Atelier · Repairs
A seam that has given way under the arm. A pocket that tears. Worn cuffs, a split lining, a button torn off. Most furs brought to the atelier do not need a new life: they need to be put right, by someone who first checks whether the pelt allows it. Since 1954, on the chaussée de Charleroi, the house of New Embert has been repairing and altering fur coats. Together with restyling, this is the main work of its atelier.
Repairs
A repair leaves the garment as it is and deals with what has given way. All these interventions depend on the condition of the leather, which is examined before the work is accepted.
Over time, seams give way, especially where the garment works hardest: under the arms, at the armholes, across the back. A tear is not simply sewn up. The atelier first examines the leather around the damage. If it is still sound enough, the lining is opened where necessary and the repair is carried out from the reverse side, in the way that suits the tear. If the leather is too dry, brittle or weakened, the atelier warns the client that a lasting repair may be impossible, or that another solution should be considered.
Alterations
An alteration adapts the garment or the way it falls, without changing its design: shortening the hem or the sleeves, adjusting the shoulders or the sleeve head, taking in the waist, altering the collar, the lapels or the front overlap, remaking the pockets. These alterations affect the cut: they require leather that has stayed properly supple. When they change the length, the sleeves, the ease or the fall of the garment, a fitting may be needed.
The leather
A fur is hair carried by a pelt. It is this pelt, the leather, that holds the seams. As long as it stays supple, it can be resewn, repaired and altered. When it dries out, it becomes brittle and splits along the seams. That is why the condition of the leather decides everything, before the look of the hair.
The first gesture is simple: fold a section of the garment between your fingers and listen. If it folds like fabric, or resists a little without a sound, the leather is in good condition. A faint crackle, like paper, signals leather that is starting to dry out. If it crackles clearly, or the pelt splits, the leather is too fragile for a standard repair.
The atelier also looks at the hair (running a hand over it, do hairs stay in the palm?), bare areas, the state of the seams and the lining, and the smell of the inside: a smell of damp or mould signals leather attacked from within. The lining itself can be replaced: it should never be a reason to give up on a repair.
Leather usually dries out because the coat has spent years somewhere too warm and too dry, near a radiator, or on the contrary in the damp of a cellar.
Advice
A good furrier sometimes has to say no. On leather that has become too fragile, adding seams solves nothing: the problem moves, and a new tear appears right next to the repair. The client then pays for work that will not last. New Embert examines the garment first and gives honest advice: repair when the pelt allows it, suggest another route when it no longer does.
Even then, the fur is not necessarily lost. The areas that have stayed sound can become a collar or trims, and a cushion accepts almost anything, even leather that has already dried out. That is then a restyling.
It is normal for the hair to thin over the years where it rubs: wrists, elbows, underarms, collar edge, lower back. Heavy shedding, which leaves tufts in your hand or shows the leather in places, is a different sign: it often goes with weakened leather. Some furs, such as rabbit, also shed more easily. What can be done with a thinned area depends on its cause, its extent, the condition of the leather and the type of fur: it is not always repairable, and only an examination of the garment can tell.
If your coat no longer feels like you, a restyling may be the right route.
The atelier
Behind the boutique, the atelier: a cutting table, patterns, tools and a furrier's sewing machine. Each repair follows the same main steps there. Some are only needed for certain interventions.
The leather first, by folding it, especially around the damage; then the hair, the worn areas, the seams, the lining and the smell of the inside.
The atelier tells you what can be repaired, what can no longer be repaired for the long term, and what it recommends, including when it advises against a repair. The quote is drawn up after this examination.
To reach the reverse side of the fur, the lining is opened when the repair requires it.
The repair is carried out from the reverse side, on the leather side, at the cutting table and on the furrier's sewing machine: mending the seam or the tear, repairing a worn area locally, replacing a pelt when a compatible pelt or an acceptable solution has been found.
A simple repair does not necessarily need one. For an alteration that changes the cut, the sleeves, the length, the ease or the fall, a fitting may be needed.
When the lining had to be opened to allow the intervention, it is closed again afterwards. The repair is checked before the garment is returned to you.
You collect your coat from the atelier, or it is sent back to you as agreed.
The price depends on the repair, its extent, the condition of the leather and the length of the garment: a coat, a three-quarter coat and a jacket do not require the same work, for example for a lining. It is set by quotation, after the garment has been examined.
Belgium and abroad
The atelier works for clients across Belgium and abroad: Luxembourg, France, the Netherlands, Germany… A first exchange can take place entirely remotely. Photos of the damaged area, the inside of the garment and the label often allow a first opinion. The condition of the leather, however, can only really be judged at the atelier.
Prevention
Yes, if its leather has stayed supple. Age matters less than the condition of the pelt: a well-kept old coat can be repaired, while a more recent coat with dried-out leather may no longer be.
The price depends on the repair, its extent, the condition of the leather and the length of the garment. It is set by quotation, after the garment has been examined.
At the New Embert atelier, 35 chaussée de Charleroi in Saint-Gilles. If you live elsewhere in Belgium or abroad, the garment can be sent to the atelier after getting in touch and once the atelier has agreed.
Yes, when the leather around the tear is still sound enough: the repair is then carried out from the reverse side, opening the lining if necessary. If the leather is too dry or brittle, a lasting repair may be impossible, and the atelier will tell you so.
Because on leather that is too fragile, new seams move the problem: the pelt tears right next to the repair. A good furrier would rather say so and suggest another solution.
Where it rubs, the hair naturally thins over time. Heavy shedding, in tufts, often goes with weakened leather. What can be done with a thinned area depends on its cause, its extent, the leather and the type of fur: only an examination can tell.
Yes, when the atelier has a compatible pelt or finds a technically and aesthetically acceptable solution. An identical pelt is not always available.
Yes. The lining is replaced without touching the fur, for example with a pure silk or half-silk lining, provided the leather can still hold the seam.
Yes: shortening the hem or the sleeves, adjusting the shoulders, taking in the waist, altering the collar or the front overlap. These alterations require leather that has stayed properly supple, and sometimes a fitting.
Contact
Visit the atelier at 35 chaussée de Charleroi in Saint-Gilles, or send us a few photos of the damaged area. We will tell you honestly what can be repaired.
Write to the atelier