I’ve always loved riding my bike, taking my time to travel from my house in Paris’ third arrondissement to the office nearby. Even in the city, it’s a good way to breathe, to look around you and to see the colours, the lights, the people walking by. It’s my luxury and it suits me perfectly. It’s not that I don’t like riding around in taxis or beautiful sports cars, but rather that I like to decide when and where I change gears or pace – it’s a game for me. To roll along, speed up, slow down when I please, whenever it feels right.

In business, like with bike riding, I also prefer to listen to myself as well as to the people that I dress. I’ve always wanted my designs to be of the now, to reflect a certain modernity but to follow their own pace, tempo and rhythm. As such, I wanted to build my maison organically and with security. I wanted to open boutiques when it was called for them to be opened, whether that was in Paris, Los Angeles or St Tropez. I wanted to create images with artists that I believed in like Mark Borthwick or Lou Doillon. 

I love fashion week. I love the excitement of presenting our collections and ideas to the press, to friends and to buyers. However, a runway show lasts for the blink of an eye and the idea that one can present the work of an entire season in ten minutes is a ridiculous proposition. I started this brand independently but with a desire to be amongst others, to be with my team and with my clients who I might run into on the streets wearing pieces from current or previous seasons. I strive for those moments when clients thank me for the clothes I’ve created, in which they feel beautiful, serene and perhaps a little bit stronger. It’s these intimate moments that are not conveyed when I step out onto the catwalk to take a bow at the end of a show, and they are far better than the applause of an audience.

I want to continue moving forward at my own speed and to be relevant to those I’ve always loved to dress: the young girl who’s still a bit awkward and trying to discover herself, the young woman who loves fashion and trends, and those women who want, quite simply, to look beautiful. I want to return back to that certain something which is pure and honest; for instance, a garment that when worn, feels as if it’s enveloping you, a garment that gives you a sense of both pleasure and desire. Today, the world moves very quickly, so much so that the new cannot exist. In this world, you can only strive to preserve the energy or feeling of something. 

It’s important to always listen to yourself and keep your own point of view. I don’t want my maison to just be a post box receiving other people’s wishes and wants for the season. I don’t want to churn out collections and one pre-collection after another at a never-ending rate! I want my maison to be, quite literally, a home: for it to be a special place for me to make my desires and dreams come to fruition, as well as the curious and bohemian spirit of my clients. 

For all of these reasons, I decided not to present a catwalk collection this season but rather to rekindle the intimacy of my brand, which is what is most valuable to me. And to the venue on the morning of my presentation, I will of course be riding my bike.