French luxury fashion house Saint Laurent has opened a new ‘Centre of Excellence’ for the development and production of the brand’s accessories and leather goods in Scandicci, Florence.
Over 500 talented artisans and technicians will work at Saint Laurent’s nearly 309,000-square-foot L’Atelier Maroquinerie, which will help the fashion house expand and improve its expanding leather goods and accessories division.
Dedicated to “fostering innovation in materials and components to create pieces that express the timeless legacy and contemporary allure of the Maison,” the building will house Saint Laurent’s enormous research and development activities.
It will create all of the brand’s samples and prototypes in addition to custom goods for Saint Laurent’s elite customer base. Only these extremely specialist products and intricate undertakings that, according to the statement, “require the greatest degree of technical skill” would be produced on the site.
Francesca Bellettini, chief executive officer of Saint Laurent, said in a statement, “L’Atelier Maroquinerie will help us realise our ambition to develop the most desirable leather goods and accessories in the world.”
The atelier will serve as the brand’s centre of excellence for repairs and after-sales support. It will train associates at our global repair facilities to guarantee consistently high-quality products and services while also offering repair and refresh services to customers in Europe.
Furthermore, Saint Laurent has integrated a specialised educational institution into the building to train newly hired staff and offer advanced courses to seasoned employees.
