When designers Maurizio Galante and Tal Lancman joined the Parsons Paris faculty, they made it a priority to encourage their students to engage with the craft maestros of Institut National des Métiers d’Art. With the support of Lyne Cohen-Solal, President of INMA, the project, entitled Hand in Hand Made, involved high-level experts in various fields such as textile weaving, pleating, embroidery, feather making, jewelry, and other remarkable forms of artistic crafts.
This unique collaboration led to a more in-depth reflection on the manufacturing of fashion artifacts and the slower production time of handmade objects. The students could explore the Métiers d’Art as an alternative to the normative practices imposed by global apparel industries. This creative dialogue with the leading Paris-based artisans helped them define their own vision of what the interweavings between current lifestyles, design practices and historical crafts of excellence could or should be.
The 10 pieces designed by the senior students and produced in collaboration with the masters of art were exhibited at the historical gallery of INMA in October 2018. The exhibition was curated by creative directors Maurizio Galante and Tal Lancman.