L'Atelier Parisien
The stages of manufacture
Ines de la Fressange is famous all over the world because she perfectly embodies the style of the Parisian woman, so admired and often described, quite simply, as "Parisian Chic".
The Ines de la Fressange Paris brand has inherited this DNA and has chosen to place design and creation at the heart of its roots, because elegance rhymes with excellence and high standards, an obvious choice but one that is becoming rare...
Ines de la Fressange is famous all over the world because she perfectly embodies the style of the Parisian woman, so admired and often described, quite simply, as "Parisian Chic".
The Ines de la Fressange Paris brand has inherited this DNA and has chosen to place design and creation at the heart of its roots, because elegance rhymes with excellence and high standards, an obvious choice but one that is becoming rare...
The creative studio
As artistic director of the brand that bears her name, Ines de la Fressange inspires and supervises the in-house studio. This Studio is an entity that has existed since the first day at Ines de la Fressange Paris. It is located in the heart of the Brand's offices and hundreds of pieces and patterns are imagined and designed in a space in which not a single square centimetre is lost, including walls on which are displayed entire tables of drawings and fabric samples.
The inspirations of Ines de la Fressange
Ines draws her inspiration and intuition from her travels and her incomparable experience of Parisian fashion. Few people can put together such a wealth of experience and can say they understand the style of the Parisian woman. And it is in the Studio, nourished by Ines' guidance, that the team gets to work and the designs for each of the pieces that will make up the seasonal lines are born, three times a year to date, not counting the Capsules Collections.
Sketches and drawings
Everything starts from the collection plans that structure the offer and design the themes of each collection, constantly renewed but always faithful to that inimitable style of "effortless chic" that Ines has embodied and theorised in her books. Large panels combining sketches, finished drawings and samples of quilted fabrics give shape to what at first is only a dream or the spirit of the times.
For several seasons now, Ines has asked Eric Bergère, a famous clothing designer trained at Hermès and having worked for Lanvin and Smalto in particular, to accompany the Studio and help her design collections in harmony with her values and aspirations. Ines and Eric have known and appreciated each other for a long time, they already had the pleasure of working together when the Ines de la Fressange Paris brand was created in the 1990s, and finding each other again seemed obvious to them.
Choice of fabrics and materials
Eric, who lives all year round in Arles and also works on his own collections and for partners in Asia, regularly joins the Ines de la Fressange Paris studio at 10, rue du Mail in Paris, next to the Place des Victoires. He brings his taste, experience and expertise which perfectly complement Ines de la Fressange's intuitions and reinforce the energy and talent of the in-house Studio team. Everything then goes through a very special alchemy. The creative intentions mix designs and also, from the outset, fabric selections or exclusive commissions to publishers. The numerous return trips with these fabric editors, selected from among the best, make them partners in the creation process. Throughout the process, particular care must be taken to ensure that the intentions of style and materials are consistent; it is these two parameters that together give rise to the Brand's lines.
L'Atelier Made in Paris
Talented craftsmen
Ines de la Fressange Paris has chosen to complete her Studio with an in-house workshop. This is a real luxury, all the more so as it is also located in the heart of Paris. Few brands have such a high-performance tool integrated within their own premises. This is a strategic choice: it is by far the best solution to ensure that the creative intentions are exactly reflected in the prototypes of each piece. Indeed, there is total continuity between the original inspirations, the spirit of the Brand, the wishes of the creation, the designs, the choice of materials, the cutting of fabrics and the assembly of the prototypes. Everything is done internally at Ines de la Fressange Paris, by integrated teams and contributors who come together and work together, around Ines de la Fressange herself. Behind each Ines de la Fressange Paris creation is the talent of passionate and expert craftsmen.
L'Assemblage des vêtements
In the Atelier, we imagine how the designs will translate into clothing: we break down each element, design the assembly, sometimes very technical, and give it life, first by "canvases" made in volume from neutral fabrics and then by prototyping in real fabrics so that the fall is perfect, exactly as the creation wishes. After hours of meticulous and almost amorous design, long fitting sessions then allow the Atelier team to compare its proposals with the expectations of the Studio and, naturally, of Ines de la Fressange herself. Through the experience and knowledge of its team, the Atelier concentrates rare know-how in design and model making that will be found in the pieces that will later compose the collections. Some of them will be so successful that they will become "timeless". After agreement of all, at the end of the fittings and sometimes of passionate exchanges (but always in good mood...), it is then the stage of the Patronage. Essential so that the clothes can then be manufactured, in reasonable quantities, on small production lines with a still very artisanal spirit, mainly in France and Europe. This is another extraordinary skill: that of breaking down a garment, often very complex, into individual elements, the outline of which is manually drawn on a special paper and translated into precise measurements, which will become a Pattern. At a time when most of these stages are being digitised, in a spirit that is too often "industrial" and marked by mass production, the Atelier Ines de la Fressange Paris has chosen, on the other hand, to entrust these stages to perfectly "human" and expert eyes and hands.
La boutique Grenelle
An authentic place
24 rue de Grenelle in Paris
This is how at Ines de la Fressange Paris we can guarantee a true fashion and artisanal spirit to the pieces that the Brand will sign.
An essential part of the Brand's charm and authenticity is rooted in these phases, which many customers are unaware of but which they perceive unconsciously when they discover its creations, clothing such as leather goods and accessories.
A very Parisian house
At the height of refinement, the Atelier is not only located in the heart of Paris, on the Left Bank, but it is even situated in the middle of the Flagship store of the Brand Ines de la Fressange wanted it and asked for everyone to be able to see it for themselves: no doubt a unique case in the world, the Atelier works behind bay windows, in full view of everyone within the brand's largest store. Any customer of the Ines de la Fressange Paris boutique can thus see the Atelier and its "little hands" at work. There are no secrets at Ines de la Fressange Paris and, on the contrary, living proof that the pieces of the House are indeed created...in Paris.