ETHICAL ANGORA 

The Leontia vest is one of the iconic pieces of FÊTE IMPÉRIALE. It is a vest in a limited edition of thirty pieces per season, produced in collaboration with the know-how and ethics of the Angora de France label. These small quantities are linked to the natural cycle of hair loss in animals, which is renewed every winter. The vests are hand-knitted by a retired couple. The production of ethical Angora and the hand knitting of our vests gives them a high quality and unique finish.

The history of the Léontia waistcoat goes back to Laura Gauthier Petit's desire to create a piece between a jacket and a coat, soft and protective in the image of the wardrobe FÊTE IMPÉRIALE. 

Angora met the criteria of this creative desire, and Laura began to research this textile, which had not yet been explored by the brand. 

Realizing the methods of treatment reserved for animals and not wishing to sully the name of his brand, it was decided that the Leontia waistcoat would become the emblem of a desire to propose a harmless fashion, respectful of nature and its craftsmen.

A French breeding farm in the heart of the Loire region, where rabbits are raised in the traditional way, fed a mixture of barley, oats and alfalfa hay. Angora rabbits can live for 6 to 8 years and have the rare privilege of dying of old age.

During a natural moult every 90-100 days, the fleece is harvested after the rabbit has absorbed lagodendron, a mimosa-based forage with a depilatory effect, which makes harvesting easy, very fast and respects animal welfare. Each depilation yields 12 to 15 balls per rabbit. 

The special properties of French Angora are due to a rigorous selection and manual harvesting by depilation.

Coming from a line of knitters, Mrs Lefer passed on her knowledge to her husband. Together, they put their talent to work to create the Léontia cardigan. Each waistcoat represents two days of work for two people, i.e. four days of work. Mr. Lefer knits the pieces and Mrs. Lefer takes care of the finishing touches and assembly before unpacking and shipping the pieces. 

Designing the Leontia waistcoat was above all a gamble to highlight this French know-how, while favouring animal welfare and local craftsmanship through a short circuit.

This iconic piece of the Fête Impériale wardrobe is in line with the values of Laura Gauthier Petit and the brand: to favour a human and European scale of production, with a real attention paid to the choice of textiles, while favouring the shortest possible circuit.

At FÊTE IMPÉRIALE, we are constantly questioning ourselves and looking for new techniques, new materials and partners that will allow us to achieve total eco-responsibility at every stage of the development, production and marketing of our garments. To find out more about the brand's values, we invite you to discover our MANIFESTO.