It's eleven thirty at Place Colette, and despite the rain, around ten people are waiting for the opening of the Comédie Française store.
Inside, people are busy discreetly and quickly: in half an hour, the doors will finally be able to open.
It's Thursday, and what seems like an ordinary day for the rest of the capital is synonymous with novelty, meetings and time travel for all those who know what this annex of the Comédie Française holds: every Thursday, until At the end of April, around thirty costumes made in the workshops of the Comédie-Française and worn on stage by the actresses of the troupe are put up for sale for a sum of between 50 euros and less than 500 euros.
60,000 suits, 600 closets
This initiative was born two years ago out of a need to “
declutter”
the reserves of the most famous theater in France, explains Martine Villemot, manager of the store.
Around 60,000 costumes are currently stored at the National Stage Costume Center: 1000 m2, 600 cupboards filled to the brim... figures that are dizzying, even more so when we know that every year new costumes are created for the representations given “to the French”.
Brown and orange doublet sold for 280 euros.
coll French Comedy
This is how the idea of selling pieces to the public that will no longer be worn was born.
Every week, a new arrival is displayed on racks at the back of the store.
Last year, 400 costumes and accessories left Molière's house.
“We expected this initiative to be successful
,” concedes Martine Villemot, “but
we were, however, very pleasantly surprised by the sympathy and state of mind of the customers.”
Meeting and transmission
The atmosphere that reigns this morning in the store is quite unique.
Welcomed slowly, visitors head with calm and determined steps towards the back of the room.
Some regulars leave their bags behind the counter after giving the sellers a knowing smile, their eyes already bright at the idea of unearthing a new wonder.
The hands feel the fabrics, flatter the shimmering doublets, grab a frock coat, and then comes the moment of fitting which gives rise to bursts of laughter, frank introspections or moments of ecstasy.
“Each piece is unique, sewn by a seamstress in the Ateliers de la Comédie Française and requires one to three weeks of continuous work
,” explains Isabelle Benoist, head of costume management.
“There are no sizes, the costumes are all made for a particular actor or actress
,” she adds.
“This sale therefore has nothing to do with a thrift store or a second-hand store!”
exclaims Martine Villemot.
“These clothes require meticulous work, unique know-how.
These are heritage pieces as well as haute couture clothing
.
“This sale has nothing to do with a thrift store or a second-hand store!”
Martine Villemot coll.
French comedy
Unique in its kind, cut for a particular body: here, the costume chooses the one who will wear it, and not the other way around.
“It’s a story of meeting and transmission
,” she smiles.
And transmission is not an empty word in “the House” – an affectionate nickname adopted by all those who work there.
This institution, more than three centuries old, is the transmitter of a unique repertoire and craftsmanship.
This weekly sale is therefore
“a moment that has meaning, a moment that must be savored”
, affirms Martine Villemot.
“It’s a bit of the history of the Comédie Française that’s playing out there, the history of its workshops, of these professions that we don’t see.
It’s also the unique opportunity to touch and wear what you can normally only look at on stage.”
Read alsoArtisan hairdressers and costume designers, an art of perfection at the Comédie-Française
Each selection is scrupulously studied from one week to the next by Isabelle Benoist and her team.
Most of the costumes on sale are those of the secondary roles, from old productions or from plays that have been
“reformed”
by the general administrator, Eric Ruf.
“Everything is archived, it’s a huge research effort
,” recognizes Isabelle Benoist.
The oldest or damaged costumes will be transformed into cushions, decorative panels, tote bags or even glasses cases, thanks to a collaboration between the Comédie Française and Emmaüs.
This sorting and distillation requiring patience and attention to detail are added to the already time-consuming daily missions of costume designers.
From amateur theater groups to drag queen shows
The two women say they are looking forward to this
“Thursday meeting”
.
“It’s always an opportunity to meet people, to meet various profiles who all show their respect and their attachment to this House
,” explains Martine Villemot.
She remembers a singer who came to buy two capes for her recital, HEC students who had stolen an entire rack to perform a play by Feydeau, a family where the passion for theater was transmitted in the attic of a house of campaign every summer, of this group of friends trying on overalls and raincoats, barefoot in the corridor of the boutique, and of this young man leaving with a flashy jacket for his evening at the nightclub.
Marie Tudor coll French Comedy
“The uses that are made of the costumes are like the Comédie Française: abundant. Some come to get a costume for the Venice carnival, others for a drag queen parade, still others to do historical reenactments... We even have teachers in fashion schools who buy pieces to take them apart and explain the Maison’s know-how to their students.”
What better way to understand the value of the work hidden in the folds of these fabrics?
Looking delighted, a young man approaches the cash register with a huge brown ruffled coat, from a production of
Crimes and Punishments
.
“He was waiting for me
,” he assures with a smile.
He puts on the garment that seems to have been created for him and crosses the threshold of the store with a nimble and conquering step, without looking back.
Thanks to the Boutique de la Comédie Française, the spirit of the house of Molière is diffused in the fabrics that travel through Paris.
New selection every Thursday until supplies last. Sale only at the Comédie-Française store
1 place Colette, 75001 Paris
Tuesday to Friday from 12 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.
Saturday from 11 a.m. to 8:30 p.m.
Sunday and public holidays from 1 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.