Lemaire collaborates with Veja and Sunspel for summer 2019

By

Christel Divert

Translated by
Nicola Mira

Published
Jun 22, 2018

Ahead of a co-ed show planned for next September, French label Lemaire presented its menswear collection for Spring/Summer 2019 at its Parisian showroom on June 20, together with the women’s pre-collection. It was also the opportunity for the label designed by Christophe Lemaire and Sarah-Linh Tran to unveil two new collaborations, with Veja and Sunspel, for the summer 2019. With French eco-friendly brand Veja, Lemaire created two sneaker models: a pair of mesh-built low trainers and a higher model in cotton canvas, in two and three colours.

The other collaboration is a homewear capsule collection designed with long-established British underwear brand Sunspel. It consists of a pyjama top and trousers in cotton, a t-shirt and a mesh tank top. It is a home look which could just as easily be worn away from home.

For his other Spring/Summer 2019 looks, Christophe Lemaire looked for inspiration in the 1960s pictures of photographer Ed Van der Elsken and at 1990s US TV show ‘Fishing with John’, in which musician John Lurie hosted guests like Jim Jarmusch, Dennis Hopper, Matt Dillon and Tom Waits, going with them on quirky fishing trips. Add to the mix a series of pictures taken in Paris’ rue du Japon in the 1980s, and you have the recipe for the new Lemaire collection, with generous volumes and clever work on original, mostly Italian materials, with a special emphasis on textures: outfits in three-coloured seersucker fabric and cotton or wool jacquard, jackets and tech djellaba coats in chintz, and other tops in waxed cotton from England.

After Lemaire’s General Manager Bastien Daguzan left the label in early 2017, his role was taken over by Jérôme Helffer, already with the company, though his precise job title hasn’t been confirmed.

Last April, Lemaire announced it would not be showing at the Paris Fashion Week Men this summer, preferring to stage a simple presentation of its menswear collection and opting for a mixed show in September. Many other labels, from Balenciaga to JW Anderson to Salvatore Ferragamo, are doing the same.