A fellowship between CHANEL, le19M and The King's Foundation trains British artisans to the standard of the Paris ateliers, and its 2026 graduates showed at The Garrison Chapel.
The Métiers d’Art Fellowship of CHANEL, le19M and The King’s Foundation showed the work of its 2026 graduating fellows at The Garrison Chapel in Chelsea on Thursday 10 September 2026. Walpole convened the morning over breakfast.
Gabrielle Chanel founded her house in Paris in 1910. The maisons d’art that supply it are now gathered in le19M, a Paris complex with workshops, a school and a public gallery. They include its embroiderers, feather workers, milliners and button makers.
The King’s Foundation is the educational charity King Charles III established in 1990, when he was Prince of Wales, to teach traditional building and making crafts. The two set up the fellowship together in 2023 to train British artisans to the standard of the Paris ateliers.
Each fellow spends a year on one discipline, embroidery, millinery or fashion production, with mentorship and time inside the Parisian workshops, and finishes able to work at couture level. Before the fellowship, Britain had almost no established route to that level of training.
The pieces on the walls were the fellows’ own work in each of the three disciplines. Walpole, with 270 British luxury brands as members, holds several such gatherings for its members each season.