Carine Roitfeld Creates Collection for Pierre Mantoux
● The exclusive capsule collection of seven hosiery styles will launch in September in occasion of the Italian brand’s 90th anniversary.
MILAN — Carine Roitfeld may be the epitome of Parisian style, incarnating the easy-chic French woman who doesn’t need a lot to look and feel elegant and sexy. But now the former Vogue Paris editor in chief, founder of CR Fashion Book — who recently turned entrepreneur with her own label Carine Roitfeld Paris — has collaborated with Pierre Mantoux to create an exclusive capsule collection of seven hosiery styles, which will be launched in September on the occasion of the 90th anniversary of Pierre Mantoux. This is Roitfeld’s first collaboration as a brand.
“This collection looks a lot like me: black colors, references to Paris. Tights are such an important part of my wardrobe and I wanted these tights to be a fashion item rather than just a random underwear you wear once,” Roitfeld told WWD.
Patrizia Giangrossi, owner of Pierre Mantoux, added, “Carine wants simple items but of a high quality so it was definitely a great challenge but we were very enthusiastic to work with her.”
Pierre Mantoux is an Italian brand that offers a range of collections that include hosiery, nightwear, loungewear, swimwear, beachwear and fashion accessories.
“We are a family brand, always have been and will continue to be,” Giangrossi said. “I am the third generation working at Pierre Mantoux and my two daughters, Chiara and Costanza [Ferraris], who are already working with me, are the fourth generation to carry on this company.”
This is why Roitfeld was initially motivated to work with the brand, explaining that “it was very important to know that also Pierre Mantoux is a family business. I work with my son Vladimir [CEO Vladimir Restoin-Roitfeld] and I think we share the same values.” Indeed, Giangrossi agreed that, bonding over these family values, they “immediately understood each other.”
The collection takes inspiration from Roitfeld’s recognizable style but it also maintains elements of Pierre Mantoux. “This collection includes the seven tights I always dreamed of but never found. I wanted to create a very high-quality tight, and working with Pierre Mantoux I made that possible. Each little detail required attention and precision, from the choice of the right fabric to the exact colors and elastics.”
The Carine Roitfeld for Pierre Mantoux capsule collection’s ad campaign has been devised as a series of six self-portraits lensed by Rory Van Millingen, a frequent collaborator of Roitfeld for her CR Fashion book. “I think the pictures really reflect a kind of woman who takes control, who is not afraid of putting herself directly in front of the camera and her sexiness shows also through her gestures, the way she crosses the legs or shows off the tights,” Roitfeld said. “My greatest desire with this collection is that the women wearing these tights can feel both sexy and powerful simultaneously.”
Giangrossi is already thinking of expanding the collection with Roitfeld in the future. “During one of our chats, Carine and I already sketched an idea for a future collaboration, so we would love to continue this partnership, but firstly we want to see how this first step goes.”