Poiret to relaunch for Fashion Week

After 89 years of silent absence, French couture house Poiret is making a comeback.

On March 4, the historic label will have a grand relaunch at the Paris Women's Fashion Week, with a show in the slot traditionally attributed to Celine.

The house which was established in 1903 closed its doors in 1929 with the financial crash of that year. In 2015, South Korean department store group Shinsegae International acquired the label from investment company Luvanis with the aim of resuscitating it. The conglomerate is known for its commercial alliances with luxury labels such as Givenchy, Celine, Brunello Cucinelli, Moncler and Burberry, as well as owning brands such as Vov and Vidi Vici.

For the last two years, Shinsegae has been working on Poiret's grand return to the fashion scene. The company tapped Belgian entrepreneur Anne Chapelle as CEO and Chinese designer based in Paris Yiqing Yin as Creative Director. Chapelle is well known for relaunching Ann Demeulemeester and Haider Ackermann while Yiqing Yin previously designed ready-to-wear collections for Maison Leonard, between 2014 and 2015. The re-launch of Poiret is being funded by Chung Yoo-Kyung , president of Shinsegae and granddaughter of the founder of Samsung.

'I wish to make Poiret a fashion label that tells stories of encounters and emotions, the landscape of a new kind of contemporary luxury, recognisable for its dialogue with the times. The philosophy at the heart of my work features a subtle appreciation of clothes and cuts, an ideal extension of the work of Paul Poiret who, at the start of the XXth century, liberated the bodies and souls of women,' Yiqing Yin said in a press release.

Born in 1879 and of humble birth, Paul Poiret conquered the Belle Epoque with dresses that freed women from their tight corsets and got into high society. He dominated the European fashion scene throughout the first two decades of the 20th century. During the 26 years that he directed the Parisian house (1903 to 1929), he was considered nothing less than 'The King of Fashion' thanks in part to a personality as distinguished as his elegant draped costumes.

Perhaps this year could mark the definitive return of the 'King of Fashion' to life.

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