When Guillaume Henry left his creative director role at Nina Ricci in March 2018, he found himself reflecting on the state of fashion and what he wanted out of his next chapter."I was searching for how to make my position relevant in today's world," he says."I had the feeling that everything was going so fast. I was probably a little disconnected and wanted to reconnect with something that had meaning.
late founder was one of the leading designers in the '20s and '30s and who counted Coco Chanel as his main rival. Patou was one of the first to introduce casual sportswear to women's wardrobes, and one of the earliest to monogram his clothes with his initials. Henry was offered the chance to design and revive the dormant French brand, which stopped showing ready-to-wear in 1987, and introduce it to a new generation. After renaming it to just Patou, he debuted his first collection of accessibly priced ready-to-wear and accessories during Paris Fashion Week in September, a whole year after he was first tasked with the relaunch.
"We really wanted to focus on the idea of the wardrobe," he says, adding that he's mostly inspired by the women around him and how they dress, including his friends, family and coworkers. In addition, each piece contains a QR code that when scanned reveals everything about how and where the garment was made.As for what's next, he's looking forward to spreading the joy and friendly ethos of the brand to women everywhere.