Charles Jourdan and Stephane Kélian bankrupt
 

Wasn't sure where to put this...mods, feel free to move if necessary. :flower:

Overall, bad news for the French shoe industry:
http://www.fashionunited.co.uk/news/shoes.htm

That is really sad news about Charles Jourdan. My earliest memories are of their Guy Bourdin ads in American Vogue during the mid seventies. My mom wore CJ and I always liked how beautifully they were made back then. Ive followed them closely since that time and have amassed lots of samples and most of the catalogs since the mid-seventies.
My favorite period was from Spring/Summer 77 through Spring Summer 80. Ive managed to collect a few standout (really high heels) from those collections.

Other divisions of the older CJ were Xavier Danaud and Jean Rimaud. Wonderful shoes bringing back lots of fond memories.

I hope someone rescues this wonderful brand that has languished for so many years and consistantly was re-interpreted by others.

Oh that's so sad! It has a good brand but was poorly managed

this is really sad, but i agree i've heard about their management issues for a while now, well really whispers. shoes is an expensive business, it took me 2 years to save, another 2 to structure, etc and i am still planning etc. it's not an easy business and regardless of how much i hate to think it's a business.

i hope they are able to recover or at least try to restructure again.

thanks droogist for the article. :flower:

Thanks for the article droogist and for the photos Stilettophile. I also have many fond childhood CG memories, and the favorite pair in my collection today is also from CG. I've been noticing they were coming out with some uncharacteristic bags and apparel lately and was wondering what was going on. I really hope they will be rescued.

... sad...
they were some cute heels, but IMO- they did not update much nor kept up with recent trends... at least the ones that I saw...

Correction...one of the bridge lines in my earlier post should read - "Jean Rimbaud". (He did the plaid shoes shown in the pics).
Heres some more CJ from during their late :heart: 70's "Studio 54 moment".
~enjoy

If anyone else has more pics of their CJ's...please post. Perhaps all the positve energy will benefit their future. ;)

sad news indeed. I think their older styles were much better than those recently. I bought a couple of pairs last year, but they were nothing special...much prefer their Studio 54 era! B)

Great collection Stilettophile! They deserve to be danced in!

this is sad :( i'm wearing shoes by stephane keliane as i'm typing :o:cry:

Stilettophile those are in your collection? oh my goodness those are so so beautiful. I remember (or actually saw recently) the Guy Bourdin ads you mentioned, those are incredible.

Protect those shoes! At least from me.

Hi Vintage Addict :)

All the shoes shown in the pics are mine except for the bottom two. The metallic wedge, though, I have in many colors....just not that combination.
The rest of my 70's vintage covers many styles and is fairly large. Lots of sexy metal, lucite, and TALL heels. Ill post them soon.

well i look forward to it Stilettophile!

well ...the kelian store in nyc closed last year....
and i went in there regularly and would have happily bought something...
but the designs just weren't any good...imo...

and charles jourdan absolutely should have capitalized and jumped on the new interest in their vintage 70's styles and done some sort of re-launch of some of those styles...imo...
the brand's image is still glamourous and intact...
that company is completely salvageable as far as i am concerned...

btw-whenever i called the press office of charles jourdan to borrow shoes...
i could never reach anyone...
poorly managed i would say...:ninja:


thanks for the news droogist...
:flower:

They still retained their original Madison Ave. store. But I agree about their designs. It appealed more to a Botegga Venetta customer, not really a downtown crowd. The only pair of shoes I ever liked from them I bought in their Paris boutique (almost twice as cheap as in the US I might add).

[QUOTE=softgreycharles jourdan absolutely should have capitalized and jumped on the new interest in their vintage 70's styles and done some sort of re-launch of some of those styles...imo...
the brand's image is still glamourous and intact...
that company is completely salvageable as far as i am concerned...

lower:[/QUOTE]

They re-introduced the open-bridged wedge a couple of years ago. Unfortunately they lowered the height and changed the charachter, (IMO).
I did pick up a pair of the re-issued style. Believe it was called 'Helium"...black satin with Rhinestones running up the back of the heel.

Hopefully CJwill be salvaged. Theres plenty of "glam" real estate left in the marketplace. :heart: