Vicomte A hires new artistic director

The French brand known for its colorful polo shirts and iconic letter logo (and in France as Emmanuel Macron's go-to holiday attire ) has just recruited veteran creative director Gideon Day to reinvigorate the label’s collections.

The British designer has long been established in France and brings with him quite an impressive resume. He was creative director at Chevignon from 1992 to 1997, director of design for the jeans division of Paul Smith for five years, then served a long run as creative director for Aigle from 2005 to 2017.

“With his new perspective and expertise, he will strengthen the brand's image while preserving the label's foundations,” said Allure Saint-Honoré, the company that took over the entire brand in October 2016. Gideon Day’s Vicomte A designs will begin showing up in the fall-winter 2018-2019 collections, closely coordinated with the brand's marketing team to introduce a collection that offer freshness, colors and consistency.

Already last summer the brand got quite a boost when then presidential hopeful Emmanuel Macron was photographed wearing a Vicomte A polo shirt together with his wife Brigitte during a seaside vacation. The image, which made an August cover of Paris Match, immediately sparked a buzz about Macron, who was applauded for wearing a French brand but one that is more affordable than France’s most famous polo shirt, namely Lacoste. But Vicomte A itself also got quite a bit of traction from the moment and for weeks enjoyed a lot of attention on social media and in the press.

Hopefully Gideon will be able to maintain some of that momentum. He faces a daunting challenge following the brand's turbulent past year, starting with a filing for bankruptcy in 2016, followed by a legal recovery a few months later and finally the departure of Arthur de Soultrait, the young, dapper entrepreneur who co-founded the brand in 2005. De Soultrait, a familiar face in the French media and on the Paris social scene, was one of the brand’s strongest ambassadors and also a key elements of its success.

Now Gideon Day is tasked with building the brand’s presence through the design of the clothes. He was also recruited for his expertise in Asia. At Aigle, he was in charge of the brand’s Asia store network (more than 300 stores) as well as designing the collections. For the time being, in addition to his role at Vicomte A, he will continue acting as a consultant to Welsh denim brand Hiut Denim and to Closed in Germany, where he oversees the collection.

Vicomte A hires new artistic director

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