Haute Couture (2021): Remembering Nathalie Baye and the Hidden World of the Dior Atelier

Bonjour fashion lovers,
today I learned about the passing of French actress Nathalie Baye, and my mind immediately went back to one of her latest films, Haute Couture (2021). Of course Madame Baye, winner of four César Awards and muse of François Truffaut, appeared in films far more celebrated in the history of French cinema, but for me, the daughter of a seamstress, that role was something very special.

So I decided to watch it again, as a tribute to her, on a day that also marks one month since my mother Filomena passed away, our number one fashion lover, the seamstress of my heart.

Watching that film again brought back so many memories from my life: the sound of the sewing machine, the rustle of fabrics, the almost obsessive care of keeping hands perfectly clean before touching a pattern (I found them so fascinating), the different types of needles, which all looked the same to me, the white chalk used to mark the fabric, the measuring tape always ready, the strands of thread that should never be too long, because only those who don’t know how to sew make them long, and then the measurements taken on dress forms and carefully adapted to each client’s body. So many wonderful memories.

The film tells the story of the beginning of a special relationship between the head seamstress of the Dior atelier (Nathalie Baye), who is about to retire, and a young girl (Lyna Khoudri) from the Paris suburbs whom she decides to teach the craft. Their encounter begins after a theft on the Paris metro and gradually leads the two women to truly know each other, with all their contradictions and difficulties. Two completely different worlds that, stitch by stitch, will eventually sew themselves together.

In all of this, fashion is not the main protagonist, but rather the backdrop of the story. In the film fashion is not portrayed as spectacle, but as a craft. The heart of the story is not the runway or the glamour, but the atelier, the hands of the seamstresses, the discipline and the transmission of an ancient knowledge, that of Parisian haute couture.

While watching it, you can truly perceive the meticulous work that lies behind the creation of a collection: we enter the normally inaccessible rooms of the Dior atelier on Avenue Montaigne, sensing both its exclusivity and its extraordinary professionalism. The Maison Dior even lent some real seamstresses for certain scenes, and I recognized dresses designed by our Maria Grazia Chiuri, who led the maison from 2016 to 2025 before moving on to the creative direction of Fendi.

The film tells the story of a passing of the torch between two generations in a profession that seems to be slowly disappearing, a profession I experienced indirectly and that perhaps I regret not having learned. But what if it’s not too late? What if I decided to learn? I wonder what my mother Filomena would say.

I recommend watching it if you haven’t seen it yet, and watching it again if you already have.

Emanuela Formoso - Founder & Editor, The Fashion Lover
Always Fashion. Always Black. Always Paris.