Scene setting: Considering that fashion is France’s second-biggest industry, and Paris is the global capital of fashion, that for all the streets named after generals and colonels, none bears the name of a designer. Well, that was the case until yesterday. Just before Sonia Rykiel’s latest show, the capital’s mayor Anne Hidalgo, revealed (together with Nathalie Rykiel) a new blue-and-green plaque bearing the name ‘Allée Sonia Rykiel’ on the Rive Gauche. It's not a grandiose, institutional street, but a long alley off boulevard Raspail where, every day, Parisians can find a traditional organic market including bakeries, fishmongers and fruit, vegetable and cheese stands. It was here, under the brightly striped tents and the lightbulb garlands, that the show took place.
Mood board: For designer Julie de Libran it was more than ever about honouring the real Parisiennes and their day-to-day dressing, just as Sonia Rykiel did. There were no evening gowns, no silk chiffon or ostrich feathers in sight. This season, the Rykiel woman is not the one busy seducing at night, but the one who wakes up the next morning and lazily puts on a mac to pop off for croissants – a reality for many a Parisian. And so she was dressed in the brand’s classics: chunky knits, twisted and shredded and put together emulating raphia market bags. Marinière stripes in tops, dresses and coats. Linen onesies. And, of course, loose trench coats. A casting of models including Dree Hemingway, Adesuwa, Lili Sumner and Grace Hartzell were joined on the runway by a few men, kids and even a couple of dogs. After all, that’s what the weekend market is about.
Soundbite: ‘Sunday’s organic market is my obsession’, said de Libran, a Rive Gauche dweller herself. ‘And this place reflects the sense of responsibility I have always felt as a creator, producer and mother. This collection is my first to consistently use materials that are kinder to the planet; a starting point, small steps, but important nonetheless. This is a significant detail revealed by the designer prior to the show. It makes perfect sense that, just as the house’s founder answered to the needs and wants of the women of her time, de Libran might do the same with her own generation.
Sonia Rykiel S/S 2019.
-
Introducing Wallpaper’s new video series, Work in ProcessIn this series, Wallpaper* discovers the processes by which creative visionaries bring their work to life. First up, we head to the the Fonteyne Studio at the Royal Opera House to meet esteemed ballet dancer William Bracewell
-
Tour architect Paul Schweikher’s house, a Chicago midcentury masterpieceNow hidden in the Chicago suburbs, architect Paul Schweikher's former home and studio is an understated midcentury masterpiece; we explore it, revisiting a story from the Wallpaper* archives, first published in April 2009
-
Technogym’s new Pilates reformer blends peak performance with sleek designThe Technogym Reform is the latest addition to the company’s design-led equipment roster, made from sustainable materials including apple-skin leather
-
Donna Trope celebrates the power of the Polaroid in Paris‘Polaroids used to be my rejects, and now they are my holy grail,’ says the beauty photographer, as she shows rarely seen images in a Paris exhibition
-
Horace’s new men’s scent is the linen shirt of the fragrance closetVetiver Primavera, the new fragrance from men’s grooming brand Horace, is casual but elegant, says Wallpaper’s Mary Cleary – a citrussy scent for summer
-
‘Don’t forget to get the bread!’ Serge Lutens writes an ode to a singular perfumePublished exclusively by Wallpaper*, Serge Lutens writes an ode to Jeux de Peau, a singular perfume of his creation inspired by a childhood memory of baking bread
-
French skincare brand PERS doesn’t believe in overcomplicated routinesFrench skincare brand PERS – an acronym for ‘protect, enhance, repair, and stimulate’ – has recently arrived in the UK. The mastermind behind it, Dr Antoni Calmon, tells Wallpaper* about his protocol
-
What did Christian Dior’s favourite ‘invisible’ flower smell like?Dior’s Francis Kurkdijan recreates the scent of a rare lily of the valley species in Le Muguet, the first olfactory chapter of new perfume collection Les Récoltes Majeures
-
Inside Camperlab’s Harry Nuriev-designed Paris store, a dramatic exercise in contrastThe Crosby Studios founder tells Wallpaper* the story behind his new store design for Mallorcan shoe brand Camperlab, which centres on an interplay between ‘crushed concrete’ and gleaming industrial design
-
This perfume bottle archive was nearly lost. Now, it offers a rare whiff of fragrance historyFifty blueprints from a forgotten French crystal manufacturer will be for sale as part of the New York International Antiquarian Book Fair
-
How an 18th-century mansion became a Loewe wonderland for Paris Fashion WeekDrawing on the act of scrapbooking, Jonathan Anderson took over the Hôtel de Maisons with a self-reflective A/W 2025 presentation, shown alongside colourful artworks from the brand’s collection
