You don’t have to be a fashion expert to know that Parisians have a gift for style. Practically everywhere you look in Paris, you’ll find passersby donning chic, effortless looks. Even if you don’t have the good fortune to be from the City of Light, you can always dress like you are. Vestiaire Collective has a global community of over 9 million Fashion Activists buying and selling secondhand clothing, so if Parisian fashion is what you want, you can get it through Vestiaire— straight from a bonafide French closet.
In this guide, let us walk you through the streets of Paris — in fashion, anyway. These are 5 of our favourite young brands coming out of France that have all the sophistication you’d expect, paired with a fresh, youthful vibe.
MaisonCléo owes a lot of its seemingly overnight success to Instagram, which catapulted the mother-daughter owned label to fame in 2017. But the real reason for its success is because the made-to-order clothes are the antithesis of fast fashion. Every piece is designed by Marie Dewet (formerly a Vestiaire Collective team member!) and sewn by her seamstress mother, Cléo Dewet. The duo prioritises natural fabrics and sources them by buying deadstock from other couture houses. Buying excess fabric is a more sustainable way of sourcing material. It also means that when the fabric runs out, it’s really out, so the availability of each piece is extremely limited. By searching MaisonCléo on Vestiaire you will have more opportunities to find out of stock items.
MaisonCléo has strong family values and pursues fashion for pleasure, not to contribute to mass consumerism. Because each item is handmade in France, they keep production small which allows them to enjoy the process at a relaxed pace. They never make more items than they care to, because they reject the notion that productivity equals success. It’s what makes MaisonCléo tantalisingly exclusive. Their online shop opens once per week and the roughly 30 items released are sold out within about 10–15 minutes. Since it is drop-release only, finding these highly sought after items can be challenging. Shopping pre-loved MaisonCléo on Vestiaire will help streamline the process so you can spend less time searching and more time enjoying your item. In the fight against fast fashion, MaisonCléo is truly at the forefront.
When Beyoncè released her 2019 musical film Black is King, many big designers such as Valentino and Burberry were represented, but no look garnered as much praise as the crescent moon bodysuits designed by young French designer Marine Serre.
Like so many young designers, Serre seemed to shoot to fame thanks to her Instagram presence, but in reality she’d been working for years in fashion ateliers like Balenciaga, Dior and Alexander McQueen. The designer was the youngest ever LVMH prize winner at age 25. Now, her distinctive crescent moon logo and edgy sportswear are lauded at catwalks and city streets all over the world.
Serre has bold, youthful and playful looks but she takes sustainability in her work seriously. Serre’s impeccable commitment to the environment and to quality go so far as using biodegradable thread and tracing every fabric or material she uses. Her Autumn/Winter 2020 collection used about 50% deadstock fabrics and other existing materials, and the rest was made using recycled fabrics. Even the accessories were upcycled, making Marine Serre one of the most promising sustainable clothing brands around. Though some of her upcycled materials are already on their second or third life, the looks are always super fresh. In the words of her team, Marine Serre is futurewear. She has confessed that while sustainability will always be important to how she creates, it is not why she creates. Her main objective is to make beautiful, functional, high-quality clothing.
Though young, Marine Serre has already had some high profile collaborations, so if you want to snag a limited edition Marine Serre piece, like the fantastic 2-in-1 bodysuit from the 2019 Marine Serre x Nike Women’s World Cup collection, check out our availability on Vestiaire Collective. As Marine Serre’s star — or crescent moon —continues to rise, the value of her collectible pieces are likely to as well.
Nodaleto is the brainchild of Julia Toledano, daughter of LVMH CEO Sidney Toledano, and her first launch was an ode to her family legacy. Though Toledano was born to a fashion dynasty, she didn’t know if it was the path for her. Luckily for us, she designed her first pair of Nodaletos in 2019 based on a pair of her mother’s boots from the 1970s and the company was born.
Nodaleto is an eclectic brand of highly sculptural shoes. With a vibrant colour palette and a chunky heel, these are shoes with spirit and even a little mischievous streak. Don’t let the geometric shapes fool you though, Toledano designs her styles with comfort in mind. She wants the contemporary woman to be able to wear them from morning to night.
Toledano takes inspiration from many sources, perhaps the most obvious being the ‘70s as displayed from the retro vibe in these pieces. But she also takes inspiration from architecture, the beaches of California and even movies —all of which allow her designs to have a refreshing spontaneity and whimsy. Split between Paris and Los Angeles, these shoes reflect the two cities by exemplifying both luxury high fashion and carefree pleasure.
When building a sustainable closet, don’t forget things like your accessories, handbags and shoes. Like clothing, these are pieces that you can choose to shop for in a more thoughtful way for the planet, and great candidates for buying preloved. Whether you want patent leather ankle boots or cloth mules, you can shop for a daring and fun pair of preloved Nodaletos on Vestiaire Collective. It’s the best way to shop for shoes in a sustainable manner so that your carbon footprint will be smaller, no matter what size preloved shoes you’re in.
Simon Porte Jacquemus launched his label at only 19 years old, bursting with confidence and fresh ideas. Like many young designers, Instagram provided his work its first exposure. Since then, thanks to the charismatic designer’s flair for drama, he has become a popular influencer, and his label is now the fashion brand with the fastest digital growth.
Jacquemus is revitalising French fashion with designs that are characterised by asymmetry and a child-like freedom. Jacquemus the man and Jacquemus the label are hard to separate. The aesthetic of the brand is just as optimistic and sunny as the prodigy who founded it. Raised on a farm in southern France, he favours using natural fabrics, which are generally better choices for sustainable wardrobe than polyester based clothing.
Nothing says springtime like flowers and Jacquemus is seizing the season to combine two of his passions: flowers and fashion. Skilled at finding upcycled fashion, he recently opened a pop-up shop in Paris called Les Fleurs where the bouquets are wrapped up in upcycled scrap fabric from his previous collections.
It’s not the first time Jacquemus has turned to flowers to grab attention. His Spring/Summer 2020 show was held in the lavender fields of Provence and had the fashion world practically frothing at the mouth at the gorgeous theatricalism. Truly, if you want to grab attention for your wardrobe, take a cue from Jacquemus, a designer who knows how to get noticed. His live stream runway show during the pandemic was one of the most viewed digital fashion shows of the year.
Jacquemus is a forward-thinking and accessible luxury brand with size inclusivity. The most adored pieces from Jacquemus, like the La Bomba hat or Chiquito Bag, are available pre-loved on Vestiaire so you can flaunt your Parisian style knowing you made a good choice for the planet by choosing second-hand.
Musier Paris is a contemporary French brand that caters to a younger generation of fashion lovers by being both sassy and affordable. It was begun, as many of our favourite contemporary French labels, on Instagram by the influencer Adenorah, otherwise known as Anne-Laure Mais in 2018. Celebrities like Bella Hadid are big fans of this young brand and it’s no wonder why, since these retro-inspired pieces are sensual, comfortable and made in an environmentally responsible manner. And did we mention they’re incredibly Instagrammable?
Inspired by beach culture, surfing and vintage clothing essentials, Musier aims for small collections of high quality essentials to discourage over-consumption. To keep its carbon footprint small, they try to have 100% production in France and use natural fibres sourced from European mills. Musier also never throws away fabric, choosing to upcycle instead. Musier pieces bought pre-loved from Vestiaire is a great way to build a lasting wardrobe in a more gentle way for the planet.
Similar to how Vestiaire’s network enables sustainable-minded Fashion Activists to share their passion for clothing and the environment with one another, Musier aims to speak to the interconnectedness of women who support each other’s pursuits through social media. If you want that effortless Parisian look, look no further than a capsule collection from Musier. When you purchase the pieces on Vestiaire, it’s the easiest way to get the minimalistic French vibe you want while shopping in a more sustainable manner than first-hand.
While French labels like Dior and Hermès are always going to be stylish picks for any fashion wish list, these young designers are excellent entry points into your Parisian fashion foray. Contemporary French fashion is characterised by being fresh, edgy and wearable, while retaining the classic elegant chic vibe that we expect from French design. And more and more, young designers are choosing sustainable practices in their design, fabric choices, and production methods. These are the brands that the fashionable French are choosing to wear on the streets of Paris everyday so selecting any of these labels will mark you as a savvy fashion insider.
Vestiaire Collective was started in Paris when we were going through our friends’ closets to find all the gorgeous and quintessential French pieces that were going unworn. If you want to dress in the timeless and inimitable French Girl style, step into Vestiaire Collective’s global closet to find these 5 brands pre-loved. We have a huge selection of French brands to choose from, with pre-loved pieces that won’t tax the environment. A minimalistic French wardrobe shouldn’t have a maximalist carbon footprint. Shopping pre-loved from Vestiaire ensures that your clothes are bought with consideration for the planet. Because, more often than not, less truly is more.