A needle lace, Alençon lace is the most famous French lace. Its fame dates back to the creation by Colbert in 1665 of a royal factory in the Norman town of Alençon to put an end to lace imports from Venice. The decree that established the factory stipulated that the lace to be manufactured there would bear the name of Point de France, even if, in the beginning, they were content to imitate the Point de Venice and took up the technique taught by Venetian experts. Over time, the Alençon lacemakers developed their own style and gradually abandoned the bridle bottoms linking the floral motifs characteristic of the Point de Venice in favor of the small, lighter, and almost round curly stitches of the current Point d'Alençon.