ATELIER CARACO is a creative and technical design studio that develops and makes costumes and made-to-measure garments for the theater arts and haute couture.
A Movie by the Fondation Carla
Bruni-Sarkozy.
Located since its creation in 1988 at 4 Rue Saulnier, ATELIER CARACO brings together a team of people who love fine sewing, with accomplished hands of artists, able to fulfill the most extreme requests by making them technically possible. This team is dedicated to the "technical understanding of dreams", as described by Rufy Sabounghi in an article for the French newspaper Le Monde. Here are three of our key milestones…
1988: Claudine Lachaud provides the impetus for creating a collective of five costume designers at 4 Rue Saulnier in Paris, where she lives. The original idea was to develop the craft of costume production by working in a shared area where costumers could come and carry out their projects. This site came into being and was known as ATELIER CARACO CANEZOU.
As the years passed, the costumers spread across the world. Claudine Lachaud remained in Paris, where she honed her skill as a fashion technician through research work and the study of authentic clothing items in museums. This was an essential activity for the position she often held as costume designer or assistant designer for the theater and film (with Claudie Gastine and Catherine Leterrier, among others). This experience made her a specialist in historical costumes for the stage.
1994: Now known as ATELIER CARACO, the atelier covers several floors. Claudine Lachaud is still the captain of this "couture" ship under several flags – dressmaking, tailoring, assembly, dyeing and patina workrooms – that is recognized in the world of theater arts, both in France and abroad, as a master costumer for stage and film.
1995: Haute couture wants to know the secrets of corset making (rigid body, corset, stitched stays, boned structures). Since this type of expertise had become rare, the know-how of ATELIER CARACO combined with other techniques re-found and practiced by the team gives rise to many long-lasting collaborations with Paris haute couture houses, including Dior, Givenchy and Chanel, to name but a few.
