Le carnet de France: Declercq Passementiers
- 10 hours ago
- 3 min read
By Martine P. Dulles and Frederick H. Dulles
In the northeast of Paris, in a small village, is an “atelier d’art” that makes the most exquisite textile decorative items: Declercq Passementiers.
The French word “passementerie” comes from “passement” and dates from the 12th century. The official dictionary of the Académie française defines it as “A flat strip of fabric in which are interwoven threads of gold, silver, silk, wool, etc., and which serves as an ornament for garments, draperies.”
Today, there are only four “passementeries” remaining in France, and Declercq Passementiers is the oldest. It was created in 1852, and it is still owned by the Declercq family.
The word “passementerie” is translated as “trimmings” in English. “Declercq Passementiers” still works according to ancestral techniques on very elaborate looms. The threads, which are purchased in Italy, are dyed, reeled and woven to produce tassels, fringes, tiebacks, acorns, and many other decorative items to enhance curtains, draperies, and textiles on furniture. There are 22 artisans working in the “atelier.” They are taught their skills on-premises, and some of them have been there for decades. Eighty percent of each item is handmade. Once the design is decided and the threads are prepared, it takes from 45 minutes to 350 hours to finish an item.
Declercq does not always have drawings to follow, and so they rely on documents to reproduce 17th- or 18th-century pieces. This was the case for the ornaments to be included in the restoration of the Chambre du Roi of Louis XVI in the Château de Versailles, which was just completed and opened to the public in April 2026. This restoration project was approved in the 1980s with the objective of reconstituting the room’s décor in the typical style of the 18th century, as it was in 1789 when the Royal Family fled. The Château de Versailles called on the most skilled “artisans d’art de France.” To create and produce all the different kinds of trimmings, following a specific motif of the style, it took Declercq Passementiers two full years.
In addition to the Chambre du Roi, Declercq worked on many other projects in the Château de Versailles. You can also admire their work in the Palais Garnier (the Opéra), in the Château de Fontainebleau, in the Château de Vaux-le-Vicomte, in Chantilly and Paris, among many other public sites, and at the Hôtel de la Marine on the Place de la Concorde. The decorators Joseph Achkar and Michel Charrière of this latest project wrote: “Passementerie remains a major card in the decor, a small detail certainly, but you see it right away and you can almost only see that.”
In the United States, some projects carried out by Declercq are at the Frick Collection in New York, the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, the Gettysburg National Military Museum, the Legion of Honor in San Francisco and many more.
In Europe, they have received orders from the Schloss Schönbrunn in Vienna and from private clients in the Middle East.
Declercq does not only produce classical items. Recently, a stool designed by the interior decorator Edgar Jayet was made with an aluminum base and the seat with their braided coverings.
While visiting New York in the 1980s, Jérôme Declercq, the current president, was inspired by the Chrysler Building and designed his first decorating item: a “gland” (acorn) in the shape of the Art Deco building. It comes in different colors.
To discover their products, one can visit their boutique located in the 1st arrondissement in Paris, 15 rue Étienne Marcel. At the back of the boutique is the “Musée de la passementerie.” If you wish to have a guided tour, it is best to contact them. They will proudly show you trimmings that date back from the 17th century onward and explain how they are made.
Jérôme Declercq found, among old documents, a business card that belonged to his great-grandfather, G. Perret, that indicates, “Fabrique de passementeries pour ameublement fondée en 1643” (Manufacture of trimmings for furnishings created in 1643).
Lately, Declercq Passementiers was very much in the French news because it faced financial problems due to a slowdown in orders since COVID. Fortunately, many contributors, anxious to see such an exquisite heritage and skill continue, came forward and raised over 120,000 €, enough to continue. We wish them many more years of success.
