Paris-based luxury group LVMH played a major supporting role in the very first Rencontres Économiques des Métiers d’Art conference last month, part of the national government’s three-year strategy to bolster France’s arts and crafts-led industries, writes Leatherbiz.

Under the high patronage of French president Emmanuel Macron, the strategy hinges on passing down specialist know-how and rare skills, fostering creativity and innovation, anchoring artisanship “at the heart of local life” and advancing the propagation of domestic know-how on the global stage.

Beyond a series of roundtables, highlights include a display of three pieces from flagship brand Hennessy’s Éditions Rares initiative: a Dame-Jeanne bottle encased in an especially decorative covering, made from wicker woven with leather (pictured); a mouth-blown Masterpiece Hennessy Paradis bottle, co-created with high jeweller Lorenz Bäumer; and a personalised Habit de Cuir leather decanter Hennessy Paris bottle cover, made by LVMH partner ateliers in France.

LVMH founder and chairman, Bernard Arnault, toured China at the end of June, accompanied by his daughter, Delphine, currently chair and chief executive of LVMH’s Christian Dior Couture.