Promises Of The Future

RA+RE

since 2015

L’Officiel India DigitalRead L’Officiel India in the digital libraryEvery issue and every cover story, on TCG Media.Read now

Clara Rohmer, Jessie Dib and Claire Abitbol are driven by the same passions: electronic music and fashion. They first opened RA+RE Records in 2014, a music label releasing limited edition vinyl. A 100% feminine undertaking which led them to launch a clothing line, RA+RE Clothing, for those familiar with the dancefloor and the new rave parties. Colour, sound and sparkle: a label at the crossroads of worlds.

What is fashion for you? Clara: The creation of a visual identity, an awareness of the self over the passage of time. It was essential that our clothes associate with the music we make.

A few of your favourite pieces? The “Andrea” shirt with glitter buttons, the “Margaret” bare back body, the “Yasmin” cashmere trench coat: all our products carry the names of female artists that we love and who inspire us.

The spirit of RA+RE? All women who dance till the break of dawn, soft and elegant, with a strong personality.

The essence of your last collection? It goes back to the ideals of the 90s with two different energies: pop-retro and romantic. High waist baggy jeans, short sleeved shirts, low necklines, short sequenced tops, filled out and flowing trousers of a Japanese style.. All of which is rendered sublime by our own, unique and beautiful, detailing.

CHEYMA

since 2015

A well reputed education between France and the United States, first professional steps in some of the largest houses of fashion: Cheyma sharpened her tools at Lacoste followed by Dior and then the ‘consecration’. Today she, a French designer of Tunisian descent, is flourishing in the comfy-chic style with clothes following romantic and relaxed lines.

At which point did fashion become a matter of course for you? During my first show with Dior, I saw the efforts of several passionate individuals come to life. I wanted to see my own paper designs turn into fabric.

What is the inspiration for your last collection, “Rococo Rêverie”? Marie-Antoinette meeting Sofia Coppola: insolent and gentle, powerful yet fragile.

A strong woman who isn’t afraid to sit on the floor in her beautiful gown with tennis shoes on her feet, how do you express that through your clothes? A game between transparency and material, a lot of tulle with an embroidered centre, bell-shaped voluminous sleeves. The colours are soft and mischievous, a palette of lots of pastel pink and white guipures.

What do you enjoy most in your discipline? The quick results of both, my work and my passion. It is very gratifying and encourages even more creativity.

LES CHAUSSEURS

since 2013

Starting as a website which sold shoes from different labels, Les Chausseurs launched its first line in 2015 in collaboration with the Paco Valiente factory in Almansa, Spain. Classic shoe designs redone in the label’s own colours and eco-friendly materials, a balance between comfort and elegance. Lambert Perera is its creator.

What are your inspirations? We are inspired by vintage designs recuperated from flea markets. Our atelier is in Barcelona, a culturally and artistically alive city.

What is the brand’s peculiarity? The work on flat shoes, specifically. We revisit classic shapes and then the label redoes it from the stand point of comfort and durability which we achieve thanks to the ergonomic and light soles, and the eco-friendly materials.

The essence of your spring summer collection 2017? Freshness. The designs were inspired by a trip to Bologna and Pompeii, with aspects imbibed from the Portuguese architect, Alvaro Siza.

You have just opened your second boutique in Berlin, what is your next move? Conquer the Canadian and Japanese markets. We are also going to launch a line of shoe care products with a manufacturer in France and a line of sneakers in collaboration with a painter from Minorca.

MAISON RAVN

since 2015

The strength of style and the authenticity of class: that is the credo which drives Maison Ravn under the talent of its Norwegian designer, Claudia Ravnbo. Luxurious bags made of rare leathers and historical embroidered fabrics, all done by hand. Numbered and tailor made, these creations are seductive because of their timeless finesse.

What is the soul of your brand? Make bags, each with a unique identity, as beautiful on the inside as on the outside. For me that is true luxury. To have something that no one else can ever have, something that cannot be reproduced.

Where did this adventure begin? One day, just by chance, I came across a magnificent ottoman embroidery near Izmir. While looking at myself with it in the mirror I thought of how wonderful a bag this fabric would make. That desire was solidified with the creation of Maison Ravn, launched in Paris thanks to the efforts of numerous designers and artisans of high fashion in the city.

The essence of your last collection? It is predominantly inspired by the 60s and 70s. Graphic, with a lot of colour. I love this period because of the furniture designs, car designs and colours. People were simply classy!

The next step? For the time being we are at Colette but we are going to open our first store in Paris and then, soon after, in London.

MAUD HELINE

since 2015

Trendy white shirts made in New York: two years now that Maud Heline has become a classic look in one’s wardrobe, drawing the attention of celebrities like Scarlett Johansson and Gwyneth Paltrow.

Why fashion? I never pictured myself working in any other field. I always worked with my hands. The moment I turned 17, I was studying at the École de la Chambre Syndicale de la Couture Parisienne, so sure of what i wanted to do.

The heart of your label? A certain purity, white as the dominant colour, I am a believer of less is more, and so simple and geometric lines are used for a more tomboyish silhouette.

The essence of your last collection? The 2017-18 Autumn-winter line is directly inspired from a long weekend spent in a beautiful house in the state of New York in America. I imagined a busy, New Yorker woman who moves to the country to recharge her batteries. She will collect logs and twigs from the woods for her fireplace, she will find bits of floral fabric in her attic with which she can make her own shirts.

Your projects for the future? Develop natural waterproof fabrics without modifying their softness and their ability to breathe.

MAUREEN-KIM PARIS

since 2016

At just 22 years of age, Maureen Kim has a head full of ideas. A very vivid imagination which serves a very specific idea of fashion: multi-talented and capable of capturing and adapting to a T that which a woman is in her essence. A young label of leather goods fabricated in France, the brand works with expensive materials. Oscillating between elegance and impertinence. The brand sees its designs as personalities that it can observe being exalted.

What is at the core of your label? Maureen-Kim Paris is born from a passion for style and leather. The pieces are manufactured with a lot of care, with complete originality in mind and with the objective of enhancing the finesse of every woman above all else.

Tell us about your first model…The development of it took about three years. We had named it “Tais-toi” (a French colloquial term which stands for ‘say no more/zip it’) because we wanted there to be nothing more to say by simply putting across the ideas on which we wanted to build our brand in that model.

Your sources of inspiration? We often embark on a character trait, an image, an adjective. Our bags are like people we imagine, living their daily lives, in different situations.

Tell us of your “Edwige” collection. It refers to my grandmother, to her elegance and strength of character. We are a family brand and in our hearts draw from the heritage of the past to allow it to live differently in the present.

Further plans? We are streamlining our existing collections. Little “Tais-toi” is going to mature, is going to grow and the “Edwige” design will undergo necessary modifications to become a veritable handbag. We are also working on collaborative projects with other artists.

PAIRS IN PARIS

since 2013

Born in Paris, Caroline Robert spent her childhood between Spain, Tunisia and Columbia, in constant contact with street art. A decisive meeting pushed her to launch Pairs in Paris in 2013: a meeting with Antonin Waterkeyn, her companion, with whom she charted the beginnings of this project. He, a graphic designer and collector of rare sneakers; her, a high end, women’s shoe designer: a union of the street and elegance.

What are you inspired by? Matter and its transformation, more often in architecture and design. The space even, in which two opposing materials meet creates within me a very strong emotion: when a cold, metallic structure joins with the supple leather seat of a chair, when the irregularity of wood is juxtaposed by the transparency of smooth Plexiglass in a building.

What is the style of your label? It is a mixed brand, one where the woman remains feminine and strong and the man sensitive and powerful. Natural materials rub shoulders with synthetic textiles, a pair of shoes are a mix of classic rules and sportwear.

How do you see fashion? Like a primitive act: that of dressing oneself and defining oneself in one’s external environment. It is an infinite language of expression.

What are the tones of your last collection? They are original shades of material which I use and which are like the skin, hair and eyes.

ANNAKIKI

Since 2012

Books, songs, documentaries, Anna Yang is inspired to create by everything that surrounds her. But it is certainly people who play an important role when it comes to her ideas. Just as she loves to say, when quoting Charles Bukowski: “People are the best spectacle of this world. And you don’t even need to buy a ticket.”

What evolution has your label seen? It was very quick, it’s been a year, that we integrated into the European market, with the spring-summer collection of 2017 last September at the Milan fashion week.

The essence of your last collection? A recent documentary on the discovery of aliens in Mexico in 1947. I tried to imagine extra-terrestrial beings, from brilliant galaxies and planets, combining that extravagance with everyday materials.

Why fashion? I grew up in a family of tailors, I trained in my parents’ workshops, spent time watching them work to learn their art. They showed me everything they knew about the process of creating an article of clothing and soon I was able to stitch my own pieces.

Your projects? We are going to open our first European store in Milan. It was the first city to have opened its doors to us.