Rochas relaunches menswear with Béatrice Ferrant

By

Dominique Muret

Translated by
Nicola Mira

Published
Sep 12, 2016

Rochas is approaching a major new milestone with the relaunch of menswear, under a new creative director, French designer Béatrice Ferrant, who has extensive experience in luxury ready-to-wear apparel. Ferrant met the CEO of Interparfums, Philippe Benacin, before he acquired Rochas in March 2015 for €102 million.

After the acquisition, Rochas' women's ready-to-wear line was managed under licence by Onward Luxury Group, with Italian designer Alessandro Dell’Acqua as Creative Director.
 
On the other hand, the Rochas men's line was active only through a licence agreement covering Latin America. Interparfums therefore decided to create a worldwide project more in line with the label's Parisian image, and created a dedicated structure for it. This is the fragrance group's first foray into fashion.

"While the womenswear market is very busy, menswear affords more space. We wanted to introduce something different, creative yet sophisticated, high-end yet approachable," explained Béatrice Ferrant to FashionNetwork.com.
 
"Our ideal man is very Parisian, a man who looks after himself but is also a free spirit. He is sophisticated but not overdressed, with a relaxed elegance. [...] while respecting Marcel Rochas' design codes, I will introduce a different touch, more feminine in its construction," stated the designer.
 
The first collection, for Autumn/Winter 2017-18, consists of 120-130 items in 5-6 colours, for a complete wardrobe including also footwear and bags. It will be unveiled in January in Paris, and will be initially distributed through select multi-brand stores.
 
Béatrice Ferrant is a graduate of the School of the Chambre Syndicale de la Couture Parisienne (the Paris couturiers' union chamber), and has worked among others for Revillon and Balenciaga. She first made a name for herself with women's ready-to-wear label Lefranc-Ferrant, founded in 2003 with Mario Lefranc, who later left the label. In parallel with Rochas, Ferrant will continue to work on her own label and on other collaborations.