History
2000’s – Homemade collections
In the 2000s, Florence Rouanet-Riboud became the artistic director of Victoire.
In the 2000s, Florence Rouanet-Riboud became the artistic director of Victoire.
“Victoire is my life! I arrived at the age of 22 as a collection assistant. Then I came back after a few years to open the rue Duphot’s stores for men and women. In the meantime, Victoire had seen many changes: fashion was now all about basics – that is jeans and boots. Fashion was not feminine – we’d see very few skirts or dresses. I thought Victoire was not “girly” enough, so I decided to bring fashion back to the stores.
Buying is about feeling; I follow my instinct. Colors are Victoire’s signature, both for men and women. Then, it’s all about mixing styles, designers and sometimes taking bold moves as long as they remain “chic” moves – Victoire must always remain a safe choice. I like taking risks and making colors clash with fashion standards. Every season, I pick a few “outcasts” – a few discordant items that make the stores even more lively.
Victoire started its own collection.
The fashion designer Patrick Kelly did the first drawings.
Like in a haute couture house, the design is handmade – we make the drawings and create muslin models. We try them, debate over them, choose, improve, or start them over again…
For men, we create shirts that will never have stiff collars. Every season, we choose between sixty and eighty varieties of fabrics. We mostly go for blue hues. Short sleeves are excluded (long sleeves should just be rolled up). Our cashmere sweaters are available in an infinite range of beautiful colors except black.
As for women, we look for our fabrics around the world – our basics like to go exploring a little, following no diktat except our desires. Our cashmere sweaters keep evolving and change every season, adapted to what you wear and what you want. Every winter and every summer, we create about ten new styles in about ten new colors. For the shirts, Florence first took them in the men’s wardrobe, before she decided to start a real collection of men’s shirts for women – the boyfriend shirt that suits you.
