AALTO
Fifteen years ago Tuomas Merikoski left his native Finland for Paris. After a few years in the men’s studio at Givenchy and Louis Vuitton, he launched Aalto, inspired by the young Finnish underground. Numéro caught up with the LVMH prize finalist.
AFTERHOMEWORK
Pierre Kaczmarek created Afterhomework (Paris) in 2014 when he was 15 years old and still a high school student. As his parents did not want him to leave his studies for fashion, he decided to name his brand Afterhomework (Paris). He is joined in 2016 by the stylist Elena Mottola.
Afterhomework (Paris) is an independent brand whose collections are entirely made in Paris small ateliers. The last two collections were presented during the Paris Fashion Week where it was spotted by French and international press.
ANDREA CREWS
The upcycling street style French label Andrea Crews was founded by designer and art director Marouissia Rebecq, who gathered a group of artists who supported her desire to revolutionise fashion codes. With the motto ‘Fashion, Art, Activism’, Andrea Crews’ team highlights art and experimentation through its second-hand well-structured garments and numerous collaborations.
ARTFUSION
Creative Director and co-founder Louise Autrup Vinkel, known for her alluring techniques as a fine artist, is now challenging the fashion industry by undertaking a new approach towards design. The playful and bright summer collection not only inspires through interesting patterns but stands up for ethical values. Together with her textile-industry husband, she created the brand in a city that she describes as vibrant and the source of eternal inspiration: Copenhagen. The label itself shows vividly the versatility and vibrant beauty of northern Europe.
FAÇON JACMIN
Belgian twins - Alexandra Jacmin, who graduated from La Cambre and cut her teeth at Maison Martin Margiela's and Jean Paul Gaultier's design studios, joins her entrepreneur sister Ségolène in 2016 to create a modern Denim Wardrobe for Women.
More than a cultural, social or generational phenomenon audience, FAÇON JACMIN reaches out for women with a dynamic and spontaneous spirit. To highlight their charisma, liberate their gestures and gracefully embrace them.
FADE OUT
The two designers, Andrea Bonfini and Nicola Gomiero, do not believe in the timelines of the fashion system but in timeless creativity and in the originality of every single idea and item. They therefore create permanent collections to which new items are added every season. They create comfortable, unisex garments, which due to the use of recycled material become hand-crafted one- offs, repeatable but always different.
GUNTHER
A Parisian contemporary luxury brand which offers a men’s wardrobe made up of revisited classics with an urban influence.
Born from the imagination of Naomi Gunther, who graduated in 2018 from Parsons The New School for Design, and revealed by rapper Offset during Paris Fashion Week in January 2019, GUNTHER is the combination of traditional know-how and a modern aesthetic, a fusion of authentic Parisian landscapes and the creative frenzy as seen in New York.
Thus, in sophisticated and high-quality materials are handcrafted elegant pieces, with oversized cuts and original designs.
Made in France, GUNTHER is also highly invested in making environmental-friendly choices. By using bio, natural or recycled materials and by producing in small-scale production the brand tries to be as eco-responsible as possible.
JUUN J.
Korean designer Juun J. launched his eponymous label in 2007 after graduating from ESMOD in Seoul and working for various fashion houses. His design philosophy is based on a diversion of the classic: re-interpreting and re-creating traditions, shattering old notions and ideas to create new ones. He refers to his label as ‘street-tailoring’ because of the much of his inspiration comes from youth and street style.
MYKKE HOFMANN
The story of Mykke Hofmann is first of all the story of a long-lasting friendship between Sedina Halilovic and Jelena Hofmann – two women who met at high school and discovered they had more in common than their Balkan origins and their life embracing temper. They shared a unique way of perceiving the role of fashion in a woman’s everyday life: What a woman wears should underline her femininity and strength.
After working in fashion together for more than 5 years, they launched Mykke Hofmann in 2017.
After winning an investor, the young label has taken the bold step to open an own production site in Serbia, in October 2017. Thus the team has full control over the fabrication and can ensure fair working conditions. All suppliers are long-term partners and the raw materials are of certified European origin. Furthermore, the company implements a waste and energy minimizing delivery process.
ROMBAUT
The Belgian designer Mats Rombaut is based in Paris, France. ROMBAUT is his first solo project after over five years’ experience in menswear accessories development and production in Paris with Lanvin menswear and later the Croatian designer Damir Doma. He draws inspiration from natural processes, biotech, art and music.
SANDQVIST
Swedish bag brand Sandqvist was founded in 2004 by Anton Sandqvist, and soon his brother Daniel and their friend Sebastian also joined the company. Since then Sandqvist has committed to producing stylish and long lasting everyday bags in a way that is fair for everyone involved and with care for the environment.
WE.RE
The designers Katharina Weber and Theresa Reiter first met during their studies in Munich. Together they founded WE.RE in 2014, a temporary design project that has now become an ongoing fashion label.
By combining clean-cut designs and sensual fabrics, WE.RE creates garments for men and women that give off a casual aura and clear statement of sophisticated minimalism.
Reduced and sculptured shapes, extraordinary surfaces and remote places inspire the collections of WE.RE, striving toward pure and timeless aesthetics.
WYLDE PARIS
Clarissa Acario, W Y L D E ‘s designer and founder, comes from Brasil. She was born and raised in Belo Horizonte, where she studied, in a school of stylism, before she came in Lyon and Paris. As she fell in love with Paris, she got inspired by « french touch » and created W.Y.L.D.E. which became W Y L D E in 2018. Her sharp look and her commitment for sustainable development, lead her to an ethic and responsible process in her business and creations.