Making executives look the business
By Patsy Yang |
December 21, 2012, Friday
|
Print Edition
Print Edition
ELEGANCE, according to designer Beatrice Ferrant, should be not only accessible but comfortable. With this in mind, her brand Lefranc Ferrant is aimed at executive international women looking for outfits that are at once elegant, feminine and luxurious, while structured and contemporary.
The French brand has found fans in celebrities such as Sophie Marceau, Marion Cotillard, Beyonce, Isabelle Adjani and Michelle Obama.
Her shop is in the famous Saint-Germain-des-Pres area of Paris.
Ferrant gave Shanghai Daily an exclusive interview in Paris recently.
What are your earliest fashion memories?
My first fashion show: Revillon Furs. I was 12 years old and with my mother: I couldn't stop crying because I knew then what my life would be. My grandmother was an excellent teacher, her uncle was a famous tailor and her brother a furrier. So it was in my blood.
(After studying law) I entered the Chambre Syndicale de la Couture School in Paris and my fashion career started for real.
Was there a turning point?
It might be the first time when I presented my collection during the Haute Couture Fashion Week in Paris in January 2007; a dream come true.
Having worked for several designers, what made you create your own brand with partner Mario Lefranc in 2003?
After 20 years in couture, I'd realized that there was a product missing: a "dress for business" that was elegant, creative, contemporary, sharp, feminine and easy-going all at the same time. A dress made by a woman, for women. I had to do it. I've been running the brand alone for the past 18 months or so.
What's your concept for the label?
The concept is "a single dress for all day" or "dress for business." No matter what you do, who you meet, you just need to be perfect; from an executive board meeting to trendy cocktails.
What inspires your collections?
A mood; the things you feel; what you're longing for. It can come from the architecture of the Guggenheim museum in Bilbao; from a Pierre Soulages exhibition in Paris. Then suddenly the puzzle starts to be built.
A lot of fashion houses design for a catwalk, what is your approach?
Designing for catwalks is part of the job, but I wouldn't sell my soul to it. To propose a real, authentic product means much more to me.
Is there anyone you want to dress but have not had the chance yet?
I would love to dress Tilda Swinton, Jodie Foster, Anne Hathaway, and of course, Sun Li, Yuan Quan, Xia Yu, Chen Shu and Lu Yan.
Define Lefranc Ferrant women.
Feminine, elegant, creative, busy and artistic minded.
What's your greatest challenge now?
One will be to finalize the launch of the second line in China, created in France, made and distributed in China, with the perfect Chinese partner. Another is to open my "Maison de Couture" in Shanghai, in the former French concession area.
The holiday season is near. What style would you suggest?
A "dress for the very best" of course!
The French brand has found fans in celebrities such as Sophie Marceau, Marion Cotillard, Beyonce, Isabelle Adjani and Michelle Obama.
Her shop is in the famous Saint-Germain-des-Pres area of Paris.
Ferrant gave Shanghai Daily an exclusive interview in Paris recently.
What are your earliest fashion memories?
My first fashion show: Revillon Furs. I was 12 years old and with my mother: I couldn't stop crying because I knew then what my life would be. My grandmother was an excellent teacher, her uncle was a famous tailor and her brother a furrier. So it was in my blood.
(After studying law) I entered the Chambre Syndicale de la Couture School in Paris and my fashion career started for real.
Was there a turning point?
It might be the first time when I presented my collection during the Haute Couture Fashion Week in Paris in January 2007; a dream come true.
Having worked for several designers, what made you create your own brand with partner Mario Lefranc in 2003?
After 20 years in couture, I'd realized that there was a product missing: a "dress for business" that was elegant, creative, contemporary, sharp, feminine and easy-going all at the same time. A dress made by a woman, for women. I had to do it. I've been running the brand alone for the past 18 months or so.
What's your concept for the label?
The concept is "a single dress for all day" or "dress for business." No matter what you do, who you meet, you just need to be perfect; from an executive board meeting to trendy cocktails.
What inspires your collections?
A mood; the things you feel; what you're longing for. It can come from the architecture of the Guggenheim museum in Bilbao; from a Pierre Soulages exhibition in Paris. Then suddenly the puzzle starts to be built.
A lot of fashion houses design for a catwalk, what is your approach?
Designing for catwalks is part of the job, but I wouldn't sell my soul to it. To propose a real, authentic product means much more to me.
Is there anyone you want to dress but have not had the chance yet?
I would love to dress Tilda Swinton, Jodie Foster, Anne Hathaway, and of course, Sun Li, Yuan Quan, Xia Yu, Chen Shu and Lu Yan.
Define Lefranc Ferrant women.
Feminine, elegant, creative, busy and artistic minded.
What's your greatest challenge now?
One will be to finalize the launch of the second line in China, created in France, made and distributed in China, with the perfect Chinese partner. Another is to open my "Maison de Couture" in Shanghai, in the former French concession area.
The holiday season is near. What style would you suggest?
A "dress for the very best" of course!
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