Silken Sisters in Commerce How Lyon and Paris Were Woven Together by the Silk Trade

A presentation by Roger Mummert of www.theparisproject.net in association with the Federation of Alliances Françaises USA

Event begins at 1pm PT / 2pm MT / 3pm CT / 4pm ET

The French silk trade was established in Lyon during the Renaissance, but the prime market for the luxurious silk fabrics and elaborate designs of Lyon was 250 miles to the northwest, in Paris.  

In the Ancien Régime, Lyon silk had three theaters. Lyon was the industry, with master-weavers, workers, negotiants. The court of Versailles was the runway where new designs premiered for the nobility. And Paris was the retail market and ultimate fashion showcase for the wealthy bourgeoisie. 

After the Revolution, the head-turning fashions made from the “fabriques de soie” (silk workshops) of Lyon continued to decorate the boulevards and salons of Paris. 

Fortunes were made in Lyon silk, and Paris played a key economic role in it. The rising bourgeoisie and famed shops of Paris expanded the market for luxury goods. And the French government, centralized in Paris, dictated production rules and quality standards for Lyon silk, while tapping revenues from the industry.

In “Silken Sisters in Commerce,” we examine a number of historic developments and cultural dynamics that have tied together Paris and Lyon. They include:

Modern Commerce. The Renaissance Fairs of Lyon provided a first look at foreign goods, especially Italian silk fabrics. These exotic goods were then sold in Paris and throughout France, Europe and the Americas.

The Industrial Revolution. Mechanical and design innovations streamlined silk production in Lyon. One key development was the Jacquard loom that employed a binary system of punch cards, like those used in early computers more than a century later. The process enabled stunningly detailed designs that rivaled engravings. Another advance was steam travel that hastened goods from Lyon to Paris and on to worldwide markets.

The Worker’s Movement. In the 19th century, Lyon’s canuts (silk workers) banded together in unions with health plans and a unified voice. They staged some of the first worker revolts, centered in the Croix-Rousse silk district of Lyon. Karl Marx, living in Paris in the 1840s, took note and wrote of their “class struggle.”

Migrations and Cultural Crossover. Financiers of Lyon’s lucrative silk trade came largely from Italy. They brought with them skilled weavers and sophisticated looms to develop a burgeoning industry in what was called “La nation Florentine de Lyon.” Indeed, both Paris and Lyon grew as “cities of immigrants,” a fact that undermines political ideologies that portray France as a “homogenous nation” and “monoculture.” 

About the Presenter

Roger Mummert (www.rogermummert.com) is a writer whose work on culture and travel has appeared in the New York Times and elsewhere. He is the creator of www.theparisproject.net and the newsletter “Paris” A City of Ideas.” Recent presentations with the Alliances Françaises USA include “Taking Measure of America: How French Cartographers Shaped a New Nation,” and “Paris Goods: The Emergence of Luxury Retail.”

Illustrations 

“Canut,” silk worker, Lyon

Fringe Fabric Merchant, Paris