10 MINUTES WITH...
Creative director Evelyne Chétrite talks all things Sandro Paris
How does your Moroccan heritage influence your design for Sandro Paris? I grew up in Rabat, where my aunt was a dressmaker and my grandfather owned a shirt shop. All my clothes were sewed by my aunt, so I spent my childhood surrounded by colourful fabrics and a noisy sewing machine, and whenever I see a seamstress, even now, I cannot help but think about this time of my life. This is obviously where my interest in fashion came from, it’s a family thing!
What was it like being a teenager in the streets of Paris? Did watching women running around the city shape your vision for the brand? I moved
to Paris when I was 15, I have always liked sitting at a café, any time of day, and watching people walk by. Parisian women are such an inspiration for me, I love discovering their outfits and imagine the story behind them, this is how I shape most of my collections.
A law graduate to a fashion designer isn’t an obvious route into the industry, what inspired you to change direction? I started
studying at law school after high school. On the weekends, I would do small jobs in flea markets and thrift shops around the city, where I created a loyal group of customers who appreciated my way of mixing pieces together. I realised law was not for me and I needed to do something creative with my life, and this is how the company progressively started.
Since starting the brand in 1984 to what it is today, what were the highs and lows whilst building the brand? I try to focus on the highs
and there have been many since we started the brand. The fact that I was able to do it with my husband has been important and gave me the strength and motivation to do it. Although, we started from scratch and we did not have the same means as we do today. My son joined me and launched the menswear collection, and he is doing a great job at it. And finally, the brand has grown internationally so I’m proud of what we have done. Of course, there have been some difficulties but the lessons you get from them is that with passion and dedication you can always succeed in doing something good. How does the SS19 speak to the women in this region? Sandro’s SS19 collection is paying a tribute to the women of the World. Our World Lovers theme embraces the spirit of travel that is so dear to me, and to the women of Dubai I’m sure. This season, I also designed an Eid capsule collection, to enjoy the celebration in a shiny glamourous outfit, from which the glittery dresses remind me of the fireworks over Dubai in the evening.
The masculine-feminine equation has been adopted by many brands, what makes Sandro different? My son and I are very independent in our
work. We try to cultivate a brand universe of course, but I do not try to adapt men’s items for women, and neither does he. We want to offer our audience the same standards of course, which are elegance and simplicity, but our collections are very different and both have a strong identity that would be a shame to lose.
Where do you find your inspiration as a designer?
I live not far from the office, so on my way home at the end of the day I pay a lot of attention to the people I see on the streets. The way they are dressed, the way they walk, the way they talk, I like to capture details, and try to connect them to my designs.
How important do you think sustainability is and what do you practice to ensure Sandro Paris meets this kind of criteria? We pay a lot of
attention to sustainable fashion. For example, we took the decision to stop working with animal furs and replaced it with faux fur.
In a world of fast-fashion and constant trends, how do you think Sandro Paris remains true to the brands DNA? Even though I took my inspiration
from Morocco and the meticulous craftsmanship I witnessed there when it comes to sewing clothes, my collections are mostly influenced by the Parisian style. I twist it sometimes, with Western floral patterns, vintage embroideries or fluorescent colors, but I always keep the very characteristic French chic in perspective and this is how our customers see the brand. We try to focus on good fits and great fabrics and our production department can spend hours on one single piece to make sure it matches our line perfectly and remains coherent with what we have always been doing. This is what we do, we created one good recipe and we spice it up differently every season.
What advice would you give to a young designer trying to start up a brand? To never give up on your ambitions and to force yourself to see
ahead of things, always dreaming bigger; when we started Sandro, we would never have imagined what we are today. I would also tell him or her that being visionary is good, but you also have to keep your customers’ tastes and expectations in mind when making moves: you can be innovative, but you cannot disappoint them.