Translated by
Nicola Mira
Published
Nov 28, 2019
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Patou’s Parisian chic arrives online and in-store

Translated by
Nicola Mira
Published
Nov 28, 2019

Patou’s new vintage has arrived. Guillaume Henry, creative director of the legendary Parisian label relaunched by LVMH, presented his first winter collection, in two acts, last September, and now the first Patou creations are available on the market. A Sleeping Beauty of the fashion world since 1987, Patou established its new headquarters and creative studio in the very heart of Paris, on the Île de la Cité, and did not waste any time in making a come-back in a variety of arenas.


The homepage of Patou’s e-shop sets the tone for the label's revival - patou.com


Patou is now available at 80 top multibrand retailers worldwide, among them the Galeries Lafayette’s Haussmann and Champs Elysées branches and Le Bon Marché in Paris, Hankyu in Japan, Boon the Shop in Korea, Selfridges in London, 10 Corso Como in Milan, Joyce in Hong Kong and Hayashi in Frankfurt.

The label is also keen to gain visibility via a series of pop-up stores in France and elsewhere, showcasing its collections directly to consumers before opening its own stores. A first temporary shop was recently inaugurated at Galeries Lafayette Haussmann, on the first floor, and will remain open until January 15.

Finally, last week Patou launched its e-shop, defined as its “preferred” sales channel. Indeed, the label will not be available on any other multibrand fashion e-store, except for 24S, the luxury e-shop by department store Le Bon Marché, also owned by LVMH.
 

A fresh, playful look



Patou’s website is easy to browse and has a fresh, playful look, with plenty of exclamation marks setting the tone and underscoring the joyful, carefree mood the label has adopted in its new incarnation. The same friendly vibe given off by Guillaume Henry’s original sketches, which are featured alongside some of the models, and by the production details provided with each item.


Galeries Lafayette will host Patou in Paris until January 15 - Patou


“This product was designed in-house, on the Île de la Cité in Paris. We then had it crafted at a garment factory in Portugal,” recites the descriptive text for a polyester cady dress.

The design and user experience of Patou’s e-store have been created by London agency B-Reel, while the site itself has been developed on the Shopify Plus platform. Patou.com is available in seven languages (French, English, Spanish, German, Chinese, Japanese and Italian) and is expected to extend to others in future. It is now active in 25 countries in continental Europe. Its extension to the USA is planned for 2020, and to Asia and the rest of the world by 2021.

The site will be constantly updated with new looks, albeit in a judicious fashion. Nearly 10% of the collection consists in fact of permanent items, the so-called ‘Essentials’, such as overcoats and pea jackets. The label’s other key product strategy is to keep pace with the seasons by shortening as much as possible the gap between the items’ presentation and their arrival on the market. Rather than labelling this approach ‘see now, buy now’, Patou prefers to call it ‘need now, buy now’, selling winter items in winter and summer ones in summer.


The e-shop will be Patou’s preferred sales channel - Patou


In the same practical, responsible spirit, the collection in entirely produced in Europe, except for the costume jewellery which is made in Bali, Thailand, by local artisans. Patou also highlights on the site its pledge to protect the environment, and pays careful attention to sustainability across the whole product development process. “Our approach, which we call The Patou Way, is based on four main lines of action and progress,” states Patou.

Packaging is 100% recycled and recyclable. The garments are “produced responsibly” through certified factories and partners and via a policy of proximity sourcing, to reduce the label’s environmental footprint. Over a third of the items are made in eco-sustainable materials, the same approach used for the label’s offices and commercial spaces.

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