FEATURE
DESMALTER: Century-Spanning French Heritage By Laurie Melchionne
2020, the company started in 1775 when Georges Jacob Desmalter began to make cabinets and furniture that would eventually be supplied to five French kings. The grandeur of pieces like the Imperial Throne Chair (from the real throne chair in Tuileries Palace, recreated by Savchenko in 2020) caught the eye of Napoleon Bonaparte himself–both for the Sphinx armrests that honor Napoleon’s Egypt campaign and for the easily assembled pieces that the French military commander would require while marching across the Continent. Savchenko turned the brand into a competitive haute couture label with a presence at major fashion weeks around the world. In doing so, Savchenko elevated Desmalter’s legacy of French furniture-making and ensured that the products of its early days lived on in his bags and accessories inspired by the furnishings it once produced.
The Imperial Throne Photo courtesy of Fedor Georges Savchenko
The Napoleon Throne with eight-pointed stars, the inspiration for Desmalter’s signature logo
With gilded wood engravings on honey-speckled maple, mahogany and amaranth, sculpted winged sphinx armrests, plated gold leaf and silk velvet covers, the chairs have graced royal drawing rooms for decades and can be made to order today. It is from these chairs that the Desmalter bag was born. Printed with fabrics made from the traditional Jacquard method, Desmlater integrates old-world French craftsmanship to produce an authentic, slowmade bag that Napoleon probably would have seen had he ordered handbags in addition to portable imperial armchairs. “There are jewelry-like elements in each bag,” Savchenko explained. “This elevates each item into the kind of keepsake that Desmalter
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oday, the word “imperialism” conjures images of Europe’s aristocratic past that, frankly, is unrelatable for 21st-century fashionistas. Desmalter, the Paris-based accessories brand with roots in 18th-century royalty, has turned this perspective on its head. Just in time for Ridley Scott’s upcoming epic, “Napoleon,” Desmalter’s bags honor France’s Napoleonic legacy with the eight-pointed Imperial Star, a logo featured across items such as the Sphinx Handbag, Griffon Tote, Griffon Pouch and Griffon Leather Tote. Empire Green colors and the signature royal lion paw that accents each bag’s handle are other signature elements that harken to the brand’s aristocratic heritage. While Desmalter was revitalized by Fedor Georges Savchenko in
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An artisan at work Photo courtesy of Fedor Georges Savchenko
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