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7 French emerging menswear brands.
by Modem – Posted March 01 2021
© Modem

Every cloud has a silver lining” says an old adage. The idea for this survey of French menswear brands, came about during the course of this unusual year. Most entrepreneurs questioned told us that they’d been enriched by the experience of the past few months explains Frédéric Martin-Bernard, who conducted this inquiry for Promas List.

To follow the comments collected by Frédéric Martin-Bernard to the founders of these young French brands: Later, Lutays, De Bonne Facture, Officine Générale, Outland, Bask In the Sun, Olow.



The never-before-seen context of 2020 meant that every brand had to reinvent itself while keeping in line with its values.

BASK IN THE SUN

For example the Bask In the Sun label refused to deliver goods during this period. “Sales exploded in our e-shop but our priority was to act humanely and responsibly without taking risks for anyone”, explains François Verdet, one of the three founders of this seaside clothing collection launched in Guétary on the Basque Coast. And to point out: “We took an ethical, sustainable approach when we created the brand in 2013. For that reason, we chose to limit our overall impact in our selection of materials, to manufacture locally and also in all the everyday actions we take. This is clearly not a moment to forget that.

OLOW

Valentin Porcher, creative director of the Olow label introduced in 2006 is also careful to stay close to the company’s fundamental principles. “When we were confronted by the lockdown, we decided to reinforce our digital strategy. Online sales do help us hold things together right now but we still believe strongly in traditional commerce. Multi-brand stores are vital to the landscape in city centers. They’ve often built their reputation by offering a very personal selection. We made it a point to support them in our communications this year since they’re a precious link to help people discover brands like ours. And more than ever, we’ve also kept a careful eye on developing our new collection since customers won’t be able to look at it closely before buying it. It’s our responsibility to guarantee maximum quality for our customers at a time when it’s hard for them just to get around.

The pandemic created upheaval everywhere, even in consumer desires. The results of a study published in September by the IFM-Première Vision board conducted in five key European markets after the first lockdown showed that clients intend to pay more attention to the origin and quality of the clothes they purchase.

OFFICINE GÉNÉRALE

Pierre Mahéo, founder of Officine Générale also says these past few months caused him to “question himself, focus on his business model and take a new look at certain developmental axes” while noting that his original credo of offering a high-quality wardrobe is more than ever a “sign of the times”. As proof: his French clients’ renewed interest in his models after the first lockdown compensated for the lack of foreign visitors in his five Paris boutiques. And the capsule collection of great classic menswear pieces he launched online during the second lockdown in France was also immediately successful. These encouraging figures were more pronounced when only answers concerning Menswear were taken into account. “I meet an increasing number of men who consider that a garment’s cut, fabric and comfort are more important that a brand or logo”, confirmed Pierre Mahéo

OUTLAND

The other French brands with different styles or price points continue with well-thought-out, transparent approaches that are not just about marketing or communication. “The idea to do less but better has been our belief since the beginning”, notes Olivier Coimbra, co-founder with Jean-François Daveu of the Outland brand, presented as a wardrobe of functional, sustainable pieces. Before its 2018 launch, the associates had worked on collections and products for a variety of brands.

LATER

In January 2020, a number of new brands appeared on the French menswear fashion landscape. Benjamin Hooge and Benoît Tardif launched Later, an eco-responsible label… of jackets, overshirts and sweatshirts made from 100% recycled yarns that are woven or knit in France. Benjamin Hooge and Benoît Tardif … insist that “right now consumers are more aware…so as designers we must act rather than just speak”. In December the pair published a series of podcasts on the theme “Give meaning back to fashion” in conjunction with a first pop-up store they opened in Paris’ Marais neighborhood

LUTAYS

After having organized his brand project over many months, Jean-Baptiste Rosseeuw introduced his first collection of Lutays jackets made by local craftsmen familiar with traditional workmanship and the fine stitches required by haute couture… “The pandemic was like an accelerator for everything I’d planned over the next 5 years” observes Jean-Baptiste Rosseeuw who just signed two Lutays ready-to-wear capsule collections with Tokyo and Osaka department stores even though he’d originally planned to only do custom-made clothes for the first years of his business.

DE BONNE FACTURE

I took a few steps forward in the same amount of time” also admits Deborah Sitbon Neuberg, founder of the 7-year-old De Bonne Facture label. “I reworked and modified my collection’s structure to give it more impact. I developed a softly-tailored women’s capsule collection that I’d been thinking about for a long time. I took time to speak with my clients, improve our e-commerce structure and add to the site’s editorial section with a “worn by” tab featuring men who like my clothing. This unusual period echoed my values in a more general way and reinforced my desire to offer circular, sustainable, eco-responsible fashion. I saw this as an opportunity to take my vision as far as I possibly could.

Comments collected by Frédéric Martin-Bernard for PromasList