Isabel Marant
Designer, Isabel Marant
The native Parisian has cultivated a cult following for her laid back, slouchy-chic aesthetic that now supports a global brand.
"I never dreamed of being a big designer, I don't care about being known all over the world." Isabel Marant told the WSJ. Despite her best efforts, or rather because of her best efforts in the design studio, Marant is nonetheless a fashion force with a following bordering on the cultish — her collaboration with H&M in 2013 saw shoppers queueing from 4am to purchase her products.
Marant began designing only for her friends, but following her collaboration with Christopher Lemaire, Marant chose to make fashion her profession, quickly establishing herself as a fixture of Paris’ ready-to-wear week. Her laid back aesthetic is littered with rock girl references, tactile fabrics and a Parisian’s attitude to silhouette: long and lean or louche and short.
Marant’s designs both her main collection and her diffusion line, Isabel Marant Étoile, which are both sold all over the world. The brand also has nearly 40 directly-owned boutiques globally and an e-commerce site. However, the designer told W she approached own store expansion with caution, “When you have too many stores, everything is so important; if you have a failure somewhere, everything comes crashing down.”
In 2014, Marant was named Contemporary Designer Of The Year at the Elle Style Awards.
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What is The BoF 500?
The people shaping the global fashion industry, curated by the editors of The Business of Fashion, based on nominations and on-the-ground intelligence from around the world.
