Once forbidden by the king, now flying into the homes of ordinary people! Lace, adorned with 600 years of Europe

Source: Global Times

French fashion designer Coco Chanel once said: "Lace is a great invention that can compete with the creation of nature." "Exquisite lace has been the darling of the fashion industry since its appearance, delicate patterns, intricate craftsmanship, flowing lightness and elegance, once popular with the European royal aristocracy, popular for hundreds of years, and is still a common fabric in fashion design, favored by women." In France, Italy, Belgium and the United Kingdom, there are lace museums that introduce the development and achievements of lace craftsmanship, and there are still a group of craftsmen who are tirelessly continuing the tradition. Lace embellished with 600 years of Europe has long been spread around the world along with the historical merchant ships.

What is lace

The word Lace originally meant woven rope, and later as long as it was made of yarn or thread, textiles with hollow patterns and mesh structures could generally be called lace. At the beginning of the 15th century, lace weaving was recorded in Belgium and Italy.

Early lace was mainly made of thread knotted with each other, twisted, the process is complex, even an ordinary pattern requires a skilled female worker to spend at least a month to complete, and because of the different labor techniques, handmade lace products are almost unique, so lace is a luxury that European princes, nobles, clergy and other upper-class people can wear for a long time. In order to reflect its noble properties, early lace was even made of gold, silver or expensive silk thread, and a small piece of lace was worth a lot. Because of this, early lace can only be used as a lace to embellish clothing, used in collars, cuffs, etc., and cannot be used in large areas.

Today, there are still many lace workshops that are made in the traditional way. The Global Times reporter once saw the common European spool lace in Andorra, a handful of thread wrapped around the finger-thick spool, fixed the position on the small pillow with a pin, and then crossed back and forth with the spool to complete the weaving of the lace pattern. An experienced lace weaver, the techniques and steps are familiar with the heart, can operate dozens of spools at the same time, work up, the spools fly, between the eyes of outsiders, exquisite lace inch by inch slowly appeared.

Most women who love beauty like clothes with lace decorations. Speaking of the history of lace, it is impossible not to mention Italy and Belgium. In the 15th century, aristocratic women in Venice, Florence and other places in Italy began to weave lace, and this technique was later introduced to monasteries as a new way for nuns to meditate and increase their income. Lace was also made in Belgium at the time, and became a major producer of bobbin lace in the 15th century. At that time, Belgium cultivated flax in large quantities, which could produce high-quality extremely fine linen thread, which became a key factor in maintaining the high quality of Belgian lace. In the heyday, there were 150,000 female workers in Belgium engaged in lace production, and in the Louvre Museum in France, the oil painting "Lace Girl" painted by the Dutch painter Vermeer depicted a scene of a girl quietly weaving lace at that time.

The export of lace also brought wealth to Belgium and Italy, becoming one of their important industries. As a result, the two major lace production centers in Europe at that time were established.

It was forbidden by the king

In 1533, Catherine de' Medici from the Italian Medici family married King Henry II of France and brought the lace process to France, and from then on, the French court ushered in the era of lace. Intricate lace gradually appeared in the costumes of court portraits. However, it cost a lot of money to buy lace, and king Louis XIII of France came to power and issued a "ban on luxury", and on April 3, 1636, the wearing of lace was completely prohibited, and the offenders confiscated their clothes and fined them for deportation.

Shortly thereafter, the United Kingdom also issued a decree banning the import of lace. At that time, Britain was also influenced by the European continent, and lace began to be popular in the court, but the flax produced in England was rough in texture, and the woven lace was far from the Products of Belgium, in order to protect the production of the domestic lace industry, but also to save the national treasury, the British Parliament passed a bill in 1662 prohibiting the import of all foreign lace.

But these practices made lace more precious, mysterious and attractive, and lace was once comparable to hard currency, and some people desperately smuggled it from abroad. The British smuggling of lace from Brussels, Belgium, was once rampant, and named this lace "Point d'Angleterre" (Uk Point), which is still incorrectly called "British Point" in French.

After King Louis XIV of France came to power, Lace ushered in new opportunities for development. Unlike his father, Louis XIV's style was pompous and luxurious. In the portraits of Louis XIV, it is often seen that the wide and intricate lace collar, sleeves, and shirts are often seen, and lace once again flourished in France. The lace produced in France is needle embroidery lace, which was born from the embroidery process, because the stitches are delicate, the pattern is novel and clear, and the symmetrical pattern with French beauty is developed, which soon swept the French court. Under the leadership of the French royal family, France became the new European lace production center.

The most famous "lace control" in the European royal family is queen Elizabeth I, her neck is slender, in order to decorate, she wears a lace collar in public, and the luxurious large pieces of lace surround elizabeth I's face, which looks noble and luxurious, leading a new fashion trend in Britain and Europe, and everyone is competing to wear a lavish collar. At that time, European men, especially the gentry class, were also keen to wear lace clothing, and wearing lace at that time was the embodiment of wealth and taste, and the famous British writer Samuel Johnson in the 18th century once said: "Greek is like lace, everyone should accumulate as much as possible."

Enter the lives of the people

By the 19th century, lace continued to be used in large quantities in the production of clothing, and the demand was extremely large, and it was difficult for traditional handicrafts to meet the huge needs of lace. The Englishman Robert Foster first used machines to make lace in Nottingham, and since then, lace manufacturing has entered the era of machine production. Machines replaced female workers and began mass production of lace. Driven by the development of technology, lace production has made a huge leap, and lace has officially entered the homes of ordinary people. Lace is not only used in clothing, but also in a wider range of textiles. Nottingham, England, has also become a new center of European lace manufacturing, opening up nearly two centuries of lace production.

Today, the way lace is produced has changed dramatically, and in addition to traditional twisting, weaving, embroidery and other crafts, machine manufacturing and chemical manufacturing are common. Lace has long been not the prince and noble body of the status of luxury goods, but everyone is within reach of the daily materials, many women's wardrobes have a clothing with lace elements, FMCG brands, lace highlights the cuteness, sexiness and sweetness of women, large brands haute couture wedding dresses, dresses, haute lace is a luxury, retro, exquisite sign.