Five New Fashion Labels Redefining French Luxury

Dior, Chanel, Vuitton, Balenciaga, Saint Laurent. This Parisian mega brand has dominated French fashion culture for decades and is a household name worldwide. Recently a new wave of young designers has built the next generation of big brands on the capital’s fashion scene. Monday, the Spring Summer 2022 collection kicks off in Paris, with a full schedule of physical shows and presentations to accompany the digital endeavor. The pandemic gave way to digital show formats, which in the case of live shows means accompanying films to complement a market that still cannot travel to Paris. Five young brands, each connected in some way to the prestigious one LVMH PrizeKenneth Ize, Marine Serre, Thebe Magugu, Koch, and Coperni- display strong collections, further cementing their brand on fashion. Thebe Magugu, a former LVMH Prize winner whose designs are currently displayed at the luxury department store Le Bon Marche, acknowledged the new changes. “We’re building our brand and doing it on our terms,” ​​he said despite their impressive endorsement from the luxury giant. Here, a summary of what there is to know about these buzzy names.

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Since participating in the LVMH Prize 2019 as a finalist, the Ize brand has continued to improve every season. Her Spring 2022 collection kicks off fashion week and continues her collection with elevated textiles. The emotional designer said post-show that his inspiration came from a new dawn in the new era we live in, expressed in a bunch of gold-fringed pieces juxtaposed with bursts of color through plaid and striped fabric. Born in Vienna to Nigerian parents, this designer highlights the crafting skills of the Yoruba with textiles woven in Nigeria, blending traditional African and Western influences with a gender-nonconforming style. Supermodel Naomi Campbell who supported her first show helped the designer get noticed by the industry. He was recently appointed to design a capsule collection for the Karl Lagerfeld collection, the first since the death of its founder, under the direction of Carine Roitfeld. Currently, her clothes are sold at Matches Fashion and Farfetch. Retail prices range from around 350 to 1150 USD.

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Serre also got his start after winning the 2017 LVMH Prize. Reaching almost cult status since the collection debuted in 2018, the designer has made a mark with his futuristic design with an upcycled approach and a signature crescent moon logo, which adorns the body-con layering pieces. Spring 2022 marks his most sustained ever as Serre features nine mannequins to accompany his film Ostal24, which means house in the ancient Occitan language that came from the territory of France as he grew up. The strictly edited collection proposes to examine the relationship one has with consumption and nature and challenges one to be more careful. To that end, Serre reuses classic linen kitchen towels and napkins, turns tableware into jewelry, and explores the benefits of plant-based dyes.

To sum up the effort, Serre said, What matters most to me is how people feel when they see Ostal24than what they think. I want people to feel the beauty and simplicity of being together and find joy in cooking, eating, dancing, yoga. And at the same time, recognize that we make impactful choices every day, so how can we be more responsible in the decisions we make? Fashion is more than just draping cloth and making a profit; it can be a place where we are free to take meaningful action. The 29-year-old collection is sold internationally at stores such as Dover Street Market, Galeries Lafayette, SSENSE and Nordstrom
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and the price range from about 250 to 6000 USD.

THEBE MAGUGU: The South African designer is the winner of the 2019 LVMH Prize and the first designer from Africa to ever win the award. According to the company statement, the designer combines the practice of the pillars of cultural honor, novelty and uncompromising quality; we build an identity marked by self-evolving timelessness. The designer took a very personal approach this season by referencing photos of the family, especially his mother and aunt. Personalized keepsakes made look instantly inspired by the outfits worn in the pictures. At a presentation for his collection called Genealogy on Tuesday, Magugu said he turned to mementos after feeling a little sad about the situation in South Africa. I wanted to create something optimistic enough to counter the ugliness in the air that was affecting me, so I turned to what has always lifted me up: my family. The presentation shows the new collection seen individually placed on an enlarged image format and modern interpretation on the front while the split-screen film shows the designer in intimate conversation with his mother and aunt on one hand and the filming of the collection, interspersed with different items on the other. These are different, but they work together; very intimate, yet there are strange moments of fragmented memory. Currently, the collection is sold at Dover Street Market Asia, Koibird in London, and Communite in New York. Discounts range from around 200 to 800 USD.

KOCH: Christelle Kocher founded Koch in 2014. She was shortlisted for the 2015 LVMH Prize and won the ANDAM Prize in 2019. Her collection is described by the Prize as a cross between high fashion, street culture and contemporary art and promotes fluidity and eliminates traditional gender lines. In his youth career, he has been appointed artistic director for Maison Kamare and landed a guest creative director spot at Emilio Pucci for the Fall 2021 collection. His Spring 2022 collection exemplifies a street-meet-couture vibe. Her streetwear tendencies are peppered with references to 18th century French court attire such as sequins, feathers, organza lining the collection that exudes sophistication. If it looks romantic, it’s not wrong. The designer teamed up with dating site Tinder on a collection of hoodies, T-shirts, and dresses that reinterpret Tinder’s branding. A portion of the sale will be donated to Association ModaFusions Casa 93, a fashion school in Seine-Saint-Denis. Koche is performed at Printemps, Luisa Via Roma, 24Sevres, and Ikram, among others. Retail prices range from around 150 to 1500 USD.

CLOSE: When Sbastien Meyer and Arnaud Vaillant were appointed creative directors with Courrges in 2015, they withdrew from finalist status for the 2015 LVMH Prize. They had previously won the ANDAM First Collection Prize in 2014 and postponed their label, Coperni. They relaunched the brand in 2019 after exiting Courrges and have been steadily building brand awareness through their oval-shaped handbags and disruptive approaches such as staging runway shows during a pandemic where guests watch from cars in groups of threes and fours. This season the duo opted for a sandy runway flanked by hemp or hemp plants for a collection that channeled the ’90s beach club scene; think Ibiza or Miami Beach nightlife from that era. The fun party-ready collection includes Pucci-esque prints on go-go leggings and shorts, shell miniskirts and halters, wet-suit liner tops, ruffled bombers, and blotter acid prints for a wink at the all-night dancing lifestyle embraced This world. Coperni is available at Bergdorf Goodmen, Nordstrom, Lane Crawford
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, Galeries Lafayette, and more. Retail prices range from around 176 to 1000 USD.