Today we went to the Chall’angel pop-up store and we weren’t disappointed!
The event, which began on 8 February and ends on Sunday, is taking place at the Espace Baurepaire. It’s a beautiful, dynamic venue that takes us right through the heart of the different brands. The Pop-up was based on a competition, with 35 brands entering for the chance to be exhibited. Of these 35, 12 were selected by a Chall’angel jury, and the public also had the chance to give one of the designers their place with the Public Prize. It’s a great way for brands with limited resources to gain exposure.
Among all these brands, we had our own favourites.
Let’s start with a very unusual brand, Laura Casanova. We were completely seduced by her out-of-the-ordinary products, dream catchers, which we don’t get to see very often. Each one more beautiful than the next, Laura kindly explained her background and the reason for her creations.
The young designer drew inspiration from her travels in Australia, where she was lucky enough to enjoy a bohemian, hippie lifestyle. She then requested to return to France before heading back across the Atlantic to Montreal. There, she learned more about dream catchers and decided to start designing them.
Little by little, her friends and family started asking for them, she received more and more orders and decided to create her own brand. Laura explains that almost all her creations are made from recycled materials, ranging from cotton to linen. The feathers are sometimes synthetic, but she often manages to find some really beautiful goose or pheasant feathers. In short, a stunning and delightful brand that is far from ordinary.
Let’s move on to another brand that charmed us just as much, Not So Far. A very young brand (since October 2015) of women’s and men’s ready-to-wear with a very interesting concept. The designers start with a rather classic clothing base, and add touches of inspiration from a new city with each collection.
The first line was inspired by Shanghai, as the two young women, Pauline and Magali, have both lived there at some point in their lives. So we find pretty kimonos like the one below, or gold threads and red embroidery, the symbol of China, on most of the pieces.
Discreet inspirations that make this collection unique. We can’t wait to see the next collection, which comes out in April and will be inspired by (spoiler alert) Capetown in South Africa!
Last but not least, a lovely lingerie brand this time, Lou crie à tort. For a brand of underwear, it’s definitely out of the ordinary. Lou-Salomé Carrillo, the designer, explains that she wanted to create a brand that stood out, that allowed women to feel good in their underwear while still feeling feminine and sexy.
The designs are somewhere between retro and bohemian, both modern and straight out of the 60s and 70s, in noble materials such as Calais lace and silk. There’s no underwiring in the bras, so they’re ultra-compliant, with pretty touches of femininity that are not vulgar, and breasts that are sublimated but without artifice. What’s more, the pretty designer also creates homewear with sublime silk kimonos that make you want to wrap yourself up in them.
Julie Mourez
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