Sonia Rykiel (Q7554)
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Sonia Rykiel is a fashion house from BOF.
| Language | Label | Description | Also known as |
|---|---|---|---|
| English | Sonia Rykiel |
Sonia Rykiel is a fashion house from BOF. |
Statements
Once again, Sonia Rykiel stands at a crossroads, wondering what its name might mean to a new generation. It has all the makings of a fashion case study. A fiercely independent woman, Rykiel built a small empire on her own attitude, one that became known asla démode, or dressing down. By right, that qualifier alone should give the house enough latitude to stake out its turf in the Paris landscape today.With no one officially designated at the helm, the design studio had to hit the ground running and turn out a Resort collection in record time. They kept the inspiration simple, taking cues from Madame Rykiel herself—a woman who grew up in one of the toniest neighborhoods in Paris, knew all the conventional rules, and then proceeded to break them precisely at the time the city was taking to the street, in May 1968. The parallels between then and now are readily apparent.The collection gamely ticked a lot of Rykiel’s boxes. The striped knits and inside-out seams for which the designer became beloved were here; the stripes even mingle with chains on knit handbags. Rock T-shirts paired with slouchy trousers and skirts; shirts and trenches were extrapolated from vintage prints. Balloon sleeves and dropped shoulders nodded to the designer’s ’80s heyday, as did the color palette reprising thebleu,blanc,et rougeof the French flag, as well as Rykiel’s favorite color, black. A sprinkling of charms—ladybugs, dice, four-leaf clovers—riffed on the founder’s superstitious tendencies.The accessories smartly hewed toward spare lines and practicality. Given the many challenges, it was a more-than-honest effort. You get the sense that Rykiel’s potential lives on, that it could still become a woman’s go-to for unfussy, chic staples, so long as the powers that be grant it the freedom to do so.
24 June 2019
Last season, the mayor of Paris unveiled the newly christened Allée Sonia Rykiel, not far from the late designer’s Saint Germain des Prés shop. This season, creative director Julie de Libran took the “born from the streets” idea of Rykiel and ran with it. The label shot a lookbook rather than staging a show (a notable absence from the Paris Fashion Week calendar), hiring five French models and sending them out onto the avenues and rues of the city. “It’s not about fashion,” De Libran said at the showroom, “it’s about the iconic values of the house.”Rykiel began designing under her own name in 1968, when the prêt-à-porter category was being born. Unlike many of the other heritage brands in this city, there’s no affiliation with haute couture. The icons of the house are stripes, knitwear, and a playful sort of femininity, more coquette than seductress. So this “real world” approach suits the spirit of Rykiel. It also jibes with the direction the industry is going. At the moment, overly designed and conceptual collections feel passé.De Libran’s stripes this season are lively and multicolored, inspired by a kaleidoscope. And there was novelty in her knits, including a pullover cut like a sporty-outdoorsy fleece and a fringed top and skirt set made from a new machine that’s proprietary to Rykiel (not pictured in the lookbook). Among the highlights: a super-wide-wale corduroy pantsuit, and a black velvet dress embellished with fringes of sequins.At the start of her run, De Libran presented her collections in the Rykiel flagship. The store would be a charming compromise between this lookbook and a fashion show; it would give us a chance to see these real-world clothes in action.
1 March 2019
Cities are the natural habitat for a woman who wears Sonia Rykiel; whether in Saint Germain, the West Village, Notting Hill, or Aoyama, her style reflects her cosmopolitan environs. For this Pre-Fall collection Julie de Libran remained true to this standard with new versions of the brand’s beloved boilersuits, knitwear statement pieces, and some chic day-to-night dresses. But she also proposed clothes that introduced a more outdoorsy spirit. From a showroom staged with giant screens displaying digitally enhanced landscapes on loop (the work of Frédéric Sanchez, normally known for his runway show music production), the designer explained that she had been thinking about the necessity of travel to clear the mind—or, if nothing more, to allow the mind to travel. “It’s not about being safe; it’s about exploring and trying new things,” she said.With the full wardrobe on view, the strongest pieces were those that either had an adaptable aspect or that offered a signature point of differentiation to the elevated sportswear found elsewhere. A striped knit parka, for instance, had high impact; but it was also a natural fit for an evolving Rykiel ethos. Another nifty design split the construction of a sweater or jacket so that one sleeve was tailored while the other was loose and cape-like. Should this sound awkward or imbalanced, each version proved otherwise on the models, with the silhouette interestingly distributed between structure and flow.Versatilitywas the byword for a leather perfecto with an integrated yet removable shawl and a denim jacket with snaps up the sleeves; certainly, they made more sense than a safari-type suit with cargo pockets positioned down toward the ankles (for what it’s worth, these were working pockets).The creative knitwear that is expected from Sonia Rykiel delivered the added component of sustainability this season. The studio made use of its extensive yarn inventory to develop upcycled trompe l’oeil twinsets; only here, the striped top piece was tied around the shoulders as a “half sweater.”Meanwhile, the cognitive dissonance of seeing a T-shirt withSonia Rykiel Parisframing the image of cacti seemed less pronounced in the form of a stylized desert boot. Though chunky, they offered a fun foil for one of the season’s graphic skirts, if not the knit-paneled sweatpants—and a break from Rykiel’s city gal platforms.
23 January 2019
Bananarama was just the beginning. There’s been a year’s worth of festivities for the 50th anniversary of the Sonia Rykiel label. The ’80s trio’s postshow performance last March was followed by a special haute couture presentation and celebrity sweater collaboration project in early July. But tonight’s naming of a Sixth Arrondissement allée after the late designer was something special. It’s an honor no other Paris designer enjoys, and Mayor Anne Hidalgo turned up to do the unveiling.The naming ceremony gave Rykiel creative director Julie de Libran her show location and collection theme. The allée in question is home to a Sunday morning organic market, ormarché bioas they’re known in these parts, and De Libran is a regular. It’s her “weekend obsession” not only for the food on offer, but also the eclectic cast of characters it attracts. Her idea was to re-create the atmosphere, from the kids and dogs she put on the runway—her son and his new Labrador retriever puppy made cameos—to the vibes of the clothes.In Paris, the “Sunday scaries” apparently don’t kick in until the afternoon. The morning is the time to nip out for fresh fruit and a baguette in your lace nightie and techno trench, sporting stretch-knit sandals on bare feet. Or jogging suits. Or Marinière stripes. “It’s a day of no rules,” she said, and the relaxed, nonchalant attitude of the collection was winning, though there were pantsuits and other pieces that didn’t strictly say “weekend.”De Libran used market bags as a design motif, reinterpreting them as all manner of openwork and fishnet knits. The stall awnings were translated as stripes on sweaterdresses and a coat. Her big leap forward in this engaging show was her move toward sustainable materials, like recycled polyester and something she called organic leather. Europe tends to seem behind the U.S. when it comes to earth-friendly fashion practices, so kudos to De Libran for convincing the Sonia Rykiel business side that sustainability is a worthwhile endeavor. Indeed, to make it another 50 years, it won’t just be worthwhile, it’ll become essential. Best to get out in front as much as possible.
29 September 2018
Sonia Rykiel launched her label on Paris’s Left Bank 50 years ago, just at the moment that prêt-à-porter was emerging as a category. Today, to mark its half century, Julie de Libran presented the first Sonia Rykiel couture collection. There’s a strange irony in that, but De Libran managed to retain both the joie de vivre that is so central to the Rykiel identity, and the sense of liberated female independence that the house founder symbolized. This was not a collection of the sort of cantilevered gowns that couture still has a reputation for all these decades on. The Rykiel models were shirt- and braless under their tuxedo jackets.De Libran approached the debut by considering the house “inventory,” as she called it, though this didn’t feel like a nostalgic exercise. Rykiel is famous for her striped Marinière sweaters—and of course there was one of those here, hand-beaded, oversize, and sloping off the shoulder. But as De Libran pointed out, Rykiel’s repertoire was vast. “I don’t feel stuck in one category.” Proving her point, she reimagined the signature velour joggings in embroidered tulle and paired them with a feathery jumper for an evening look that retained some of the ease of athleisure. Rykiel’s giant chubbie, meanwhile, was re-created using only yarn in a modern nod to the changing values around the use of fur. And there was more playful thinking around knitwear, including Georgia May Jagger’s little black sweaterdress with a trompe l’oeil bikini embroidered on it.“We have an amazing atelier here,” De Libran said. “It’s wonderful to be able show off the savoir faire of the house.” Most impressive were the tuxedos, which, sans shirts or underpinnings, conveyed a confident sensuality, abetted by the fact that models like Kirsten Owen and Malgosia Bela were enlisted to wear them. Tweaking couture conventions, De Libran sent out her bride in a front-lacing corset dress, feathered knit veil, and blue jeans. Each pair the house makes will be numbered on a back pocket one to 50. Otherwise, Rykiel will operate much like established couture houses, and make just one of each piece shown on the runway today. De Libran is taking customer appointments herself on the newly redesigned first floor of the iconic Rykiel store on Boulevard St. Germain. If it goes well, which it should, she said she’d like to be back on the couture schedule in January.
1 July 2018
On July 1, Sonia Rykiel will mark its 50th anniversary with a special show on the first day of the haute couture schedule. The invitation from the Fédération de la Haute Couture et de la Mode means that artistic director Julie de Libran is in the midst of putting together a collection that celebrates the brand’s savoir faire as much as its Left Bank sass, while also acknowledging how Sonia Rykiel arrived on the scene during one of the most volatile periods in the French capital’s recent history—Spring 1968. De Libran already drew some attention to this in her Fall show, which is why there is barely a trace ofles soixante-huitardsin the Resort offering.But even as both design and production energies are being dedicated to the upcomingdéfilé—“It’s like doubling myself,” she quipped—this lineup did not seem like an afterthought. On the contrary, the looks felt crisp, polished, and daresayun peuRight Bank—from the tailored Glen plaid coats sliced of their sleeves, turned inside-out, and outlined with crayon-colored trim, to the various flowers that appeared as all-over micro prints, illustrated botanical motifs, and as nicely crafted surface treatments in knit and leather. The selection of lily of the valley, mimosa, and lavender was deliberate, apparently, with each signifying certain qualities such as good luck and secret love (the printed canvas bag, dubbed Le Fleur, signified an ideal Parisianmarchébag). Most women may not read much into the bouquets and bunches; instead, they’ll respond to their prettiness as a counterpoint to the latest stripe propositions. Here, dense rows of horizontal knit fringes and vertical bands printed onto leather fulfilled their duty with added novelty. As must-haves go, structured yet unfussy knit trenches, tweedy T-shirts, and a feminine crepe de chine dress revived from the archive signaled the timelessness of Sonia Rykiel. Which, given the milestone moment, makes them the most relevant of all.
5 June 2018
Well, that was entertaining. This is Sonia Rykiel’s 50th anniversary, and to celebrate, creative director Julie de Libran called in none other than Bananarama, the British pop group of the early 1980s, who recently launched a U.S. and U.K. reunion tour, to do a three-song gig. As they sang, models who were born a decade or more after Bananarama made it big danced behind them. Time collapsed.This journalist was reminded of the 40th anniversary of the brand in 2008, a brilliant show in whichtoutParis and some American designers too created one-offs as a tribute to Madame Rykiel. The standouts then were a Rodarte sweater, Rykiel being famous for sweaters, with Obama embroidered on the front, and a Martin Margiela (the man, not the Maison) fur chubby made from wigs the same frizzy shade of red as Rykiel’s mane. (That piece happens to be one of the stars of his new retrospective at the Palais Galliera.) To the talents who participated, Sonia Rykiel stood for something, the spirit of the soixant-huitards, women’s liberation, a certain gamine effervescence.For her own anniversary party, De Libran looked to the musical movements of her youth as inspiration. The post-punks and the new romantics awoke in her a love of fashion that she has carried with her to Rykiel. She reanimated it on the runway with nods to ’60s mod, ’90s grunge, and many points in between. The most charming aspect of the show—and the most Rykiel—was the way De Libran sent out models dressed in similar looks in groups and insisted that they smile. First up was a quartet of Mongolian lamb chubbies (very Rykiel) with matching trapper hats and mukluks. And last was a foursome of models in velvet pantsuits that riffed on Rykiel’s popular jogging suits of the 1980s. There were some outliers here—the sheer, spiderweb-y lace numbers come to mind—and the whole would’ve benefitted from a cheerier color palette, but all in all, this was good fun.
3 March 2018
Consider the oyster. Julie de Libran based her Spring collection for Sonia Rykiel on the bivalve’s many qualities. Its tough exterior appeared as a print on an oversize silk smock. Its luminous nacre inspired her charmeuse evening dresses. And its precious pearl was used as embellishment on many pieces, from knit dresses to a tuxedo suit. That’s a lot of attention for a little mollusk, surely more than it deserves, though the pearl-trimmed sweater dresses are a natural fit for this house.When De Libran arrived three years ago, she put on her shows in Rykiel’s famous Boulevard Saint-Germain store. It worked like a charm because De Libran can make a good-looking sweater and knows her way around a party dress, two of the late house founder’s signatures, alongside a certain Left Bank je ne sais quoi. De Libran’s talents haven’t changed, but the circumstances around her have. Now she’s showing in the positively cavernous space of the École des Beaux-Arts, and she’s been charged with creating a full Sonia Rykiel wardrobe. That’s an ambitious project, one that De Libran is more than capable of, judging by the smart trenches and cool jeans that came down tonight’s runway. But it requires significant support. Otherwise, the Rykiel management could reconsider the original formula and let De Libran specialize in what makes Rykiel unique.
30 September 2017