The world of feathers, 2022

Le monde des plumes, 2022

Rip Hopkins

Feathers become instruments of knowledge, travel, and openness to the world, but also a rediscovery of the treasures of the craft. From feather duster to haute couture, to fishing and taxidermy, the traveling feather crosses continents.

Originally, feathers on Mayan headdresses were a symbol of peace, an art form later imported by Christopher Columbus to Europe. In full expansion, feathers were found on the hats of the Sun King’s nobility. In the 19th century, feather makers dressed the dancers of the Folies Bergères… Although less prevalent today, the feather industry continues to exist and is used in a variety of fields ranging from the useful to the spectacular, from the ordinary to the striking.

The interconnectedness of the feather industry reflects its complexity and rich history: from ostrich farms in South Africa to feather workshops in Belgium, this world of feathers involves many global players; France, Italy, the United Kingdom… The artisans have often worked in family businesses for generations and have all witnessed first-hand the evolution of the world of the feather, a microcosm that has been disrupted by globalization.

However, this work reveals a world that is still very much alive, active, and plural, striving to preserve this ancestral practice. Feathers can be found in our comforters and comforter covers, as well as in fishing flies… Some contemporary artists also manipulate feathers; Koen Vanmechelen uses feathers from chickens, parrots, peacocks, eagles, owls, ostriches, vultures. A lively, flamboyant, metaphorical work; the feather as a work of art and a metaphor for society.

The feather is meticulously crafted in a complex and tedious work: selection of feathers, washing, degreasing, dyeing, curling, assembly… Nowadays, master feather makers are craftsmen of an ancestral art working mainly with feathers in the service of luxury, dancers’ dresses and unique pieces of great couturiers. Stage costumes, high-end clothing, born of a unique know-how that declines the feather with great art, precious meticulousness and infinite delicacy.

The feather in South Africa

In South Africa, the Klein Karoo Agricultural Cooperative sorts feathers, supplying 45% of the world’s ostrich feather production. They are then sent to BKM, the auction house in Oudtshoorn; this is where the value of a feather is decided, they are weighed, analyzed, then classified according to their length, color, beauty.

The feather in England

In England, the feather paint shop of the Jaffé and Sons factory is the only establishment dealing with the dyeing, processing and supply of feathers in the country.

The feather in Belgium

In Belgium, the feather is used for taxidermy as well as for the decoration of carnival and procession costumes. Feathers are used by the costume renters of the Binche carnival and for the Marches de l’Entre-Sambre-et-Meuse. These events, which preserve the cultural and intangible heritage of Belgian humanity, use feathers; the hat of the Gille de Binche is made of white ostrich feathers weighing up to four kilos, and the two-horned hats of the officers of the First Empire are covered with goose feathers.

The feather in France

The feather also slides into the greatest Parisian cabarets such as the Crazy Horse or the Lido. Feathers, sequins, boas, and talented artists are four emblematic and irreplaceable elements of a cabaret show. However, the great couturiers don’t use feathers in their entirety, they rework them: the Maison Legeron in Paris is known for its handcrafted feather flowers to adorn the dresses and hats of haute couture around the world.

The feather in Italy

In Italy, we also find feather factories that make high fashion pieces for great designers.

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