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Guy Laroche is back—Mathilde Castello Branco unveils a new era of elegance

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Translated by

Nazia BIBI KEENOO

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March 13, 2025

After a four-year hiatus, Guy Laroche is reclaiming its place on the Paris fashion scene. The luxury house, which had remained largely silent since the pandemic, marked its return with an exclusive cocktail event at the Hôtel de Crillon on the final day of Paris Fashion Week, March 11. The occasion served as the launchpad for Mathilde Castello Branco, the newly appointed creative director, who unveiled her first ready-to-wear collection—a sophisticated, versatile wardrobe deeply rooted in couture craftsmanship and proudly made in France.

Mathilde Castello Branco – ph Marc Philbert

To reignite its ready-to-wear line, Guy Laroche turned to a seasoned designer with an impressive background in luxury fashion. Trained at École Duperré and Atelier Chardon-Savard, Mathilde Castello Branco began her career at Hermès, working under Martin Margiela, before spending a decade at Lanvin alongside Alber Elbaz.

Her expertise expanded further as she took on creative leadership roles at Azzaro (2011-2012), Princesse tam.tam (2013-2016), and Weill (2017-2021). Most recently, she dedicated herself to a personal project, crafting a wardrobe built around hand-painted silk pieces.

“Stepping into a house with such a rich heritage is a privilege,” says Castello Branco, who took over the Guy Laroche studio just over two months ago. With her first collection, she laid the foundation for a modernized vision of the brand—one that makes women’s lives easier without compromising elegance.

Her approach focuses on versatility, creating timeless pieces that seamlessly mix and match, allowing women to effortlessly adapt their looks. The fourteen silhouettes presented can transform into twenty-eight outfits. At the same time, accessories—including shoes, berets, and glamorous gloves—are crafted from the same fabrics as the garments, ensuring a cohesive total look.

“The clothes are meant to be played with, to be owned by the woman wearing them. It’s all about mix and match,” explains Castello Branco, who sourced flannel, lightweight wool, plongé lambskin, and silk mousseline from France, Italy, and England, while the denim comes from Japan. Production is handled by the Lyon-based atelier Grain de Tailles, led by Alexandra Berthet and Sophie Plaindoux, specialists in tailoring and wool craftsmanship.

A look from Guy Laroche fall-winter 2025/26
A look from Guy Laroche fall-winter 2025/26 – ph DM

Every piece in the collection is precisely cut and thoughtfully designed. The iconic shirtdress, initially created by Guy Laroche, has been reimagined as a coat dress for fall-winter 2025/26. A cape features a reversible plaid design, offering two hand openings and a hidden gusset with a zipper, allowing the wearer to adjust its volume. A flannel top transforms into either a zippered jacket or a billowy blouse, depending on how it’s worn. Another clever design? A pleated skirt and top duo that comes together as an elegant silk jersey evening dress.

Innovation extends to the smallest details: a gray flannel dress conceals invisible pockets seamlessly integrated into its flap design. A skirt with a back zipper lets the wearer adjust the slit height, while an ultra-delicate mousseline corsage fastens with hidden snap buttons.

“Couture is essential, but it should never feel forced,” says Castello Branco, who is committed to reviving French elegance with a short supply chain and a 100% made-in-France production model.

“It’s a fusion of couture and ready-to-wear,” adds CEO Hendrik Penndorf.

Established in 1957, Guy Laroche built its reputation in haute couture, shaping the elegance of its era. Since its 2004 acquisition by Hong Kong-based YGM Trading, the brand has leaned heavily on licensing, with handbags, watches, jewelry, and eyewear driving much of its revenue. Now, with a fresh creative direction, Guy Laroche is making a bold move to reclaim its place at the forefront of luxury fashion.

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Kering shares down 10% after Demna named Gucci designer

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Reuters

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March 14, 2025

Kering shares tanked on Friday morning after the group led by François-Henri Pinault chose to bet on subversive in-house talent Demna to reinvigorate its Gucci label rather than hiring a big-ticket name from fashion’s overheating job market. Shares fell by around 10% in early Paris session trade, underperforming French luxury peers, which were trading flat following the news.

Kering shares fall 10% after Gucci names Demna creative director. – Reuters

Analysts at Jefferies said the appointment of the Georgian former Balenciaga designer came as a surprise, while J.P. Morgan analysts called the move a “controversial choice,” citing early feedback on social media and fashion blogs and a “question mark” now hanging over the brand’s creative future.

The appointment of Gucci’s next design chief was the fashion world’s most-awaited news in recent weeks after Gucci fired Italian designer Sabato De Sarno after less than two years in the role.

The house’s prolonged sales decline, including a revenue drop of 24% in the fourth quarter of 2024 alone, has heavily weighed on Kering in the past months. Group shares are down around 40% year-on-year, while a European sector benchmark index is down close to 6% over the same period.

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Seasalt to cut jobs as cost base rises

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Seasalt, the successful Cornish lifestyle-fashion brand, is considering a number of redundancies and it’s blaming higher taxes following the Autumn Budget that increased employers’ National Insurance contributions.

Seasalt

The company said the redundancy move was “in order to meet the challenges presented by an ever-changing retail industry” and that customer sentiment has continued to decline, impacting the outlook for trading conditions in the year ahead.

“As a business here at Seasalt, we are not immune to these very real concerns,” it explained. “In order to meet the challenges… the majority of those beyond our control, Seasalt must remain agile so that we can protect our business for the long term. 

“To continue investing in our growth plans, focusing predominantly on store and partners expansion, and large-scale projects to enhance our operations, we have thoroughly reviewed our cost base, to ensure our expenditure is not outpacing our sales and equally achieve the growth that is essential to the viability of our business. 

“This analysis has included looking at efficiencies and overall productivity, a transformation of our head office structure and a review of our retail team operations, along with, where possible, reducing the expenditure necessary to realise our sales growth.”

It all means a number of roles will be placed at risk of redundancy across the business.

The company has 76 stores around the UK and said in January that it had seen a big jump in sales for the festive season, despite it having to deal with major pressures on costs. Total sales, including stores, online, and partners such as M&S, Next and Zalando, were up 10% year on year in the final five weeks of 2024.

Back in May it had also filed accounts for 2023 showing turnover rising but some profit measures falling as investment and one-costs hit the figures.

It opened its first US store last year and plans two more in the short term.

The news on redundancies comes just after reports that its chief information officer Mel Wilcox has stepped down after less than two years. Drapers said she’s left “to seek new challenges and opportunities”.

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Shein exec finally says listing will happen, London still looks to be likely location

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Fast-fashion giant Shein has finally said that yes, it is planning a stock exchange listing and while it didn’t specifically say it would be in London, it hasn’t ruled it out.

Bloomberg

Shein’s listing ambitions have long been talked about and its original focus was New York. However, the welcome for a Chinese-linked company there was unlikely to be an enthusiastic one and the rumours since then have said London was the next-most-likely option, helped by the fact that the UK is one of the business’s top five markets.

Donald Tang, executive chairman of the now-Singapore-headquartered-but-Chinese-founded company told The Times in an interview conducted in London that a listing will happen. 

And while there has been some opposition from UK groups concerned about everything from its labour practices, to its fast-fashion profile and its secretive nature, Tang doesn’t appear to be afraid of the spotlight that a listing will shine on it.

He said Shein wants to list in order “to embrace the … accountability and transparency of being a public company”.

He added that the business is “democratising” global fashion, that it complies with laws in local markets and creates less waste than its rivals do because of the low inventory levels that it holds. He also cited research that shows its customers don’t view its products throwaway items to be worn just a few times.

Tang said he “admired” UK regulators for “a clear sense of separation between politics and regulation” and he also minimised concerns about Donald Trump’s plan to close the loophole whereby low-priced important into the US are tariff-free. 

He said he himself has advocated reform to create a “level playing field” and insisted that Shein’s success is because “we have a superior business model. We are about customers. We’re not about customs policy”.

The now 13-year-old company is believed to have filed paperwork for a potential London listing last summer, although the executive chairman didn’t confirm this and hasn’t mentioned any timing for a likely listing, nor the monetary value it would have.

But the company is already a member of the CBI, the major UK business organisation. That membership came, he told The Times, because “we want to be a globalised company. In London, we want to be a British company. We want to be a British local company … we’re registered here, we’re paying taxes here, we want to be part of a community.”

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