The fabrics

You have to go back to the middle of the XVII century to find the origins of provençal fabric. In the countryside, the breeding of "magnans" (silkworms) by farmers was one of their only reliable revenues. At the start of the XIX century, spinning, made by productors of cocoons or by a few rare workshops, was still rudimentary. The modern coton industry was born in 1664 with the creation of the "Compagnie des Indes" (India Company). The linens coming from the Indies through Marseille via the sea, had bright colors. These linens called "Indiennes", knew a real success in Provence, but because of their costly prices, the French textile industry started to create its own fabrication workshops. Installed in Avignon, the "Indienneurs" moved to Orange after the prohibition of the activity by the Pope. The last manufacturer closed its doors in the last century.

The fabrication needed many steps. The first was to whiten the linens. Heated, then dried, they were decorated with the help of drawings already made on a piece of paper with little holes (stencils). If you rub this paper on charcoal, the drawing appears. Then the colors are put on, thanks to a wooden board carved in relief. The female workers called "pinceauteuses" retouch the drawings with a paintbrush. At last the "Indiennes" were washed and dried.

In Provence, the coton fabrics, in spite of the industrial mechanization and the progressive disappeareance of factories, have always kept faithfull to the ancient techniques. Today, printed by hand or by big brass rollers, the productions are inspired by craftsmen's drawings, sculpted and made more than two hundreds years ago, and use authentic ancient documents to find treasures of design, always renewed.

Today the fabrics of Provence are sold world-wide, fabrics, shawls, scarves, fashion accessories, and gift items.

Fashion in Aix en Provence

Fashion for children, teenagers, men and women, for all tastes and for all budgets. Aix is home to numerous young creators of shoes, accessories, clothes and hats..

Handicrafts - list