PARIS — It’s the best of both worlds for Thierry Gillier. The Zadig & Voltaire founder is co-branding an existing boutique to combine his cornerstone contemporary brand and his luxury cashmere label Pellat-Finet.
The location at 326 Rue Saint-Honoré in Paris will now house the two labels under one roof with a tightly curated selection of pieces from each line. The retail space will also serve as a launch pad for new concepts and collaborations.
Gillier acquired the French legacy cashmere brand out of receivership from founder Lucien Pellat-Finet in 2019, dropped the first name to rechristen it Pellat-Finet, and set out to reestablish the brand’s retail presence. It opened the Rue Saint-Honoré location as a standalone store in April 2023.
“This the first step to sort of revive and reinvigorate [Pellat-Finet], because we are slowly rebuilding the brand,” he said. The knitwear label will continue to focus on high-end, quiet luxury basics, whereas Zadig & Voltaire has a more rock ‘n’ roll aesthetic. “I love this contrast between the two brands.”
Further solidifying the integration, a selection of Pellat-Finet pieces will also be available at select Zadig & Voltaire stores, including its location on Rue Cambon and its flagship on Avenue des Champs-Élysées.
After revealing last year that it had named designer and consultant Dryce Lahssan creative director of collections and image, Pellat-Finet has reverted to being designed by an in-house studio team that is distinct from the Zadig & Voltaire brand.
Gillier does not expect to appoint a new creative director at Pellat-Finet and instead will strengthen the brand’s collaboration strategy. The first is in the works and will be unveiled during men’s week in January.
The company will “focus on the product and on the craftsmanship around cashmere,” he said. The team will look to make subtle tweaks on classic designs, rather than overhaul the aesthetic.
Inside the Zadig & Voltaire x Pellat-Finet boutique.
Stéphane Pasadovic / Courtesy Zadig & Voltaire and Pellat-Finet
Gillier stepped into the creative director shoes at Zadig & Voltaire in January, following the departure of Cecilia Bönström, with the intention of returning the brand to its roots. He’s also planning to be back on the runway during Paris Fashion Week in February.
If the positioning of the two brands seems to be at odds, Gillier noted that Pellat-Finet was subversive with its early intarsia designs of smiley faces and marijuana leaves.
The retail space will serve as an incubator or “laboratory” to facilitate new collaborations and additional product development, the executive said.
“It’s going to be a new experience and a new way of putting product together — because I don’t like the word fashion, I like ‘product,’ [meaning] it is something that is being worked on,” he explained.
“We need to have a new experience,” he added. “We can stay where we are, but there is a need to find new models, new roads, and work on something differently.”
Previously home to the Pellat-Finet label alone, the combination store retains the knitwear brand’s more minimalist interior design, which distinguishes it from the Zadig & Voltaire aesthetic, such as its flashy Champs-Élysées flagship.
Zadig & Voltaire also has 14 stand-alone boutiques in Paris, as well as shops-in-shop at Galeries Lafayette, Le Bon Marché and Printemps.
The new space was designed in-house, with vintage furniture pieces mixed with modern fixtures.
Gillier said his longstanding appreciation of the Pellat-Finet brand was the foundation for rescuing it out of administration. “I followed my instinct, and I love the brand. It’s a love affair. Now I’m trying to build that brand story,” he said.
Meanwhile, he is positioning Zadig & Voltaire as a lifestyle brand, with its thriving fragrance line and extension into hospitality with the Paris hotel Château Voltaire. The fragrance line will continue to expand in 2025.
It’s also an accessories brand: Gillier said that 50 percent of Zadig & Voltaire’s sales now come from handbags, particularly its bestselling Rock bag, versus 35 percent in 2021.
Pellat-Finet and Zadig & Voltaire inside the blended boutique.
Stéphane Pasadovic / Courtesy Zadig & Voltaire and Pellat-Finet
The company reported 450 million euros in sales for the Zadig & Voltaire brand in 2023.
In 2021, the company stated its ambition to grow its footprint in China to 60 stores by 2025, but Zadig & Voltaire has now shuttered all stores there. Gillier said it is currently reevaluating its strategy for the country. “We are now looking at China in a different way, and we are talking to a partner in China,” he said.
Zadig & Voltaire purchased the 50 percent share that belonged to its former partner in the country, IT Group, in 2020. It currently operates around 400 stores worldwide.
Gillier added that South Korea and Japan have been performing strongly, as well as Mexico, where it opened its first physical boutique in December 2023.
