Eric Charles-Donatien

Featherworker

©Lorenzo Fornari

©Josef Rufnak

©Lorenzo Fornari

Flying high in the Paris fashion world

Eric creates clothes and accessories incorporating feathers
His work pays homage to birds and the natural world
He sources feathers from the countryside, farms, vets and parks

Looking back over the years, there is sometimes a moment that stands out, drawing a line between what was and what is. For Eric Charles-Donatien, that moment was when he met the man who would become his mentor, André Lemarié. While studying at the Ecole Duperré in Paris, Eric was working on a dress for an exhibition and wanted to incorporate feathers into his design. A woman working for a South African ostrich farm gave him the material to do so, and was so enthralled by his work that she introduced him to her friend Lemarié, the Parisian master of featherwork. Lemarié decided to have Eric temporarily assist in the modernisation of his archives, and Eric ultimately stayed with the company for 15 years, becoming its creative director.

Interview

©Josef Rusnak

©Sorapol

What made you move from traditional fashion to featherwork?: Meeting Lemarié was like when you listen to music, there are some things that are more obvious than others. I not only found myself in a place where we did interesting work, but it also corresponded with my philosophy on life: taking time to do things and placing importance on people who make things.
Where do you draw inspiration from?: My inspirations are infinite. I have a fondness for everything that comes from the air, especially birds, in their structure, in the way their feathers are arranged. There isn’t a single feathered object that I create without thinking about how feathers behave on birds.
Do you pass on your skills to others?: I usually take on one apprentice or two at the most. I do not take more because I try to really give training the time it needs. I want to give others the generosity that Monsieur Lemarié gave to me. He took time to really show me how the job was done.
What's your advice for someone interested in featherworking?: The only advice I would give is to ask yourself what it means to work with your hands. You shouldn’t simply transform your hands into any old tool like a machine, you must understand that it’s about empathy and human generosity – that’s what manual work means, that’s artisanal work, for me.

Eric Charles-Donatien is a master artisan: he began his career in 2011 and he started teaching in 2012