History of Aari and Luneville Embroidery
Haute Couture Embroidery, also called Art embroidery, is a combination of traditional embroidery work with a needle and Luneville or Aari embroidery performed with a tambour hook and the frame. An age-old tradition that is over 500 years old, the technique had being passing from generation to generation and is now pursued by the biggest couture houses in the world such as Dior, Chanel, Givenchy and many others.
Aari or Indian Method of Embroidery
The technique of tambour embroidery is thought to have originated in India long ago with Ari work. Ari means hook in Hindu and the technique involves creating a chain stitch using a long thin tool with a hook at the end and a wooden handle.
Ari embroidery travelled from Brabanki in Uttar Paradesh to Kutch in Gujarat where cobblers first applied the technique to leather and then to cloth. The cobblers created ornate patterns with floral and wildlife motifs that were favored by the royalty of the Mughal Empire in the 16th century.
Ari embroideries were exported to the Persian Gulf across the Middle East and eventually arrived in Europe in the 18th century where the technique would become known as Tambour Embroidery.
Luneville or French Method of Embrodiery
Tambour means drum in French and refers to the technique of stretching the ground fabric tightly across a frame to create the tension needed to embroider a regular chain stitch. The frame may be circular or rectangular.
Tambour embroidery arrived in the French town of Lunéville in 1810, and was adopted by the ateliers due to the speed and efficiency of the technique. Beads and sequins were added to the repertoire in the late 19th century. The town of Lunéville became so famous for its exquisite embroideries that the technique is known as Lunéville Hook Embroidery in France.
Fresh look and new perspective
The innovation caused boom in the world of embroidery, as French fashion required more and more heavily beaded garments and trimmings. This trend quickly spread to other parts of Europe. However, First and Second World Wars led to decline in the popularity of Luneville embroidery and many embroidery companies vanished.
The economic changes in the 1950‟s brought new opportunities, as beaded garments became popular again. In the later half of the twentieth century beaded haute couture items became fashionable and many of these creations were continued to be made in Luneville embroidery technique, however, it was available to a very limited amount of people due the high costs of such garments. Nowadays, such method of embroidery remains to be one of the rarest, unique and expensive methods of embroidery due to a limited amount of hand embroiderers also.
