At its peak, in the middle of the 18th century, the lace industry of Point d'Alençon employed up to 10,000 workers. It declined inexorably from the end of the 19th century in the face of competition from mechanical lace and the evolution of fashion. The know-how of Point d'Alençon was then perpetuated in Alençon thanks to the creation of a lace-making school in 1903. The foundation in 1976 of the Atelier National Conservatoire du Point d’Alençon (Point d’Alençon National Conservatory Workshop) enabled its preservation while opening it up to contemporary creation. The inclusion of this unique lace-making know-how on the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity by UNESCO in 2010 marked a decisive stage in the preservation process.