When Jeanne Friot was a student at the Ecole Duperré, there were no role models she could relate to in fashion. “I shaped my personality and inspiration on people that didn’t exist in the fashion world; there were no queer women at the head of a fashion house, there were very few women at the head of fashion houses full stop,” said Friot backstage at her show, staged on the rooftop of the Paris art school.
Her “Idols” collection paid tribute to the people who did inspire her, from musicians like David Bowie, Grace Jones and Debbie Harry to writers including Françoise Sagan and Maggie Nelson.
“This collection is about going back to my idols, the people who inspired me, who still inspire me to carry on creating in difficult times like now,” she said.
In her short time on the Paris fashion scene, Friot has created a few idols of her own.
Among them on the runway, her feather-fringed repurposed Levi’s took a turn, ruffling in the wind, alongside multiple interpretations of her distinctive belt dress like a rhythm on repeat.
As well as literal versions with leather-lined strapping stitched together to hug the body, including studded denim versions this season, there were a multitude of print emanations, on mesh body-con pieces, on silk shirts and on the front of a T-shirt. “I’m trying to define the brand’s DNA to cater to a broader clientele to say everyone’s welcome, we’re expanding the brand and the offer little by little for a broader audience,” Friot explained.
There was also a broader color palette that went from pale yellow to silver on asymmetric draped body-con dresses, boxy indigo denim with blurred, bleached seams and punk-inspired kilts dyed and pleated by hand.
She collaborated with dating platform Tinder on a capsule slogan T-shirt collection called “Love, Louder,” with part of the proceeds from the limited-edition designs destined for NGO SOS Homophobie. There was also a tie-up with footwear brand Both on two stomping over-the-knee boot designs, one referencing her signature belted designs, another imitating the seams of the season’s denim pieces.
Like many a young designer, the current market is tough for Friot. “We’re the first to be impacted by the collapse of multibrand retailers, we’re constantly looking for new funding, asking ourselves if we’ll hold out until next season,” she said.
Friot has been able to stay afloat thanks to a strong following in South Korea — including a number of K-pop stars — and support from Canadian retailer La Maison Simons, with which she has collaborated on political slogan T-shirts. The brand’s direct-to-consumer business is also doing well, she said.
With activism part of her brand ethos, the designer is also worried about the rise of the far right in France. “The political context, as a young lesbian woman is really worrying, and since my designs have a very clear political message, that has even more of an impact, because I’m worried about what will happen. Should I carry on being a warrior, or might I no longer have a place to exist?” she said.