Courrèges

Courrèges () is a French prêt-à-porter fashion house that was founded by French fashion designers André Courrèges and his at the time partner (and later wife) Coqueline Courrèges in 1961 as a couture house.

Fashion house

Courrèges was launched in 1961 by André Courrèges and Coqueline Courrèges as a couture house. However in 1967 the brand shuttered the couture line and transitioned to ready-to-wear with the line taking on the name of 'couture future' which is what it has the house has produced since.

Half of the company was sold to L’Oréal in 1968. This was done to finance the business' expansion.

A menswear line was launched in 1973. However it was discontinued in 1986.

In 1982 L’Oréal sold their stake to Japanese company ''Itokin''. Under their ownership André Courrèges "lost control" of the house and profits declined until it was sold to ''Epargne Developpement'' in 1990 (owned by Caisse d'Epargne). The brand returned with a boutique in Bloomingdale's and a party at the Paramount Hotel.

The shares in the company in 1993 were André Courrèges Design (65%; owned by André, Coqueline and family) and Epargne Partenaires (35%). At this time Jean-Charles de Castelbajac was appointed artistic director, working alongside André producing women’s ready-to-wear collections. However after two seasons he left the house to launch his own fashion brand.

In 1994 the André and Coqueline Courrèges regained control of the house. André retired the year after and Coqueline became artistic director.

The brands worldwide turnover in 1996 was 2.4 billion francs.

From August 1997 the company moved its operations (couture, perfumes, licences) to 40 rue François 1er, where it has been located since. At the time the house had 100 employees.

The brand was sold by the Courrèges family in 2011 to Jacques Bungert and Frédéric Torloting. At the time only the Paris Rue François flagship was open. At the time the brand was mainly operating off of the profits from its licence agreements in Japan, before the sale houses team had been designing collections (designed by Coqueline Courrèges) but they were not manufactured or distributed. In September 2011 a limited edition water bottle was released in collaboration with Evian.

Courrèges was relaunched in November 2011 with an online site operated by ''Vente-Privée.com'' and sold a collection of updated items which were 'house classics'. These were also sold at Colette.

Bungert and Torloting sold a stake to Groupe Artémis in 2015 however sold all shares in the company to Artémis in 2018. The Pau factory was closed in 2017.

Yolanda Zobel was revealed as the new artistic director in February 2018 she had previously worked for Acne Studios, Jil Sander, Chloé and more. Under her direction she stopped using the houses iconic vinyl material over sustainability concerns and aimed to make Courrèges plastic free.

In January 2020 the artistic director, Zobel exited the house. Adrien Da Maia was then appointed CEO in March 2020. Nicolas de Felice was appointed artistic director in September 2020 and presented his first collection in March 2021. de Felice previously worked under Nicolas Ghesquière at both Balenciaga and Louis Vuitton.
Under Da Maia's and de Felice's control the brand started gaining traction in the fashion industry with more than half of its customers (who purchased de Felices debut collection) being new. Benjamin Simmenauer (professor at Institut Français de la Mode) said in an interview with Vogue Business that “''He'' e Felice''has brought back the youth component of the brand identity, stripping it from its more conceptual or avant garde elements.''” Whilst Laure Hériard Dubreuil said “''The reinvented Courrèges by Nicolas di Felice is exactly what we want right now — heritage, modern, sexy, chic, Parisienne, worldwide — a new twist to the perfect'' ost-lockdown''uniform,''”.

Under Da Maia's and de Felice's control the brand started re-gaining traction in the fashion industry with more than half of its customers (who purchased de Felices debut collection) being new. Benjamin Simmenauer (professor at Institut Français de la Mode) said in an interview with Vogue Business that “''He'' e Felice''has brought back the youth component of the brand identity, stripping it from its more conceptual or avant garde elements.''” Whilst Laure Hériard Dubreuil said “''The reinvented Courrèges by Nicolas di Felice is exactly what we want right now — heritage, modern, sexy, chic, Parisienne, worldwide — a new twist to the perfect'' ost-lockdown''uniform,''”.

The house re-launched its menswear line in 2021.

In a 2021 interview with '' L'Officiel Paris'', de Felice when asked about his vision for ''Courrèges'' said “''When you remodel a house, you must obviously respect its heritage. But there is also a moment when it is your own vision that you have to put forward. I offer simple things. I have no intellectual pretensions, even if I think a lot.''”

An exhibit dedicated to the artistic struggles of the LGBTQI+ community was developed at Centre Pompidou in collaboration with Courrèges called “''Over the Rainbow''”.

The brands revenue doubled in 2023, continuing strong growth under de Felice.

Boutiques

By 1972 there were 125 Courrèges boutiques around the world.

The first American store opened on Rodeo Drive in 1973 and in 1974 a New York City boutique opened. In the 1970s there were up to 30 stores in the United States. The brand returned to New York City in 1991 when a boutique opened in Bloomingdale's.

The Paris Rue François Premier flagship was redesigned in late 2020 by Belgian architect Bernard Dubois. A store-within-a-store was opened in Galeries Lafayette ( Haussmann) in September 2021. A boutique also opened in Le Marais in the same year.

A New York City boutique was opened in SoHo in September 2022, also designed by Dubois. A Rive Gauche store opened in November. In an agreement with Shinsegae a store-within-a-store opened in Shinsegaes Gangnam store in 2023, the fifth store worldwide.

In 2024 stores opened in Le Marais (Paris; relocated larger Marais store) and South Coast Plaza (Los Angeles). Stores also opened within the department stores ''Shinsegae'' (Centum City) and Printemps (Haussmann). A store previously operated at South Coast Plaza from 1975 to 1982.

A special capsule collection was released in October 2024 produced for a pop-up boutique at Nordstrom NYC. The boutique will close in December.

Fragrance

In October 1965 a distribution deal was signed with L'Oréal for the brands first perfume. The first fragrance ''Empreinte'' was released in-house in 1971 (by this time ''L'Oréal'' was the companies largest shareholder). The perfume was later discontinued but reintroduced in 2021.

The first fragrance for men ''Amerique'' was launched in 1977. In 1983 when ''L'Oréal'' sold their 50% stake in the fashion house they retained 100% ownership of ''Courrèges Parfums''. However the company was later sold to a Swiss organisation.

Artistic directors

* André Courrèges (1961–1995; couture till 1967, women's collections from 1967 and mens collections from 1973 to 1986)
* Coqueline Courrèges (1961–2010; women's collections)
* Jean-Charles de Castelbajac (1993–1994; women's collections)
* Sébastien Meyer (2015–2017; women's collections)
* Arnaud Vaillant (2015–2017; women's collections)
* Yolanda Zobel (2018–2020; women's collections)
* Nicolas de Felice (2020–present; women's and since 2021 men's collections)

Notes

References

{{reflist

French fashion
High fashion brands