PARIS — French contemporary brand Comptoir des Cotonniers has tapped rising Paris-based brand Calla for its first capsule collection with a guest designer.
The Comptoir des Cotonniers & Calla collection of 15 summer styles, together with matching shoes and bags, will go on sale in Comptoir des Cotonniers stores worldwide from mid-April.
Toronto-born designer Calla Haynes is known for her prints, which for the capsule collection include floral patterns in a palette ranging from pale pastels to deep red.
“I imagined a girl on her summer vacation in a very picturesque village of France,” she told WWD at the Comptoir des Cotonniers showroom in central Paris.
“In 15 pieces, I really feel like you have your complete summer wardrobe. You have your jeans and your T-shirt, your miniskirt. You have your beach look, and then you have the dress you wear to your best friend’s wedding,” Haynes added.
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The collection will be displayed separately in Comptoir des Cotonniers stores and will have a dedicated page on its Web site, featuring a short film portrait of Haynes.
A finalist for the prestigious Andam Fashion Award in 2010 and 2012, she has previously collaborated with denim brand April 77, eco-conscious label Honest By and catalogue retailer 3 Suisses.
The latest tie-up is part of a series of initiatives by Elisabeth Cunin, who took over in 2011 as chief executive officer of Comptoir des Cotonniers and the Princesse Tam Tam intimates brand, both of which belong to Japanese retail giant Fast Retailing Co. Ltd.
Comptoir des Cotonniers will today reveal that it has hired Amélie Gillier as creative director, in charge of women’s ready-to-wear and accessories, as well as the brand’s image and visual identity.
After 12 years as artistic director of Zadig & Voltaire, founded by her then-husband Thierry Gillier, she went on to launch her own brand, Lovemilla, and work at Kenzo as studio director under Humberto Leon and Carol Lim.
Gillier will join a team including Delphine Ninous, who was promoted to design director in 2011 to revitalize the brand’s collections.
Comptoir des Cotonniers may experiment further with collaborations in the future. Last year it dipped a toe in the water by working with Uniqlo, Fast Retailing’s flagship brand, on a down jacket christened Mademoiselle Plume, which sold well.
Founded in 1995, Comptoir des Cotonniers is known for its “mother and daughter” advertising campaigns, which have been phased out to place a greater emphasis on fashion. The spring campaign, shot by Peter Arnell, features black-and-white images of a model in a trench coat posing in front of the Eiffel Tower.