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MAISON FABRE, THE HISTORY OF OUR FAMILY
SINCE 1924, A HERITAGE AND PASSION FOR EXCEPTIONAL GLOVE MAKING
When he was forty years old, Etienne Fabre made a decision that would not only change his life but that of his descendants: he would become a glove maker. However, the legacy of Maison Fabre stretches back even further than the founding of the company. In 1909, Etienne Fabre was a 25 year old that is so passionate about horseback riding that he becomes a mounted policeman. During this era, horse, carriages, bicycles, boats and trains are the main modes of transportation, thus everyone has a own a pair of gloves. This revelation is the spark that ignites the beginning of a family history that continues to be written even today.
1924
THE BEGINNING
Our history began in the year 1924, in the city of Millau, Etienne Fabre, master glove maker, founded his glove making enterprise. In the early days he hand cut the leather shoulder to shoulder with his brother. Several sewists came to the factory to collect work and complete in their homes.
1928
A HOUSE, FOUNDED
From 1928 on the artisans specialized in white kid gloves that were the fashionable in this period. The flourishing enterprise took over three stories of a modest home, where leather cutters and sewists slowly took over more and more space on the work floor. Etienne Fabre quickly established himself as a craftsman of renowned in his workshop in Aveyron. It was like this that a career was born in a sector requiring a precise skill set and immense savoir faire.
1946
THE SECOND GENERATION, AND A TRANSFORMATION
Twenty two years later, son Denis, and his wife Rose joined the family business. Making voyage, after voyage in order to make her gloves known worldwide. Rose's dynamic and entrepreneurial spirit, rapidly transformed her husband's workshop into a rapidly developing manufacturing center, while turning Maison Fabre into a house hold name. By working in the world of haute couture, and by the force of her imagination, she began to transform an object of necessity, into a refined object of art and fashion. She moved the factory to the heart of Millau, where it exists to this day, though then counting 350 employees in the fifties.
1970
THE THIRD GENERATION, AN ABOUT FACE
Anticipating the coming crisis, after seeing glove maker after glove maker closing, son Louis launched handbag and leather clothing lines. This effectively saved the family enterprise, while working with several of the largest department stores in France in worldwide.
1978
OUR FIRST BOUTIQUE OPENS
In a big first for Maison Fabre, our Millau boutique opened in 1978. With 150 m2 of space dedicated to our gloves, it marked a milestone for the brand which up until this point had worked exclusively with department stores and designers.
1998
THE FOURTH GENERATION , THE BATON IS PASSED
Animated by the same familial passion, Olivier Fabre left his journalism studies to join his brother in the family business. Together they took up the work began by their grandmother Rose and father Louis, breathing new life into the house. This time marked a turning of the page for the brand. The two brothers began to plunge into the archives of the brand while reaching out to several designers in Paris. These exceptional collaborations little by little, brought Maison Fabre into the spotlight as a global reference in accessories.
2005
OUR ATELIER IS GIVEN NEW LIFE
In just under a decade, alongside his brother, Olivier revived the heritage of Avenue Gambetta, in Millau, by renovating the workshop with the help of Guy Falco. This renovation promoted the transmission and continuation of the occupation of glove maker.
2008
OPENING OF OUR FIRST PARISIAN BOUTIQUE
In July 2008 Maison Fabre's first Parisian boutique opened, tucked away under the famous arches of the Palais Royale. A perfect, discreet jewel box to become lost in the vast diversity of materials, colors and styles that are the pride of Maison Fabre. This opening brought notoriety to Maison Fabre as the address on the Rive Droit, is known for being historic, touristic and firmly fashion oriented.
2010
A POP UP RUE DES SAINT PÉRES ( PARIS )
In a brief moment in time, our little cabinet of curiosities opened up at 60 rue des Saint-Peres, Rive Gauche, it stayed three years and then disappeared like a dream.
2013
A POP UP IN THE COUR DES SENTEURS AT VERSAILLES
Our second popup boutique was brought to life at 8 rue de la Chancellerie, in the shadow of the Castle of Versailles. This space allowed Maison Fabre to reforge the historic link between glove makers and perfumists.
PERFUMED GLOVES AND PRESTIGOUS MILESTONE
Maison Fabre looked to history in the creation of two unique models. Perfumed talc was used to bring Marie Antoinette's favorite perfume, "L'eau d'Ange", back to life. The second model recalled the romance of Empress Josephine, who preferred a scent called " The Roses of Springtime". Maison Fabre was also bestowed with the prestigious EPV award ( Enterprise du Patrimoine) by the Ministry of the Economy and Finance.
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MAISON FABRE AND THE CINEMA
In 2013 Maison Fabre was seen again at the cinema, the first time being in 1971 , with Louis de Funes, worn in the film "Follies de Grandeurs». Secondly, Maison Fabre reappeared in Olivier Dahan's film " Grace of Monaco" featuring Nicole Kidman. This was in reference to the fact that Maison Fabre's wares graced the hands of the real life Hitchcock princess at her marriage to Prince Rainier III of Monaco. Equally in the world of film, Maison Fabre created in 1966, the rally gloves of Jean Louis Trintignant, in the movie " Un Homme et Une Femme", and in effect those of Steve McQueen as well.
THE REAPPEARANCE OF THE MAGIC GLOVES
To mark the 50th anniversary of the death of Jean Cocteau, who wrote the screenplay of the "La Belle et la Bête" in 1944, just steps from Maison Fabre's boutique at the Palais Royal. The once in a lifetime commission was given by the Cocteau Committee, and was brought to life in a collaboration between Olivier Fabre and Pascale Duchenoy, of Linge au Coeur. The confections of black lambskin embroidered with gold thread, and festooned with Swarovski crystals, caused Dominique Marny, Cocteau's niece to remark " Those who are lucky enough to be in their presence, with be blinded by their beauty".
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2014
OUR PERFUMED CANDLE
In order to celebrate Maison Fabre's 90th anniversary, we debuted a limited edition perfumed candle. With leather as head note, patchouli for a heart note and amber and atlas cedar as the base notes, the candle is a faithful olfactory transcription of our workshops in Millau, which for generations has been like Proust's madeline for the Fabre family.
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2015
A COLLABORATION WITH DS AUTOMOBILES
Maison Fabre in collaboration with the French automobile brand DS, introduced a limited edition line of driving gloves for both women and men. The creations are available exclusively by special order, or at DS World Paris.
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2016
THE EXPOSITION " IF LOVE WAS A FAIRY TALE"
The Beauty and the Beast, Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, Snow White. In 2016 in accordance with the "Patronage de la Commission Nationale Française" for UNESCO, in conjunction with the Ministry of Culture, Dominique Marty brought to the Museum of Millau an expo called " If Love was a Fairy Tale", in collaboration with Maison Fabre. Along with the Magic Gloves created by Maison Fabre in 2013, there were over 100 pieces of fairy tale themed art. At the end of the expo, a pair of Magic Gloves were offered to the museum as a gift.
