Lebeau-Courally luxury collections
Lebeau-Courally is one of those brands that one can compare to a secret treasure. Founded in 1865, more than 150 years of tradition have established a solid know-how which can be translated in pure luxury. As many ancient houses, the beginning was somewhat different than the actual circumstance. Auguste Lebeau established his company in Liège, and his ambition was to produce the best and most beautiful hunting rifles in the world.
Ferdinand Courally, a Belgian gunsmith, took the helm when M. Lebeau retired. Connoisseurs started to seek out the precious, engraved hunting rifles of the Lebeau-Courally brand, which became reputed far and wide for their precision and their intrinsic value as decorative objects. In the decades that followed, Lebeau-Courally became a trend-setting brand that was very popular with the members of European royal families and aristocratic hunters. The reputation of Lebeau-Courally grew along with the precision, reliability and aesthetic value of the company’s products.
Things remained unchanged for decades until a major event happened in 2010 when the company was bought by Belgian entrepreneur Joris Ide. In this new era, handmade, styled guns would be joined in the catalogue by timepieces and luxury leather items. The acquisition of an atelier in Dijon has assured the quality for the leather products which have had a neat success in Belgium and Holland. Since the production was settled in France, it was not a surprise that the brand tried to conquer the sophisticated French market.
The purses collection, the main axe of the company, is designed by artistic director Valentina Milloch. She describes Lebeau-Courally’s style as follows: “Timeless, elegant and mature. And also: very self-confident, stylish, charming and highly contemporary. It is classical in a sense, in the simplicity of its lines, but it has far higher ambitions than a merely ‘retro’ image. The designs are contemporary, clean and functional, the dimensions surprising and sometimes quite simply glowing with feminine refinement and pleasant seductiveness. They are always restrained, always discreet: a pleasure to look at and a pleasure to own.”
All the Lebeau-Courally luxury leather goods are designed and produced in the company’s atelier du cuir in Vaux-Sous-Aubigny near Dijon. In this workshop the brand’s employees -all of them women- sculpt, fold and shape the leather in accordance to the master design of every bag. An example of a unique design and superior technique is the round purse latch which contains 0.5 micro grams of gold and was specifically designed for the brand by the internationally-acclaimed Belgian designer Axel Enthoven.
The latest creation of Lebeau-Courally’s is Secret, which is somewhat similar to the iconic Boudoir bag, but more pared-down. Petit Secret is a more compact version, it has the main elements of its larger counterpart, and it is perfect for an evening out or as a bag that you always keep to hand. A wide range of bags is proposed by the brand: clutches, handbags, evening bags, shoulder bags, cross-body bags… The new collection includes classical items for the brand such as La Duchesse, La Coraly, La Rebelle and a quilted version of La Duchesse.
Only high quality leather is used in order to make bags and all hunting items produced by the brand. Calfskin, alligator, ostrich skins are transformed into majestic and customized pieces such as hunting bags, cartridge belts, boots bags or even hunting chairs. The workshop at Vaux-Sous-Aubigny is quite versatile and can manufacture on a bespoke scale items such as car upholstering, golf bags, wallets and any personalized item involving leather. The articles can be purchased online, in the flagship boutique in Knokke (Belgium) or some retailers stores around Belgium and Holland. In France they are available in Paris and in Saint-Tropez.
