Julie de Libran

Julie de Libran (born February 23, 1972) is a French fashion designer. She has worked for leading fashion houses such as Gianfranco Ferré, Gianni Versace, Prada and Louis Vuitton.^[1] She specializes in women’s fashion, celebrity and event dressing and made-to-measure. In May 2014 she was named the artistic director of Sonia Rykiel.^[2] In June 2019 she launched her own fashion line, Julie de Libran Paris, a women’s made-to-order couture collection.^[3]

Early life

Julie de Libran was born in Aix-en-Provence, in the south of France, and raised in Vernègues, a small village close to Les Baux-de-Provence. When de Libran was eight years old, she moved to the United States with her family and spent the 1980s in California. At a very early age she began to be passionate about fashion, creativity and design, and at high school, started drawing some sketches and taking them to a seamstress.^[4]

Education

In 1990 Julie de Libran went to Italy to study fashion. She went to the Istituto Artistico dell’Abbigliamento Marangoni in Milan where she studied fashion design and pattern making.^[5][6] She then went to Paris, to study draping at l’Ecole de la Chambre Syndicale de la Couture Parisienne.^[1]

Career

From 1991 to 1994 she worked in Milan with Gianfranco Ferré on his own brand while he was also designing Christian Dior.^[7] She worked close to Gianfranco Ferré on his women's collections and she designed his line Oaks by Ferré and Ferré Jeans Collection.

In 1994, she moved to Paris, and worked with Jean-Charles de Castelbajac designing his women’s collection.^[8] In 1996 she went back to Italy to Gianni Versace where she assisted Gianni and then Donatella Versace on his and then her Women's Collection and Atelier Collection shown in Paris.^[1] In 1998 she joined Prada for 10.5 years as the design director for women’s ready-to-wear, lingerie, and VIP and celebrities dressing. Working beside Miuccia Prada she helped establish the Italian firm with celebrity and event dressing.^[8] She created in 2003 the Prada made-to-measure atelier in Paris.^[9] From 2008 to 2014 she joined the French fashion house Louis Vuitton where she was the womenswear creative and studio director.^[8] She worked very closely with Marc Jacobs on all the creative process for ready-to-wear, accessories, ad campaigns and fashion shows.^[10][11] She was the designer of Icons, the house's line of classic pieces, as well as the cruise and pre-fall collections.^[12][13] In 2013 The Telegraph called her "Louis Vuitton's secret weapon".^[1]

On May 15, 2014 she is named Artistic Director of Sonia Rykiel overlooking all lines of Sonia Rykiel’s womenswear and accessories, Sonia By Sonia Rykiel, the children's line and the home collection.^[14] Her first collection for Sonia Rykiel, Spring Summer 2015, is shown in Paris in September 2014.^[2] Her pre-fall 2015 show is held at the Jane Hotel in New York in January 2015.^[15] Her fall 2015-2016 show takes place in the Saint-Germain-des-Pres parisian store in March 2015.^[16] On that occasion, Julie de Libran works with publisher Thomas Lenthal and artist André Saraiva to transform the Sonia Rykiel flagship store into a bookstore filled with 50,000 books.^[17] In 2016, she collaborated with contemporary Spanish-American artist Maggie Cardelús to create a print for the autumn-winter collection.^[18] In July 2018, Julie de Libran was invited by the Chambre Syndicale de la Haute Couture to show Sonia Rykiel's first ever couture collection named l'Atelier.^[19] In September 2018, Julie de Libran showed her spring summer 2019 collection on the new Allée Sonia Rykiel, a Parisian street named after the late designer Sonia Rykiel.^[20][21]

After her departure from Sonia Rykiel in March 2019,^[22] Julie de Libran showed her debut eponymous collection of 21 looks in her own home on June 30, 2019.^[23] Her collection is sustainably-minded, each dress being made to order in limited quantities from end-of-roll fabrics.^[24][25]

In December 2019, the Chambre syndicale de la Haute Couture announces that Julie de Libran will be showing her second collection under her brand, as a guest member during the official couture week in Paris in January 2020.^[26]

In 2021, Julie de Libran collaborated for her collection with Eres, Charvet, and Goossens, respectively famous for lingerie, shirt making, and costume jewelry.^[27]

In January 2022, Julie de Libran opened her first physical boutique on the Left Bank in Paris, France.^[28]

References

1. Roux, Caroline (7 July 2013). "Julie de Libran Louis Vuittons secret weapon". The Telegraph.
2. Holgate, Mark. . Vogue. Archived from the original on 2014-05-17. Retrieved 2014-05-17.
3. Phelps, Nicole. "Fall 2019 Couture Julie De Libran". Vogue.
4. Onstad, Katrina (2010). "Home again: Louis Vuittons style inspiration". Elle.
5. "Julie de Libran". Business of Fashion.
6. "Julie de Libran". Istituto Marangoni.
7. "We meet Marc Jacobs friend and creative confidante Julie de Libran a fashion force in her own". Grazia.
8. Socha, Miles (10 January 2014). "exit studio left". Women’s Wear Daily.
9. "Julie de Libran named Creative Director at Sonia Rykiel". Fashion Week Daily.
10. Alexander, Ella (10 January 2014). "Julie de Libran leaves Louis Vuitton Studio". Vogue.
11. Jones, Dolly (8 November 2013). "Vuitton's Second-In-Command". Vogue.
12. Zarrella, Katharine (14 May 2014). "Sonia Rykiel taps Julie de Libran". Style.com.
13. Binkley, Christine (15 May 2014). "Julie de Libran takes over design at Sonia Rykiel as fashion shakeout continues". The Wall Street Journal.
14. Sowray, Bibby (15 May 2014). "Sonia Rykiel appoints Julie de Libran as artistic director". The Telegraph.
15. Phelps, Nicole (7 January 2015). "Sonia Rykiel". Style.com.
16. Iredale, Jessica (9 March 2015). "Sonia Rykiel RTW Fall 2015". Women’s Wear Daily.
17. Bubble, Susie (10 March 2015). "Sonia Rykiel AW15". Dazed and Confused Magazine.
18. Phelps, Nicole (7 March 2016). "Fall 2016 ready-to-wear Sonia Rykiel". Vogue.
19. Foley, Bridget (29 June 2018). "A Couture Debut, 50 Years in the Making". Women’s Wear Daily.
20. Phelps, Nicole (30 September 2018). "Spring2019 ready-to-wear Sonia Rykiel". Vogue.
21. Hirschmiller, Stephanie (29 September 2018). "Sonia Rykiel Just Showed on a Parisian Street Named After the House's Iconic Founder". Footwear News.
22. Salessy, Heloïse (14 March 2019). "Julie de Libran is no longer creative director at Sonia Rykiel". Vogue.
23. Foley, Bridget (2 July 2019). "Dress by Julie de Libran Couture Fall 2019". Women’s Wear Daily.
24. Thomas, Dana (7 September 2019). "Doing it on their own". The New York Times.
25. Holgate, Mark (19 July 2019). "As We Approach a New Decade, Designers Are Rethinking Scale, Sustainability, and Work-Life Balance". Vogue.
26. Burlet, Fleur (18 December 2019). "Bouchra Jarrar Returns to Paris Couture Schedule". Women’s Wear Daily.
27. "Julie de Libran Spring 2021 Couture Collection". Vogue. 2021-01-25. Retrieved 2021-11-23.
28. "Julie de Libran Opens First Boutique in Paris". Women's Wear Daily. 2022-01-11. Retrieved 2022-01-15.