Soierie aux motifs hexagonaux bleu et cuivre, reflets changeants
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Our craftsmanship

Three centuries of preserved artisanal mastery

Our history

Since 1752, guardians of Lyon silk tradition.

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Artisans dedicated to ancestral expertise.

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Craftsman painting a red floral pattern on fabric, surrounded by antique textiles

Prelle Manufacture, 275 years of Lyon history

Painted portrait of Pierre-Toussaint Déchazelle in blue attire, with a lamb and dog
Pierre-Toussaint Dechazelle (1752-1833) Self-portrait circa 1780

The partnership between manufacturer and designer

The art of design in service of weaving

In the 18th century, Lyon's silk houses relied on a close collaboration between manufacturers and designers, creating dual company names that still reflect this heritage today. The manufacturer owned the looms and organized production, while the designer created the patterns and defined the house's style. This strategic alliance ensured both commercial success and artistic identity. Prelle's genealogy perfectly illustrates these successive partnerships. It was within this tradition that Balthazar Eugène Prelle, born in Lyon in 1838, trained and became head of the design studio for over twenty years, eventually giving his name to the manufacture.

Sepia photographic portrait of Balthazar Eugène Prelle, mustachioed man in suit
Balthazar Eugène Prelle (1838-1909) Head of the design studio at Lamy & Giraud
Aimé Prelle drawing at his work table, black and white photograph
Aimé Prelle (1873-1959) Designer and company director, at his drawing table circa 1950

The Lyon fabrique system

The organization of collective expertise

Before 1880, Lyon's silk industry did not follow the industrial factory model but operated as a fabrique, a unique economic and social system that made Lyon prosperous. Merchant-manufacturers, true entrepreneurs, did not own factories but coordinated a vast network of canuts, master weavers who worked from home on their own looms. The manufacturer supplied the silk thread and Jacquard cards bearing the design, then collected the woven fabrics to sell them. This decentralized system allowed great production flexibility and transformed the slopes of Croix-Rousse into a working-class district, where each building housed domestic workshops with high ceilings required for Jacquard looms. The canuts formed a highly skilled working class, keepers of exceptional technical expertise passed down through generations. This organization lasted until the late 19th century, when successive crises, industrial competition, and the electrification of looms pushed some manufacturers to consolidate production into modern factories. Only a centralized company could now bear the cost of increasingly rapid technical innovations, marking the transition from the fabrique system to the integrated mill.

The creation of the manufacture

Birth of a modern manufacture

In 1880, Antoine Lamy, who had acquired the fabrique in 1865 with Auguste Giraud, made a decisive choice: to abandon production for clothing, then called "la Robe," and focus exclusively on furnishing fabrics. The following year, in 1881, he took a crucial step by bringing the entire production process together in a modern factory at 7 rue Barodet, on the Croix-Rousse plateau, where the manufacture still stands today. This industrial concentration marked the end of the dispersed fabrique system. It was in this new setting that Balthazar Eugène Prelle's talent flourished. Trained at Lyon's flower painting school and appointed head of the design studio at Lamy & Giraud, his exceptional talent was recognized with medals at the Universal Exhibitions of 1873, 1878, and 1889. In 1894, emboldened by this recognition, Eugène Prelle founded his own independent design studio on rue Griffon, in the name of his two sons, Aimé and Alexandre, both trained in textile design and the arts. The Prelle brothers maintained excellent relations with Lamy & Giraud, supplying most of their designs. Upon Édouard Lamy's death in 1917, Aimé Prelle naturally took over the company's leadership, which then became Prelle et Cie, permanently establishing the name that endures today.

Continuity

Nine generations dedicated to silk

Prelle's history was enriched by a decisive alliance in 1926, when Thérèse Prelle, Aimé's daughter and a talented designer trained at the Beaux-Arts in Lyon and later in Paris, married Charles Verzier. This union brought together two Lyon silk dynasties: the Verziers already counted six generations of manufacturers since François Verzier, who became a master craftsman in 1760. Charles Verzier partnered with his father-in-law and took charge of managing the company. Upon his death in 1948, his sons Philippe and François took over the business at 18 and 20 years old, ensuring continuity through decades of transformation in the textile industry. Since 1993, Guillaume Verzier, François's son, has led the manufacture with his wife Hélène, representing the eighth generation on the Verzier side and the fifth on the Prelle side. Together, they have maintained tradition while innovating technically, notably with the installation of new electronic looms in 2020. In 2018, their daughter Sabine Verzier joined the family venture, embodying the sixth Prelle generation and the ninth Verzier generation. This uninterrupted transmission over nearly three centuries makes Prelle unique in the French industrial landscape: a family manufacture that continues to weave exclusively in France, guardian of ancestral expertise and priceless archives, modern by tradition.

The great figures in Prelle's history

Discover the personalities who shaped our manufacture over the centuries.

Painted portrait of Pierre-Toussaint Déchazelle in blue attire, with a lamb and dog

Pierre-Toussaint Déchazelle

Born in Lyon in 1752, designer Pierre-Toussaint Déchazelle founded what would become Manufacture Prelle. From 1770, he partnered with manufacturers Guyot and Germain, exemplifying the designer-manufacturer alliance characteristic of Lyon’s silk industry. At the end of his career, he transferred his precious collection of designs and archives to Charles Corderier, ensuring the transmission of his legacy. He died in 1833, after more than sixty years dedicated to the art of silk.

Antique manuscript document attesting François Verzier's mastery in 1760

François Verzier

Born in 1726, François Verzier came to Lyon for his apprenticeship in silk craftsmanship. In 1760, he was received as a master craftsman, then in 1765 as a master merchant-manufacturer. Father of twelve children, he passed his trade to his eldest son Claude-Marie, establishing a lineage that would merge with Manufacture Prelle in 1926 through the marriage of Charles Verzier and Thérèse Prelle. He died in 1805, initiating a legacy that spans nine generations today.

Polychrome silk with rose bouquets and flowers on cream background

Jean-François Bony

A major figure in textile design under the Empire, Jean-François Bony worked closely with manufacturer Bissardon, forming one of the most celebrated partnerships of the Napoleonic era. His neoclassical style, marked by fashionable Pompeian motifs, contributed to the international renown of Lyon silks and adorned imperial palaces. He died in 1827, leaving a considerable creative legacy whose archives would later enrich Manufacture Prelle.

Silk with ribbon, flower and bird decoration on ivory background

Marie-Olivier Desfarges

Among the most prestigious 18th-century Lyon manufacturers, Marie-Olivier Desfarges built his reputation on the exceptional quality of his fabrics and the elegance of his floral designs. His archive collection, consisting of original designs and precious samples, was acquired by Chuard and then integrated between 1829 and 1834 into the holdings of Corderier and Lemire. Now preserved at Manufacture Prelle, these archives constitute a living testament to the art of silk in the Age of Enlightenment.

Pink and gold silk with floral basket motifs, Louis XVI style

Bissardon

A major Lyon manufacturer during the Imperial era, Bissardon partnered with the celebrated designer Jean-François Bony, forming one of the most renowned teams in silk production under Napoleon. He supplied imperial palaces with sumptuous fabrics, contributing to the prestige of French manufactures. The archives of the Bissardon house would later join the holdings of Manufacture Prelle.

Golden yellow damask with vase and garland motifs

Lemire & fils

Marie-Jacques Lemire first partnered with Charles Corderier under the Empire. Between 1829 and 1834, they enriched their holdings by taking over the Chuard collection, which contained the archives of Marie-Olivier Desfarges. Lemire then continued the business under the names Lemire & Cie and later Lemire & fils. In 1865, facing economic difficulties, he sold the manufacture and its archives to Antoine Lamy and Auguste Giraud.

Antique business card of A. Lamy & A. Giraud, Silk Manufacture

Antoine Lamy and Auguste Giraud

In 1865, Antoine Lamy and Auguste Giraud purchased the Lemire manufacture and its precious archive collection. In 1880, they made the strategic decision to abandon clothing production and focus on furnishing fabrics. The following year, Lamy consolidated all production at 7 rue Barodet in Croix-Rousse, creating the first truly integrated manufacture. Upon Édouard Lamy’s death in 1917, the Prelle family would naturally assume leadership.

Sepia photographic portrait of Balthazar Eugène Prelle, mustachioed man in suit

Balthazar Eugène Prelle

Born in Lyon in 1838, Balthazar Eugène Prelle trained at Lyon’s flower painting school and became head of the design studio at Lamy & Giraud for over twenty years. His creations were recognized at the Universal Exhibitions of 1873, 1878, and 1889, where he won several medals. In 1894, he founded his own design studio in the name of his sons Aimé and Alexandre, establishing the Prelle dynasty. He died in 1909, leaving a considerable artistic legacy.

Aimé Prelle drawing at his work table, black and white photograph

Aimé Prelle

Son of Balthazar Eugène, Aimé Prelle was born in 1873 and trained as a textile designer. With his brother Alexandre, he took over the family studio in 1894, supplying most of the designs to Lamy & Giraud. In 1917, upon Édouard Lamy’s death, he assumed leadership of the company, which became Prelle et Cie. He navigated through both World Wars while maintaining operations and died in 1959, having passed the business to his daughter Thérèse and son-in-law Charles Verzier.

Elderly Thérèse Prelle drawing at her table, in front of a floral hanging

Thérèse Prelle

Born in 1899, daughter of Aimé Prelle, Thérèse trained at the École des Beaux-Arts in Lyon and later in Paris at the Ducharne studio. The first woman to play a major creative role in the manufacture, she created remarkable designs in the Art Deco style. In 1926, she married Charles Verzier, uniting two Lyon silk dynasties. Active at her drawing table until an advanced age, she died in 1989 after passing on her love of the craft to her descendants.

Guillaume and Sabine Verzier in front of a wall of colorful fabric samples

Guillaume and Sabine Verzier

Guillaume Verzier joined Manufacture Prelle in 1988 and became CEO in 1995. Trained at CIETA, he repositioned the strategy toward ultra-luxury clientele by highlighting the exceptional archives and electronic looms. He opened the New York showroom in 2001. An expert consulted by leading museums, he has served on the CIETA board since 2005. Under his leadership, the manufacture has undertaken major restoration projects: Opéra Garnier, Marble House in Newport, Wallace Collection, as well as prestigious private commissions with leading international decorators. In 2018, his daughter Sabine joined him and continues the international development of the house.

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