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French Fashion House Sonia Rykiel Set For Relaunch

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Two co-founders of online store Showroomprive, yesterday, announced they would relaunch French fashion label Sonia Rykiel. This comes nearly five months after its demise following a court ruling.

 

A court in Paris in July ordered the winding up of the loss-making brand founded by the “Queen of Knits”.

 

The designer died nearly three years ago at the age of 86. She popularised wearing all black and made her name with the “Poor Boy Sweater” that film star Audrey Hepburn made a key part of her look.

 

But despite the boom in luxury French fashion, a buyer could not be found to take on the label after it went into receivership in April.

 

A court on Wednesday, however, “authorised the sale of the brand’s assets for the benefit of Eric and Michael Dayan”. According to a statement issued by the pair, the two brothers were among four people who co-founded Showroomprive.

 

They said their objective would be to promote the Sonia Rykiel label “in France and abroad”. They also described it as a “flagship of French heritage”.

 

French designer Sonia Rykiel (right) and her daughter, Nathalie Rykiel, artistic director for the fashion house Rykiel, greet the crowd after the presentation of their Spring-Summer 2008 Ready-to-Wear collection, in Paris in 2007.

 

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“The Sonia Rykiel fashion house is back in 2020,” the statement said, adding that it would be a “new adventure” for the brand and the two entrepreneurs, who no longer manage Showroomprive.

 

They gave no further details.

 

The Sonia Rykiel brand was once an icon of youthful revolt against the stuffy fashion establishment.

 

Her first boutique opened on the Left Bank of the French capital in May 1968 just as students took to the streets outside demanding an end to the old order.

 

Many credit her as one who made wearing black from head to toe the epitome of Parisian cool, once saying she didn’t like wasting time choosing colours.

 

But last year the brand — half of whose sales were in France — lost 30 million euros ($33.5 million).

 

Several investors initially expressed interest in taking the house on. They included the former chief of the Paris brand Balmain, Emmanuel Diemoz, and a Chinese conglomerate. However, all came to nothing, leading to July’s winding up order.

 

Founded in 2006, French e-commerce company Showroomprive is one of the biggest online retailers in Europe.

 

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