2023-07-02 22:16:54
Published on
21.06.2023
Fursac settles a little more in the official calendar of Men’s Fashion Week. This Thursday, the SMCP group brand presents its collections for the third consecutive season. An event which will be the first for Jérémie Le Febvre, appointed last May at the head of Fursac. Passed in particular by AMI, alongside Alexandre Mattiussi, and more recently within the Tomorrow group, where he operated A-Cold-Wall*, it is within the Fursac showroom, rue Richelieu in the 2nd arrondissement of Paris , between the racks and the moodboard of the presentation, that the leader, wearing a thick denim jacket over a white cotton T-shirt, shared a coffee and his vision with FashionNetwork.com.
First point clarified directly by the manager: with his arrival, there is no setback regarding participation in Fashion Week: “The presence of the brand is a desire and a long-term investment of the house committed with Gauthier’s arrival in 2021. Fursac’s strategy is to affirm a creative purpose. Therefore, the possibility of expressing this creative purpose in particular, with professionals, fully justifies participation in Fashion Weeks.”.
And the leader to advance that since its debut on the official calendar, the brand, which claims to have once more crossed the milestone of 40 million euros in turnover, has a greater resonance for its international ambitions. Fursac, acquired in 2019 by the SMCP group and which has some 70 shops and corners, including ten abroad, is indeed gradually advancing in export. and is preparing stores in Madrid, near the unmissable calle serano, in Berlin, following having opened Stuttgart and Munich, and is going to set up a corner at Harrods in London. The label wants to gradually expand into these markets but is also looking at the Netherlands, Scandinavia and Portugal.
Interior of the Richelieu flagship in Paris – Fursac
“We participate in Fashion Weeks, keeping in mind that our approach is particular. Most of the houses that show do it because wholesale is a fundamental element of their business. This is not the case. Our DNA is deeply linked to physical retail. But our vocation in our international development is to speak to all types of buyers. For us, this is not a marketing stunt.” However, the seasonal meeting has the merit of affirming the work on the style carried out by Gauthier Borsarello who has brought more diversity to the offer of Fursac, historically known in France for its costumes.
The issue of chemistry between the CEO and the creative director
A creative approach that Jérémie Le Febvre knows well, the two men having launched in 2018, with Arthur Menguy, Le Vif, a vintage store concept. A proximity seen as an asset by the general manager.
The previous presentation at the Comédie Française – FNW
“Whatever the size of a brand, the agreement between the general manager and the creative director, the alchemy that can be created, is the main issue. This determines all the dynamics. There is nothing worse a brand in the growth phase where the agreement between the CEO and the creative director is unbalanced. Either the creative director feels that the cursor of the CEO is too business and feels restrained in his creation. Either the creative director expresses himself without limit and behind the brand produces commercial collections that no longer have anything to do with each other. It’s a huge opportunity and a time saver to already know each other. Admittedly, we hadn’t worked in such a framework, but what brought us together is the taste and even the obsession for the product.”.
A collaboration that will surface on the collection presented this Thursday and which will be reinforced over the coming seasons. Proposals that might be put in the spotlight even more with the transition to the catwalk format?
“For me, any brand with a designer aspires to a moment in the show format, abounds the general manager. However, we must never disconnect from our end consumer. The organization of a show is in the viewfinder. But we must identify a format that suits us. The technical aspect of the fashion show format according to the definition of the federation is interesting because the subject is focused and impactful over a fixed period. I, who come from fashion houses, I discover that the presentation is a format much more restrictive. You have to manage to create life for three and a half hours, whatever the moment, each visitor must have the same experience. It’s a real challenge! The parade is a natural aspiration, but we will do it in consistency with the fact that we are a ‘direct to consumer’ brand”.
For the brand, it might then be a question of having at least a part of see now-buy now in this approach in order in particular to bring the pieces directly to its French or European customers. Tommy Hilfiger or Boss have explored this path. But the management says that the project is still to be refined on this point. Its priority, however, is to assert the brand’s position in the accessible luxury segment. Born from a know-how on the suit, Fursac has kept this identity while exploring new product categories in recent seasons. A work of progressive expansion of the offer which makes it possible to modify by small touches the perception of the brand in France and to attract new customers, but also to set a tone for its identity internationally.
The green leather jacket for the spring-summer 2023 season – Fursac
“We are not a designer brand, but a brand with a designer. We are in the process of building Fursac’s desirability while remaining accessible. In fact, we are living in a great moment for the brand. allows us to transform the image. Typically, we experienced it with our green leather jacket, emblematic piece of this summer. This surprises. People say to themselves ‘But that’s Fursac!?’ And that’s the strength: managing to bring together pieces from tailoring and more creative pieces. That’s where we see an influence from Ralph Lauren, where he worked. It’s a brand that is elegant and manages to talk to a lot of people.”
In France, and therefore increasingly internationally where the brand might find partners in Asia and the Americas, Fursac is therefore destined to attract more and more people. Without yet competing with Ralph Lauren, but still having in sight the milestone of 100 million euros in turnover in the medium term.
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