Hand, Work, Art

All beautiful things come in twos: At Thomasine, gloves become the ultimate style accessory and art object. Mademoiselle Lili asks for the hand.

Handicraft is a practical art that is still very much alive in Paris: if you walk through the city with your eyes wide open, you will still find many small studios in which not only old techniques are preserved from extinction, but in which individual products can also be made entirely can order according to his taste: from umbrellas, hats, straw inlays to perfume.

The Swede Thomasine has the finest gloves in Paris. Thomasine Barnekow had her biggest appearance to date, completely incognito, at the hands of Kim Kardashian. At the Met Gala in New York last year, the reality TV star appeared as a black shadow alongside Balenciaga designer Demna. Both had their bodies, even their faces and hands, completely hidden under black fabric.

Kardashian's gloves were made in Paris by Thomasine, in the small shop-atelier in the historic Galerie Véro-Dodat shopping arcade near the Louvre. The glove maker has been working here for two years in the best neighborhood: the empire of the Parisian shoe king Christian Louboutin is at home at the other end of the gallery.

"Welcome to my candy shop," says Thomasine and invites you into her kingdom. A boutique for exclusive gloves and a workshop in just under 20 square meters. Colorful gloves in all shades, materials and shapes playfully reach into the air. Sewing machines? none. "When I make gloves for Haute Couture, I do everything by hand at this table," she says, taking a seat. She reaches for a thick folder on the shelf – her order book, in which she has handwritten the designer's briefings, the paper sizing templates for the VIPs' hands, material samples and production notes. Also included in the thick book are the paper outlines of Beyoncé's hand, for whose Schiaparelli look Thomasine sewed the leather gloves with gold, trompe-l'oeil fingernails. The pop diva performed it at the 2021 Grammy Awards in Los Angeles. Schiaparelli is one of her most loyal customers today.

“Gloves were one of the most important fashion accessories up until the 1960s, including at Schiaparelli,” she says. From the ancient Egyptian pharaohs to Marie Antoinette to Hollywood film divas, gloves have been a status symbol and an expression of sophisticated elegance. The icing on the cake that made a look complete. Thomasine's mission: to give the forgotten fashion accessory back the place it deserves.

In addition to custom-made products for haute couture, opera and cinema, she has long been producing her own collections, which she has produced in mini editions in glove workshops in Hungary or France and via a network of international boutiques and department stores as well as via her own online shop sells. The highlight: Thanks to the special tanning of the leather, you can also use your smartphone with the "Touch" models without having to take off your gloves. It's not just a social media star like Kim Kardashian who appreciates that.