Fashion Heroes: Julie de Libran
If you didn't know it yet, Julie de Libran is a force to be reckoned with.
She was Louis Vuitton's secret weapon and the right-hand woman of the historic fashion house's then creative director, Marc Jacobs. If you call yourself a "Vuitton Girl", you'll definitely have a number of her designs in your wardrobe.
And then last year, she was hired to head another French powerhouse - Sonia Rykiel.
Yes, that Parisian fashion house, known for its signature knitwear. It's interesting to note that in Singapore, the brand was the go-to label for many school-going kids who wanted to appear cool. But the brand has lost its lustre since the late 1990s.
Still not sure who she is? Here's a brief info on her:
For seven years, de Libran, who joined LV in 2008, was the womenswear director and, under the creative direction of Jacobs, was the designer of Icons, the house's line of classic pieces, as well as the cruise and pre-fall collections. And those collections, as many industry insiders will tell you, are the money-makers of a fashion house. Those are the collections from which your LV bags and outfits come from.
One of the first pieces she produced at Louis Vuitton was the understated Sofia bag. Since its launch, the bag has been seen on the arm of just about every celebrity from Kate Moss to Kirsten Dunst. Needless to say, de Libran is credited with almost every successful womenswear piece out there. Just like how Kim Jones was widely acknowledged as the label's menswear director, Marc Jacobs made sure that de Libran's ownership of the Cruise and pre-fall collections was widely publicised.
In an interview with London's The Telegraph, de Libran says: "(Marc) has given me amazing space, and we've become close through working together,' she says. 'But it's not like we go out for dinner all the time."
Which is why de Libran's role as Sonia Rykiel's new artistic director is exciting to the fashion world. At THE FIFTH COLLECTION, we are certain that she is the designer to watch. Trust us, de Libran will be to Sonia Rykiel what Phoebe Philo was (and still is) to Celine.
For one, de Libran boasts an impressive resume. Apart from Louis Vuitton, de Libran scored a place at Dior after graduating from fashion school in Milan. Shortly after, the working mother moved to Versace and worked under the tutelage of Gianni Versace himself (she was there when Versace was shot dead by a stalker in Miami).
For one, de Libran boasts an impressive resume. Apart from Louis Vuitton, de Libran scored a place at Dior after graduating from fashion school in Milan. Shortly after, the working mother moved to Versace and worked under the tutelage of Gianni Versace himself (she was there when Versace was shot dead by a stalker in Miami).
And then, in 1998, she joined Prada, which you'd imagine was quite a leap from the razzmatazz of Versace, where she spent the next 10 years honing her skills. On her decade-long tenure at Prada, she has said: "I stayed for 10 and a half years. I learnt so much there - it's why I'm here today. Mrs Prada and Patrizio Bertelli [her husband, and the company's CEO] are like my second parents. He taught me so much of the business side - that it's not just art, it's about fitting, and lifestyle and the everyday. You can't be too overdressed, you can't be in a costume. But she taught me creativity and all about art."
Her handbag collection has already created plenty of buzz thanks to covetable styles such as the Domino, first introduced over a decade ago, which she has remodelled as a clutch, a shopper, and a cross-body bag with a braided chain.
As she told the South China Morning Post: “I am lucky because the house has so much heritage and so many codes, I just have to pick the right ones at the right time. Madame Rykiel has left an incredible legacy so I hope I can do what she did in the 70s for today."