EXCLUSIVE: Julie de Libran Launches Collection With La Redoute
PARIS — Julie de Libran is ready to bring her French girl style to a wider audience.
Known for her ultra-exclusive creations produced in numbered and limited editions, the designer has teamed up with catalog retailer La Redoute for a capsule collection launching on Feb. 14, Valentine’s Day.
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“It’s my first time ever doing something like this. It’s very exciting,” she said at a presentation of the line on Thursday.
An icon of Parisian style, she opted for a functional take on her own wardrobe rather than watered-down versions of her couture designs.
The line includes items such as a white cotton pantsuit that works for day and evening; a striped men’s shirt with white collar and cuffs; patchwork jeans; an all-purpose black blazer, and a slinky black camisole top.
“It’s kind of a workwear outfit for every day,” she explained. “It’s actually more me as a person than as a designer.”
Prices range from 49 euros to 159 euros, which compares with 2,900 euros for the signature Elizabeth dress coat from her namesake brand.
The former creative director of Sonia Rykiel, who has also worked for brands including Louis Vuitton and Prada, de Libran is fond of mixing and matching vintage pieces with more recent items from her own label.
“I’ve been in the industry 30 years, so I’ll wear my old Prada boots — that’s what I’m wearing today — or wear a Japanese jean, and I’ll wear my jacket,” she said.
Underpinning it all is usually a T-shirt. De Libran was initially shy about having her portrait by illustrator Isabelle Oziol de Pignol featured on La Redoute’s T, but decided it would be fun to gift to friends.
“Women around the world look for what is that French woman wearing, how is she wearing it, her style and everything, and this is a way to be a bit more democratic,” she said.
Although she moved from France to California when she was 8 years old, de Libran has childhood memories of leafing through La Redoute’s hefty paper catalog, which before the advent of the internet was as ubiquitous in French homes as a phone directory.
“It was so iconic,” she said. “I would just look at the pages and be dazzled by how many things there were, and it was a solution for everything. It was like Christmas.”
Since 1969, La Redoute has also been known for its accessibly priced collaborations with brands including Yves Saint Laurent, Karl Lagerfeld, Alaïa, and more recently Jacquemus and Koché.
Still, this collaboration is not quite the mass-market launch it appears. De Libran was keen to make her clothes more affordable, but only if the partnership respected her commitment to sustainable production. “It felt still quite contained and responsible and made in Europe,” she noted.
Sylvette Lepers, head of designer and image partnerships at La Redoute, said the materials used range from organic cotton and deadstock denim to recycled polyester, and that the capsules are designed to be available for a limited period.
“It’s also a way to have slightly more exclusive pieces that we don’t produce in huge quantities,” she said.
Lepers was keen to shine a light on de Libran’s influential but niche brand. “Julie de Libran is known in fashion circles but it’s fair to say she’s not a household name. But that’s also the role of these capsule collections: to introduce designers to a wide audience in France and overseas,” she said.
A case in point: the next collaboration on La Redoute’s roster is with Clara Daguin, a rising designer known for her innovative approach incorporating technology such as fiber-optic cable and LEDs.
De Libran, who has collaborated with brands including Goossens on jewelry and Eres on lingerie, hopes the project will bridge the way for partnerships in new categories, with beauty and accessories top of her wish list. “I’d like to do more, but I still want to be not creating any waste, so I need to take my time to make my choices,” she said.
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