Our Story

I am Diane and I come from a family of tailors, cabinetmakers and marble craftsmen where hand work is passed on from one generation to another. This lineage of craftsmanship led me to study garment making. I learned the specificities of my profession working for small ateliers specialized in luxury, custom-made and made-to-order.

Passion, patience, rigor and dexterity were keys. Each piece produced was unique, and thought through for a specific client and occasion. After this rich experience in the Made-to-measure sector, I pursued my career as the Head of Atelier for a luxury house. We were a small team, the collection calendar was fast-paced and the relationship with the client non-existant. During this time, I had the chance to collaborate with different craftsmen: manufacturers, pleating specialists , embroiderers, each one bearing a particular know-how that has become very scarce and rare. One that very often is only accessible on the other side of the globe.
During that time, the meaning and special values that I used to attach to clothes steadily faded away.

For many of us, the pandemic crisis initiated a fracture. For me, it was the time to question and reflect. I have always been fascinated by the history of second-hand clothes:

Where are they from? What are their past lives? What will become of them?

These questions triggered my ecological awekening.

It seemed to me that it was time to build something new and to think about the meaning and value of what we choose to wear and how we care for it as time passes. Just like family heirlooms, second-hand garments can be sublimated and revived.

Today I want to introduce Diane Holtzhauer, a brand bearing my name, born from a reflection on today’s and yesterday’s ways of consumption. Diane Holtzhauer set her workshops in Paris and behind the name there is a team of qualified craftsmen and a disapearing know-how. We work on unique pieces. Pieces that each have their own history waiting to take on a new life, with you.