The International City of Lace and Fashion, Calais, is no mere museum but, as its name implies, a spanking new building showcasing the port’s industrial heritage and local expertise.
A hub, too, for studies, research and creativity, it positively hums with history, including four fully operational machine–driven looms similar to those smuggled over by three skilled 19th century lace-workers from Nottingham.

It was these then state-of-the-art Leavers looms which quickly led to a flourishing lace trade. By 1830 there were 113 manufacturers, the majority British.

All of which is neatly laced into this €28million insight into a town now better known for its car ferry port and the Channel Tunnel. While the glistening glass of the Space Age façade and reception depicts the original perforated cards for transferring complicated designs ready for production, the red brick walls and corridors of the old Boulart factory, one of the largest from the 1870s, now houses a veritable whirlwind of hues and hems.

Not for nothing are the displays of 10,000 lace pieces and 3,200 costumes relating to the world of fashion flagged as ‘ a spiritual, sensual and sensory experience.’ Five permanent exhibitions span the techniques, social history and use of lace, from handmade items to the future of this most frothy of feminine finery. The Spirit of Lingerie, which runs to November, discreetly proves the point …

The Citié Internationale de la dentelle et de la mode Calais,135 quai du Commerce; tel:+ 03 21 00 42 30; email: This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it ; www.cite-dentelle.fr; is open daily (except Tuesdays) major public holidays and for a brief spell in early January. Entry for both the permanent or temporary exhibition is €5 for adults or €2.5for children. Under fives are free.

Footnote: John Ruler’s Bradt guide to the whole of Nord-Pas de Calais will be published shortly.