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From November 4 to 10<\/strong><\/b>, the Comit\u00e9 Colbert<\/strong><\/b> presents the\u201cJeux de mains\u201d exhibition in Shanghai<\/strong><\/b>. This event offers a genuine dialogue between the know-how of French Maisons<\/strong><\/b>, through demonstrations, and exceptional Chinese craftsmen, chosen by QiongEr<\/strong><\/b>, the exhibition’s curator (and founder of Shang Xia<\/strong><\/b>, Herm\u00e8s’ Chinese brand).<\/p>\n <\/p>\n This presence in China – the home of French and Western luxury goods, faced with an abrupt change in consumer behavior<\/strong><\/b> – enables the Comit\u00e9 Colbert to carry out \u201ca form of \u2018cultural diplomacy<\/strong><\/b>\u2019\u201d, at the heart of its mission, as envisioned by Jean-Jacques Guerlain in 1954.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Today, the group represents no fewer than 113 French luxury brands, as well as French and European cultural institutions and establishments.<\/strong><\/b><\/p>\n <\/p>\n The Louis XIII cognac house<\/strong><\/b> (R\u00e9my Cointreau), in the grip of anti-trust investigations by the Chinese government targeting exporters of French wines and spirits<\/strong><\/b>, is also part of the trip.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Entitled \u201cJeux de mains\u201d (\u201cGames of Hands\u201d<\/strong><\/b>), theexhibition, designated the \u201cFranco-Chinese Year of Cultural Tourism<\/strong><\/b> \u201d by the French Embassy in China, brings together the expertise of French craftsmen from the Maisons du Comit\u00e9 Colbert and exceptional Chinese artisans.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n 17 French luxury brands<\/strong><\/b> are taking part in this cultural exhibition, at a time when the sector has been struggling for the past year to revive sales in the Middle Kingdom<\/strong><\/b>. Only Herm\u00e8s seems to have found the recipe for authenticity and rarity.<\/strong><\/b><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Among the participating companies are three of the \u201cfifteen pioneering post-war luxury companies\u201d<\/strong><\/b>, members since 1954: goldsmith Christofle<\/strong><\/b>, perfumer Guerlain and<\/strong><\/b> saddler Herm\u00e8s<\/strong><\/b>. In addition to the latter, which opened its first boutique in Beijing in 1997 and created the Sinophile brand Shang Xia ex-nihilo in 2010, in which it is still a shareholder, there are other players with a special link to the country, such as L\u00e9onard Paris<\/strong><\/b>, the first Western House to have paraded in Shanghai, and Longchamp<\/strong><\/b>, present since 2006. Chanel<\/strong><\/b>, with its founder’s fascination for Coromandel lacquer, its first presence in Beijing in 1999 and the expertise of its 19M<\/strong><\/b> design studio, is also present. The Van Cleef & Arpels School of Jewellery Arts<\/strong><\/b>, founded in 2012, is another major player in French craftsmanship and the transmission of knowledge.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Some of the latest entrants<\/strong><\/b> to the Comit\u00e9 Colbert are also on board, such as perfumer Francis Kurkdjian<\/strong><\/b> (2016), music manufacturer Henri Selmer<\/strong><\/b> (2019), shoemaker Christian Louboutin<\/strong><\/b> (2022) and high-fidelity sound specialist Focal<\/strong><\/b> (2023).<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Last but not least, the Louis XIII<\/strong><\/b> cognac house, founded in 1874 and owned by the R\u00e9my Cointreau group, is one of France’s leading cognac producers<\/strong><\/b>. At once a jewel and a work of art, the crystal decanter adorned with a fleur-de-lys requires the meticulous work of a dozen crystal makers. Yet 97% of cognac production is exported<\/strong><\/b>, with China alone accounting for a quarter of exports (769 million euros in 2023) and the second largest market after the United States.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n It’s easy to understand the sector’s distress at Beijing’s threat of customs duties of between 30% and 39% on cognac and armagnac<\/strong><\/b>. China has not digested the EU’s decision in early October to impose a 35% surtax on exports of Chinese electric vehicles.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n As for the exhibition, both the choice of craftsmen and the scenography are the work of artist Jiang Qiong Er<\/strong><\/b>, renowned for her expertise in the finest Chinese crafts. For the past ten years, she has directed Shang Xia, which she founded alongside Maison Herm\u00e8s, with the aim of \u201chighlighting traditional Chinese and Asian craftsmanship through contemporary design\u201d.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/span><\/p>\n <\/span><\/p>\n \t\tJeux de Mains<\/h2>\n
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A special relationship with China since 2003<\/h2>\n