Womenswear label La Française, launched in 2020 with Christine Phung as creative director, will account by the end of the year for 10% of the revenue of French knitwear specialist Solfin. A strong contribution to Solfin’s growth, alongside that of the producer’s other brand, Maison Solfin, and door-to-door specialist Magasins Bleus.

In 2018, when Ludovic Samson bought Solfin, based in Villers-Bocage, near Caen, he was determined to continue to foster its nearly century-old expertise. “It all began with a breeder of Angora rabbits who would send his sons out on their bikes to sell knitwear, then came the mail order business, in the 1970s,” said Samson.

Unlike other manufacturers, who set up their own brands while chiefly producing for their clients, Solfin only generates 20% of its revenue via third-party manufacturing, mostly for high-end and luxury labels. “We have more requests than we can handle,” Samson told FashionNetwork.com.

Maison Solfin and La Française are owned by the Financière des Eparses group, which currently generates a revenue of €20 million, split equally between Maison Solfin and Magasins Bleus. The former, previously known simply as Solfin, is the group’s long-standing proprietary brand, targeting a senior clientèle with 300 or so apparel items, all of them made in France. Magasins Bleus is a door-to-door organisation with a fleet of 100 trucks which visit retirement homes by appointment, selling a complete range of apparel for a senior clientèle, with products by Maison Solfin and other brands like Armor-Lux and Sloggi.

Different approach with La Française

In 2020, the group launched a new label, La Française, designed to reach a younger clientèle. “It was both a deliberate and necessary decision to go looking for a new clientèle,” said Samson. “Our knitwear is by no means aimed at a restricted target, since a crew-neck sweater can be equally worn at 30 and at 70 years of age. But La Française has a different approach to fits, more modern colours, and more feminine looks. This is what Christine Phung does for us,” he added.

La Française’s products carry the ‘France Terre Textile’ label (identifying products that are 75% produced in France), and its range includes about 80 different items made of 100% natural, recyclable and Oeko-Tex-certified fabrics. “Our idea is to sell responsible, sustainable and ethical fashion,” said Samson, adding that, by selling through its e-shop, La Française can do without retail intermediaries, selling at pricepoints that are “affordable for French-made products.” La Française tops, dresses, gilets and skirts sell for €150 to €250, while Maison Solfin prices range from €120 to €200.

Having its own production unit, La Française can even afford to work on a pre-order basis. The label is able to poll existing customers about their item and colour preferences, and customers can pre-order products that will be manufactured and delivered in six to eight weeks. “We’re really keen to design products with a high emotional value. We’re aiming for impulse purchases, even if the products aren’t delivered in 24 hours,” said Samson.

The group has 80 employees, including 30 in the local factory producing sustainable apparel, and is pioneering the introduction of environmental labelling, having taken part in its trial. “The [eco-score] labelling is very complicated for consumers,” said Samson, who believes that sourcing natural recyclable fabrics optimised for this kind of labelling is problematic.

“There is no cotton, and not enough quality wool in France, so we import from Italy, knowing that 70% of that wool comes from New Zealand. Conversely, there are polyester fabrics that have travelled for 8,000 km but have been produced we know not how, while in France we have a statutory minimum wage. I think we’d have had less difficulty making consumers understand this kind of criterion.”