Silk threads shimmer. They hint at stories woven through centuries at Manufacture Prelle. This is one of Lyon’s oldest silk manufacturers. It is a family business since 1752. The Prelle Manufacture creates luxurious fabrics. These fabrics appear in small series. They also work on decoration projects. The company is known for heritage restoration projects.
For six generations, the families Prelle and Verzier have been crafting silk here. They are long-time Canuses. Canuses were Lyon’s silk workers. Together, these families kept alive the traditional craft of silk work in Lyon. Today, their descendants still preserve the techniques and styles specific to the canuts.
Manufacture Prelle is not just a fabric publisher. It is a true manufacturer. The design office is integrated. Designers train internally. This ensures knowledge is passed down.
The strength of the Prelle factory lies in its preservation of old techniques. Several generations of looms work together here. Hand looms coexist with modern electronic looms. The hand looms are unique. They weave precious chiseled velvets. They also create brocaded velvets. These looms allow special manufacturing tests in small series. Mechanical looms offer adaptability. They do this without sacrificing quality.
Manufacture Prelle uses Dornier jacquard weaving looms. They adapt these looms to their needs. One loom weaves 162 cm wide fabrics. It has a density of 300 threads per inch. That means 19000 threads across the width, each individually ordered.
Prelle uses yarns milled in France and northern Italy. They use exclusively unfilled silk yarns. These are untreated. They are better quality and more durable. The last silk dyer in France custom dyes these yarns. Manufacture Prelle works hand in hand with them.
The Prelle Manufacture is known for restoration. It reweaves fabrics identically. These fabrics once graced great residences. They adorned royal palaces. From 2015, Prelle wove damask and brocatelle for the Garnier Opera House in Paris. These fabrics were for the Emperor and Empress Lodges. Eugène Prelle originally wove them in 1874. He was one of the ancestors of the House.
Manufacture Prelle’s work can be found at the Wallace Collection. You can also see it at Versailles and The Louvre. Between 1946 and 1966, the firm rewove the gold brocade hangings. These were for King Louis XIV’s bedroom. They also recreated the wall hangings and curtains. Those were for Queen Marie-Antoinette’s room at the Palace of Versailles. This took 29 years. The historical research uncovered the original patterns and colors.
From 1965 to 1969, Prelle restored the grand brocade. It was for the Empress’s room at the Château de Fontainebleau. The original fabrics were made around 1789. In 2004, Manufacture Prelle helped restore the Opéra Garnier. They wove 670 meters of draperies. The design was from 1874. It was created by the current director’s great-great-grandfather.
Manufacture Prelle preserves its exceptional fabric collection. It has been doing this for centuries. Their commitment to technical expertise makes them unique. They are one of the last Lyon fabric manufacturers. Hand looms and electronic looms happily coexist here. Prelle continues the Lyonnais tradition. They create exceptional silk for those seeking French luxury.