- Right from the onset, it's a different type of shoe company. The visuals are different, please tell us about the aesthetics?
The aesthetic is the one we created with my team for Jacques Solovière Paris, a mixture of poetry and detail. It's all about the product.
We like to create still lifes where the product is the star and we have fun with the composition in a playful and artistic way.
- Part of the brand's Manifesto talks about the masculine shoe. Can you explain what that is?
We like to create still lifes where the product is the star and we have fun with the composition in a playful and artistic way.
- Part of the brand's Manifesto talks about the masculine shoe. Can you explain what that is?
The shoe that an elegant man can wear, a woman can too. This is the starting point of my reflection.
I also like the masculine color palette, beige, brown, burgundy, khaki, and the different moods associated with it : nautical, hunting, the world of mountains and sport, all of this inspires me a lot.
I also like the masculine color palette, beige, brown, burgundy, khaki, and the different moods associated with it : nautical, hunting, the world of mountains and sport, all of this inspires me a lot.
- French design, Italian heritage and craftsmanship, how do the two worlds come together?
We have an unconditional love for design, lines, and the fashion silhouette in France.
I was trained and studied fashion in Paris, and the inspiration of the Jacques Solovière Paris brand is definitely inspired by French writers and artists.
On the other hand, France has lost its craftsmen and shoemakers little by little, and the know-how of the shoe has disappeared for the most part.
Also I have 20 years of expertise in the Italian footwear industry. So I had all the right contacts on site to carry out my Jacques Solovière Paris project. The Italians know how to do meticulous sewing and piping work.
- Looking through the J.S. online journal, there's an eclectic group of individuals featured. There isn't one particular look. Who is your target audience?
Jacques Solovière Paris is not aimed at a particular style but rather at a certain sensitivity, and above all a state of mind.
The individuals photographed in our shoes are artists of my generation. People who have a sensitivity for artistic cuisine, design, fashion, music, writing, calligraphy ... they are avant-garde here in Paris and they are respected for their art.
- You create a product that's international, How do you continue to share your story for an international audience?
- You create a product that's international, How do you continue to share your story for an international audience?
Today the brand radiates a lot through the magnificent multi-brand stores which represent us throughout the world and which are also not limited to the border of their country
Ex: the Armoury, Merci, TomorrowLand or Beams, The Decorum are so many windows on the world...
Our community of Jacques Solovière Paris customers is found in the products themselves, and not in a local or ephemeral fashion effect.
Also we are fortunate to have partners in Italy and Japan who develop the reputation and expansion of our brand internationally.
Our community of Jacques Solovière Paris customers is found in the products themselves, and not in a local or ephemeral fashion effect.
Also we are fortunate to have partners in Italy and Japan who develop the reputation and expansion of our brand internationally.
- What is the process in making the shoes? Where does it start and what's the end result?
Always a drawing !
The Jacques Solovière Paris shoes are characterized by clean lines and a twist of materials. Either a fold or a wrap. It's almost tribal or childish as a way of looking at fashion and that's what I'm looking for. Afterwards, we model at the factory with our manufacturers. There are often a lot of prototypes, fittings before finding satisfaction. The selection of leather and color is done at the same time.
When we start production, we continue the development until the arrival in the shop. The whole life of the product is interesting.
With my shop Jacques Solovière Paris I even have live feedback and it is often formative and useful for the construction of the next collections.
The Jacques Solovière Paris shoes are characterized by clean lines and a twist of materials. Either a fold or a wrap. It's almost tribal or childish as a way of looking at fashion and that's what I'm looking for. Afterwards, we model at the factory with our manufacturers. There are often a lot of prototypes, fittings before finding satisfaction. The selection of leather and color is done at the same time.
When we start production, we continue the development until the arrival in the shop. The whole life of the product is interesting.
With my shop Jacques Solovière Paris I even have live feedback and it is often formative and useful for the construction of the next collections.
- The brand is still relatively new, how do you navigate with all the older names and more conventional designs?
The brand is eight years old, for some people it seems a long time but for me Jacques Solovière Paris is still in the brand's infancy stage.
As we say in French "we learn by walking..." which is a nice expression when you are an entrepreneur in the shoe industry.
The project is confidential and is aimed at a small number of consumers. First of all because these designs are original and not always understood by the general public, but also because the shoe productions are made in small quantities.
As we say in French "we learn by walking..." which is a nice expression when you are an entrepreneur in the shoe industry.
The project is confidential and is aimed at a small number of consumers. First of all because these designs are original and not always understood by the general public, but also because the shoe productions are made in small quantities.
This does not prevent us from having our products alongside branded products that are much more senior than ours. The real goal of our project is to last over time, in a family way, self-financed, like pretty brands like Paraboots or Weston...
- Is J.S. different or special?
- Is J.S. different or special?
That's what customers tell me ;)
I don't particularly feel it because it comes from me and it's my personal taste.
I don't particularly feel it because it comes from me and it's my personal taste.
Photography by David Muhire.
