Conceived in Paris in 2010, Maison Labiche is the store, atelier and brand founded by designer, Jenny, and stylist, Marie. The initial concept was simple; a creative outlet that would allow them to start using their hands and minds freely again. By producing customized wardrobe staples and jewellery that stands apart for its idiosyncratic aesthetics, Jenny and Marie have formed a unique label that has the individual at its heart. Others have been quick to notice the charm of the brand and it has grown swiftly in its two years of existence, now stocked at the likes of colette in Paris and Selfridges in London, amongst other notable locations. With their star on the rise, we paid a visit to the Maison Labiche headquarters in Paris to meet Jenny and Marie.

 

Jack Smylie: Tell us about Maison Labiche… What was the initial concept behind the brand?

Maison Labiche: Maison Labiche was born in 2010 in Paris around two friends: Jenny & Marie. The intial concept was to please the two friends who were a little bit bored in their jobs and to create a creative outlet where they could use their minds and hands more freely. The first product they worked on was a tee-shirt ( a basic, unisex, white, heavy and sexy garment), they started to embroider several, really enjoyed it and made collections out of it.

 

JS: And how have you expanded on that? 

ML: We enjoyed it so much that very quickly we had 3 different lines of tee-shirts and some jewelry lines, so we decided to work around that and to present our collections to selected shops. We were very lucky because Colette liked the teeshirts right away and is still buying them 18 months later. They have an amazing team, full of kindness, creativity and very efficient. After Colette, we started to do some tradeshows and Maison Labiche seduced more and more shops.

 

JS: Jenny, your background is in design and Marie, styling. Had you worked together before founding Maison Labiche?

ML: Before founding Maison Labiche, we never worked together. But we were good friends and we very often spoke about our projects and jobs and advised each other.

 

JS: Your People & Song t-shirt line presents the names of people and songs that inspire you. Who are some of your heros? 

ML: Hero is a big word. We admire a lot of people for their work and achievments, some of them are siblings some other are personalities, underground or mainstream. We love them for what they think, create, for the way they share them knowledge, art and for the imprint which they leave in the history. Impossible to quote them, they are too much many...

 

JS: Tell us about the hand symbols that adorn some of your t-shirts.

ML: This line came very quickly in our minds. Hands signs are such a great way to communicate: no need for translation wherever you are. We like that very much and thought it was a great design to put on teeshirts.

 

JS: A picture's worth a thousand words, but one word can change everything. What's more powerful: text or imagery?

ML: We work a lot with imagery, we both collect and keep thousands of images for their mood, the way they appeal to us. Imagery makes us feel something that sometimes is hard to put in words. Words are more for discussion, argumentation or work. So both word and imagery has its own purpose.

 

JS: Your jewellery sits somewhere between tribal, almost occult, and pop-bling. What is the inspiration for these pieces?

ML: Our jewellery is a different way of expression than our teeshirts, another part of ourselves. Each line has its own inspiration. We are mostly working with natural materials such as metal and natural beads cause we don’t like plastic or imitations. So at the beginning the inspiration come while sourcing the material or finding an amazing vintage piece or picture and then we feed the inspiration by looking for more images and materials and we build a collection around it.

 

JS: What's next for Maison Labiche?

ML: We just launched new teeshirts that will be available very soon, and we are working on new products to develop for ourselves and in collaboration with other people/brands. We hope to have more and more new meetings as enriching as the previous ones, which will lead us towards new projects.

 

www.maisonlabiche.com

 

Jack Smylie

Photographer - Clément Pascal