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For its third edition, DeuxMains du luxe<\/b>, an event combining the discovery of craftsmanship and training, was a huge success, attracting more than 30,000 visitors<\/b>. Building on this enthusiasm, this event organized by the Comit\u00e9 Colbert<\/b> plans to return to the regions in 2026 and to Paris in 2027<\/b>.<\/p>\n
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A key player in the initiative since its launch<\/b>, the LVMH group was present<\/b> with six of its 75 Houses<\/b>.<\/p>\n
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To find out more, we met with Marion Bardet<\/strong>, who was promoted last May to Director of M\u00e9tiers d’Excellence for the entire group.<\/strong><\/p>\n <\/p>\n The former director of equestrian crafts at Herm\u00e8s and then of the eyewear division at Tag Heuer, with a focus on sustainability, she succeeded Alexandre Boquel<\/strong>. After five years of involvement, Boquel left to join the teams at Louis Vuitton.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Marion Bardet<\/b>: M\u00e9tiers d’Excellence is at the heart of the issue of passing on expertise, which is essential in the luxury industry. It covers creative and craft professions as well as the customer experience. The latter mainly concerns talent working in retail and hospitality. With a presence in leather goods, jewelry, watchmaking, wines and spirits, and hospitality, the LVMH group, with its 75 Houses, covers no less than 280 crafts and professions of excellence. Through the Institut des M\u00e9tiers d’Excellence, we offer training programs to ensure the next generation of professionals in these trades, which promote French luxury and, beyond that, the nation’s heritage of expertise throughout the world.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Marion Bardet<\/b>: This is an issue we identified a long time ago, and the Institut des M\u00e9tiers d’Excellence, created in 2014 by the LVMH group, aims to address it. We have therefore been working for more than ten years to train future generations of artisans. Many of our craft professions remain under pressure, so we have significant recruitment needs in order to ensure the next generation of artisans.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Marion Bardet<\/b>: Absolutely. It is even a subject that is essential to us and one that occupies us throughout the year. Since 2022 in France and 2023 in Italy, we have been organizing our own recruitment tour, You & ME, for the LVMH group’s Maisons. We will be starting again in January 2026. That said, we also participate in numerous events outside the group that work to preserve, develop, and pass on French heritage skills. This is because we need to create opportunities to meet with younger generations, who are often unaware of the reality of these professions or simply don’t know they exist. Yet these professions offer major advantages: not only are they recruiting, but they also offer very rewarding careers.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Marion Bardet<\/b>: Indeed, we have been supporting Les DeuxMains du Luxe since its first edition, and for the first time this event is taking place at the Grand Palais. There was incredible enthusiasm and many visitors. For this 2025 edition of DeuxMains du Luxe, we were keen to represent the diversity of luxury and heritage professions in France. All of the participating Houses volunteered to highlight professions that are particularly important in terms of expertise. Schoolchildren and visitors were able to discover the leather goods professions at Louis Vuitton and Celine. Dior was able to showcase its haute couture expertise. And perfumers Guerlain, Maison Francis Kurkdjian, and Christian Dior Parfums took part in DeuxMains du Luxe for the first time.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Marion Bardet<\/b>: I think we need to continue to mobilize all stakeholders for these incredibly diverse professions. At the Institut des M\u00e9tiers d’Excellence, we offer 71 training courses, 60 of which are tailor-made. We have 53 partner schools, some of which were present with us this year, in particular the Haute \u00c9cole de Joaillerie and the Institut Fran\u00e7ais de la Mode (IFM). To ensure the continuity of these professions, we need to engage with young people. Our experience, both at industry events and at events specific to the LVMH group, shows that when we introduce these professions to younger generations, when we let them touch the materials and make something, they understand that these are also meaningful professions. You can see the fruit of your labor, which is something very concrete and particularly rare these days. These are professions with an incredible future, where there is a great need for recruitment and no unemployment. So let’s multiply these opportunities to reconnect our young and not-so-young people.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Marion Bardet<\/b>: We are developing the ShowME concept. In November, we will be organizing the Rencontres des M\u00e9tiers d’Excellence (Meetings of Excellence in the Professions), which will include the Savoir-Faire Ceremony, during which we will celebrate the fifth class of Virtuoses, i.e., employees distinguished for the excellence of their career paths and expertise. The following day, we will hold the \u201cNuit des Laur\u00e9ats\u201d (Night of the Winners), during which we will award diplomas to our latest class of talented individuals trained by our initial training organization, the Institut des M\u00e9tiers d’Excellence. These are young people or sometimes people undergoing retraining who come to learn a trade and are apprenticed in one of the group’s Maisons. Since 2014, the Institute has trained more than 3,300 apprentices. For the 2025 academic year, we have more than 220 apprentices.<\/p>\n The You&ME tour will hit the road again in the first quarter of 2026, with stops in France and Italy, to meet talented individuals in the regions, introduce them to our M\u00e9tiers d’Excellence and the experts who embody them, and offer career guidance thanks to the participation of our partner schools and HR representatives from the Group’s Maisons, who also provide coaching on how to prepare applications.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Marion Bardet<\/b>: In any case, M\u00e9tiers d’Excellence is very active in Italy, as our initial training institute is also present there, in partnership with Italian schools and the Group’s Italian Houses. The You&ME tour will visit Turin and Naples in 2026. And recently, we presented the \u201cPremio di Maestri d’Eccellenza\u201d award, which recognizes Italian artisans outside the group for their exceptional expertise. We collaborate on this award with Confartigianato and the Camera Nazionale della Moda. All of this commitment from LVMH M\u00e9tiers d’Excellence in Italy reflects the importance of the Italian market and its heritage skills for our Group, the international leader in luxury goods.<\/p>\n <\/p>\nLUXUS PLUS: You have been appointed head of M\u00e9tiers d’Excellence for the LVMH group. How does this position affect you in terms of the future of luxury and expertise?<\/h3>\n
LUXUS PLUS: A recent study by OPCO 2i found that a quarter of employees working in the craft industry in France are aged 50 or over. How do you view this aging workforce in workshops?<\/h3>\n
LUXUS PLUS: To convince younger generations to pursue careers in craftsmanship and rejuvenate the image of these professions, is this achieved through events such as DeuxMains du luxe and immersive experiences using new technologies?<\/h3>\n
LUXUS PLUS: Les DeuxMains du Luxe took on a new dimension under the glass roof of the Grand Palais. Six of your Houses participated in the event and, notably, for the first time, the profession of perfumer was particularly well represented. Explain this choice to us.<\/h3>\n
LUXUS PLUS: You have just taken over as head of the Institut des M\u00e9tiers d’Excellence. What projects do you consider to be priorities for promoting and preserving expertise?<\/h3>\n
LUXUS PLUS: How do Les DeuxMains du Luxe complement events promoted by the LVMH group such as Show ME and You & ME?<\/h3>\n
LUXUS PLUS: Italy would be well advised to take inspiration from all the initiatives undertaken in France, at least in terms of preserving and passing on expertise…<\/h3>\n