops, which have constant recruitment needs. A second challenge concerns innovation, with a view to improving the competitiveness of French workshops, notably through the deployment of virtual prototyping and the arrival of robotics and artificial intelligence in equipment. Finally, making French manufacturing more visible, legible and accessible to enable sustainable collaborations.

Your missions for 2026?

For 2026, our roadmap is to continue and amplify the momentum we've started by affirming our role as a facilitator of connections between brands and manufacturers, as a concrete bridge between the desire to produce in France and the industrial reality of the territory.

Present at industry trade shows, constantly visiting French workshops and listening to the various principals, the MSFC's aim is not just to list workshops on its matchmaking platform, but to orchestrate a genuine ecosystem between design and production."

Read this article on the Fédération de la Haute Couture et de la Mode website