LVMH's Sidney Toledano talks about recruiting the next generation of luxury artisans

PARIS — The luxury association Comité Colbert has brought together brands and big names to promote the professions of handicrafts among students.< /p>

Sidney Toledano, president of LVMH Fashion Group and newly elected president of the Chambre Syndicale de la Haute Couture, joined French Minister of Culture Rima Abdul Malak on stage, accompanied by Minister of Education and Vocational Training Carole Grandjean and Minister of Small and Medium Enterprises, Trade, Crafts and Tourism Olivia Gregoire.

The afternoon panel closed the three-day educational fair "Les de(ux ) hands of luxury", The clever pun of the Comité Colbert evoking the future of craftsmanship.

Despite the boom in business in the luxury sector, companies on all sides have expressed difficulty in recruit young craftsmen to transmit traditional methods.

Toledano reminded the crowd that Louis Vuitton, Coco Chanel, Christian Dior and Louis-Francois Cartier were all craftsmen before being "designers".

"They were artisans, they were entrepreneurs, they were storytellers", has he declared. "Their market power was based on their know-how."

Toledano was careful to note that today's event was aimed at continuing the lifelong quest for education and elevation of craftsmanship. He said that in his youth he grew up surrounded by artisans, but young people today are more distant from craftsmanship.

"This is a problem that exists for our industry," he said. "How we pass on to the next generation is a real question – is word of mouth, marketing, storytelling stronger? — to pass on the opportunities of these careers.”

Toledano said it is the responsibility of government programs and private sector luxury companies to elevate the status of craft careers.

"The craftsmanship needs to be reinvented and young people discover crafts — they are constantly evolving, innovating and we need to convey the idea of ​​know-how,” said Minister Malak.

Malak said the French government is committed to five pillars of promoting craftsmanship: disseminate knowledge of trades; training and internships alongside experienced artisans; investing in innovation and new technologies to transmit centuries-old techniques before they disappear; ensure that craftsmanship is not only centered in Paris but dispersed throughout France, and finally, that it also develops internationally.

She cited cross-cultural programs to promote French craftsmanship in the United States and Japan and said the government was establishing residency programs in Africa and China to train artisans overseas.

"There is great potential not only to export our French know-how, but also to learn other countries and create exchanges and cooperate with them, because it is also this cooperation that will make it possible to reach new markets, new citizens who are interested in them, and also to push back the limits of sustainability in this field and innovation in this area,” Malak said.

Other guests included Alexandre Boquel, director of crafts development at LVMH, Nicolas Bos, president of Van Cleef & Arpels, .. .