Last September, the Miami retail-scene mainstay the Webster and the Parisian department store Le Bon Marche Rive Gauche approached more than 50 brands with a carte blanche of sorts: the opportunity to design an item for a limited-edition collection to launch in 2015.
Laure Heriard Dubreuil, the co-founder and C.E.O. of the Webster, says that the latest “mois du blanc” wasn’t a hard sell. “The timing was the main challenge, because we started the process when all of the fashion houses were working on their collections. But they loved the idea and the challenge.
From mid-January to mid-February, Dubreuil and her team will host a pop-up shop chez Bon Marche, and vice versa. I am thrilled about the exclusive wallpaper we designed to illustrate our collaboration and as a clin d’oeil — or, wink — to the Webster decor! she says. It was amazing to exchange our expertise and strong DNAs. It was a match made in heaven!
The (appropriate) caveat? Each contribution had to be rendered in white, as part of “le mois du blanc” (“the month of white”), a Bon Marche tradition since January 1873, when the store’s founder Aristide Boucicaut stocked a selection of snow-hued garments to fill his shelves following the holiday shopping season.
It’s so of-the-moment; everyone wears all-white looks any time of the year.” Dubreuil has already picked up a pair of Pierre Hardy high-heeled sandals and an Aurelie Bidermann collar for herself. Also among her alabaster must-haves: replica handbags by Louis Vuitton, Dior and Celine; a fringed Barrie poncho; and Frederic Malle White Flowers candles and Byredo Blanche hair fragrance.
