DALLAS, Jun 8, 2004/ FW/ --- Last March, at the Carrousel du Louvre in Paris, the “Made In France” exhibit showcased 150 French companies’ capabilities to meet the demands of the fashion industry, in an effort to keep France’s manufacturing efficacy viable.

They found a friend on the other side of the Atlantic, Dallas, Texas of all places, wherein a small firm, “Garrigue & Jarossay,” specializing in handbags, has all of its products made in France.

“The French artisans are renowned all over the world when it comes to quality workmanship with embroidery,” says Amis Garrigue, the other half of Garrigue & Jarossay who designs the line. “We keep an office in Paris where the designs are made and an office here in Dallas, which is the headquarters and distribution center at the same time.”

Amis, who was raised in both Europe and the U.S., divides her time between Paris and Dallas to oversee the business.

“My partners, Eric Jarossay who used to be a designer for Yves Saint Laurent and Andrew Gn, a designer who is based in Paris, know the French artisans very well. It was a logical step for us to contract them to create the handbags that we designed,” Amis told FW during an interview.

Combining French elegance and American modernity, the trio came out with a collection with very clean elegant shapes of totes, shoulder bags and clutches for their Spring 2004 collection, which are now available in stores.

Made out of the finest leathers, satins and silks, the bags are covered with the most exquisite embroideries worthy of a couture collection.

Though Amis never said that they use the same artisans who do couture collections, an inspection of the handbags will show the workmanship expected and seen on couture clothes.

This is not surprising, considering that there are only a handful of them, and all of these artisans are listed on the official roster of the Chamber Syndicale, France’s fashion governing body.

The embroidery is put on very ‘thin’ leather, a trademark of Garrigue and Jarossay, wherein Amis and Eric have used a special technique to ‘thin out’ all leathers for a lighter weight and function. All the handbags are hand cut individually, and then sent out for embroidery.

For Spring 2004, the handbags come in vibrant colors with patterns inspired by the 1920s and 1960s, with every bag lined with apple green soft suede. And most importantly, all embroideries are original and exclusive to Garrigue & Jarossay.

With unique and innovative design, it is really no wonder that Amis Garrigue won the 2003 FGI Rising Star Award for accessories.

The collection is selling like hotcakes in selected stores and boutiques all over the country. If you miss it, don’t worry, the Fall 2004 collection, which is inspired by European and American 19th century patterns, will hit stores in August. Like the Spring 2004 collection, the Fall 2004 handbags are all handcrafted in Paris, France.

For more information about Garrigue & Jarossay, please call (214) 905-3957 in Dallas, 06 13 62 16 42 in Paris, or log on at www.garriguejarossay.com