Icicle, the Shanghai- and Paris-based fashion brand with a novel taste for minimalism and eco-friendly design, is making its Paris Fashion Week debut with a presentation on Saturday.
The presentation will see the introduction of the brand’s Atelier line, a collection that integrates the “artisanship and elegance of France with the new and innovative manufacturing expertise of Icicle China,” according to the company. Created by Icicle’s Paris-based studio founded in 2013, it will be the first time the brand is opening for wholesale business.
An exclusive preview of Icicle’s Atelier collection.
Courtesy
The presentation will also be the first glance at Icicle’s soon-to-be-opened 6 Rond-point Des Champs-Elysées outpost, its fourth retail project in the French capital. The building, which already boasts the flagship of Carven, the French label that Icicle purchased in 2018, is also earmarked as the future Paris headquarters of both brands’ parent, ICCF Group.
For the group’s founder Ye Shouzeng, who also founded Icicle with his wife Shawna Tao in Shanghai almost 30 years ago, the time was ripe for the brand to initiate its global expansion plans.
“We are not yet a household name in the European market, so after major adjustments to the company strategy during COVID-[19], we are now ready to show the world our latest developments, to have this particular landmark moment to usher in a new phase, a new beginning — it’s the right time to truly launch our global business,” said the executive, known within the company as “Teacher Ye” given his background as a fashion professor and an air of scholarly reserve he retains.
Based on the premise of rebuilding the connection between urban lives and nature, Icicle grew to become one of China’s largest womenswear groups of its generation.
In 2024, sales rose 7 percent to 3 billion renminbi, or $411.8 million. The fourth quarter stood out with an 18 percent revenue jump, which Ye attributed to brand elevation efforts.
International expansion began 12 years ago with a design studio and showroom in Paris’ tony 16th arrondissement.
A first flagship on 35 Avenue George V in September 2019 was followed by a womenswear and accessories concession at Le Bon Marché. Then came a second outpost, at 50 Faubourg du Saint Honoré in 2021.
Meanwhile, the group’s China footprint is a network of 241 stores in more than 100 cities.
“We spent the last 10 years cultivating a local team of over 70 people…now’s the time to get down to business,” Ye said. By that he means Icicle’s retail expansion in Europe, which will focus on bolstering its brand-owned and wholesale networks in the market.
Leading up to Saturday’s presentation, the chief executive officer spoke to WWD about Icicle’s ambitions abroad, its premiumization plan, its secret New York DNA and more.
WWD: What’s the inspiration behind Icicle’s Paris Fashion Week debut? What can we look forward to?
Ye Shouzeng: Our storyline will evolve around the idea of “home.” It was also heavily inspired by our creative director Béné[dicte Laloux], how she started out as a young girl at our company, and now she has matured into a woman, a mother. Her story is that of every female professional, how she navigates her family life and work life. This has been the story of Icicle all along, it’s why we care so much about designs that seamlessly blend comfort, eco-consciousness and practicality.
WWD: How has the company’s strategy evolved in recent years?
Y.S.: After COVID[-19], the world was in flux and so we felt an urgent need to rethink the company organization, which led to a sweeping reform within the company two to three years ago. As market polarization continues, we realized we had to level up, the state of our supply chain meant that we had no choice. Before [COVID-19], we used to source 25 percent of raw material from Italy. After the adjustment, it jumped to 50 percent, so that expanded our more expensive products by around 20 percent. Last year’s fourth quarter was the first time we saw this change in style and product direction reflected in sales. It proved that our decision was right, as we grew by 18 percent.
WWD: What are some of the opportunities you see in the European market?
Y.S.: Quality manufacturing is a global rarity, it usually means Made In Italy, yet it’s also a finite resource almost completely taken over by luxury groups. But after over 20 years of development, with our two manufacturing hubs in the Yangtze River Delta area, I believe that the apparel we are making is on par with what’s Made in Italy, sometimes even better. Our production capacity remains a rarity in China, but we made it work, here in Shanghai.
Of course, the business we are in is not just about making clothes, it has to sustain through brand building. The creation of Icicle was a response to the environmental problems and the pollution we were experiencing in our everyday lives. We vowed to create a brand that pursued the “oneness” between humans and nature, which became our brand DNA. This idea works on a global scale, it just happens that it became a luxury proposition in maybe the last five years. But we started over 27 years ago.
WWD: Having opened several stores on Paris’ luxury retail boulevards, will Icicle venture across the pond?
Y.S.: I think we will, maybe in 2026 we will have a store. I’ve been closely watching the U.S. market since I started this company — I must give credit to my father-in-law’s primary school classmate, who was the cofounder of Lafayette 148. We call him [Shun Yen Siu] the Icicle Godfather, as he was the one that taught me how to make “honest products,” how to manage a business and how to create a brand. I may not be familiar with the U.S. landscape as a whole, but I think I’m pretty familiar with New York City. If we do decide to go there, we wouldn’t be starting from scratch. In a way, we are not only a company with Shanghai and Paris DNA, but also U.S. DNA.
WWD: Any future plans that we could look forward to?
Y.S.: Before COVID[-19], we were just another Chinese brand, focused on the Chinese market, with a global design center in Paris. After COVID[-19], we found a new direction, which is to go global, with a clear timeline in mind. It might sound abstract, but our goal starts with Paris Fashion Week, followed by a wholesale plan, which might also take us to the U.S. market, the Japan market soon. However, we must make sure that Paris is on a healthy growth trajectory because it’s the hardest market to tackle — it’s expensive and the most competitive, but once we’ve got Paris figured out, we can go to any other city in the world.
