Haute Couture

Esther has spent her working life as head seamstress at the Dior workshop on Avenue Montaigne, and she is preparing her final haute couture collection before retirement. When a young woman named Jade steals her handbag in the metro, Esther does not go to the police. Instead, struck by the girl's nerve and convinced she has a gift, she offers her a place as an apprentice in the atelier. The two women come from very different worlds, and the arrangement draws Jade into the demanding, rarefied craft of dressmaking while giving Esther a chance to pass on the skills she has built her career on.

The French drama was directed by Sylvie Ohayon, who wrote the screenplay with Sylvie Verheyde. It was produced by Olivier Kahn and runs 96 minutes. Nathalie Baye plays Esther and Lyna Khoudri plays Jade, with Pascale Arbillot, Soumaye Bocoum, Claude Perron and Adam Bessa among a credited cast of 32. Released in November 2021, the film took about 2 million dollars worldwide, a modest return for a French production.

Audience responses were mixed but not negative: on IMDb it holds 6.2 out of 10 from roughly 1,500 votes, and on TMDB 6.1 out of 10 from around 118 votes. The two scores are close, suggesting a similar reception across both audiences.