Six Richemont-backed designers open Paris pop-up shop

Six young designers open their first shop in Paris this week.

The graduates of the AZ Academy, the one-year postgraduate programme backed by Richemont, the Swiss luxury group, will sell under the Bunch of Designers banner. It is their retail debut after a year of study and product development WWD.

The short-term shop runs from Wednesday to Oct. 17. It is held at Heureux les Curieux, a rotating pop-up space at 23 Rue du Pont-aux-Choux in the Marais district.

The six are Brais Albor, Caterina Moro, Liwen Liang, Manon Marcelot, Merle Breuker and Sandra Jao Richemont. They come from China, Italy, Spain, France, Germany and the Philippines. They were selected last December from the first intake of AZ Academy: Business for Designers.

That programme was developed by Richemont and Creative Academy in partnership with Accademia Costume & Moda, the fashion school. Richemont put the designers in contact with industrial partners and paid for prototyping, product development and the collection.

The range is broad. It runs from underwear and womenswear using YKK tapeless zippers to handbags made of leather or ceramic tiles. YKK is the Japanese maker best known for zips and fastenings.

French designer Manon Marcelot shows leather handbags made in France and Spain from deadstock leathers, leftover hides unused by previous production. Prices run from EUR 485 to EUR 1,050. Her lead piece is the Sonnaille bag, described as her first design shaped around the body with scope for many variations.

What makes this stand out is the route to the shop floor. Students often leave college to freelance or job-hunt. Here the group had factory contacts, production money and a Paris address before launch.

Philippe Fortunato is chief executive officer of fashion and accessories maisons at Richemont. The wider A Bunch of Designers initiative focuses on finding and supporting creative talent through education and coaching.