Behind the scenes of Courrèges’s ground-breaking show
Courrèges is in ‘hyper-growth’ mode, bolstered by iconic products, VIP dressing and its buzzy shows. Vogue Business tracked creative director Nicolas Di Felice in the run-up to the SS24 show, where models made cracks in the floor as they walked.
BY LUCY MAGUIRE
PHOTOGRAPHY BY CHRISTINA FRAGKOU
September 27, 2023
Courrèges broke new ground at Paris Fashion Week on Wednesday with the help of the first model, whose first step on its Spring/Summer 2024 runway caused the floor to crack.
Made of plaster and designed to look like moon rock, the flooring was underlaid with inflated zig-zagging fireman hoses. As the show progressed, the hoses were deflated in time with the music to create the dramatic crack effect. The show invitation teased what was to come, made from the same plaster that had to be cracked open to access the address: an exhibition centre in Porte de Versailles, on the edge of Paris.
For creative director Nicolas Di Felice, the moment was likely followed by a sigh of relief. On Monday night, the Belgian designer was still in fittings at his studio, explaining his plans for the show as models walked in and out of the room. “Please think of me, I’m going to be so scared!”
Di Felice is no stranger to in-show stunts. At his SS23 show, sand fell from the ceiling like an hourglass into a void in the floor, timed to pulsating bass. Last season, models emerged from a fog, illuminated by the blue light from a phone. This show is the brand’s “most minimal” of the last three years, with a simple effect, Di Felice says. It took place, as with all of his shows, in a constructed all-white box.
When Vogue Business first visited Di Felice in his studio two nights before the show, it was 8pm, techno music was playing, and, between answering questions, the designer periodically watched models walk and turned to his team, asking, “Is that length right?” or remarking, “Jolie, non?” Di Felice was seemingly relaxed, smoking out of the window while we talked. But he was still waiting for 10 big pieces to be finished for the show, which always causes a bit of anxiety. “Sometimes, pieces are not perfect when they come, and I am stressed that they’re imperfect, and it’s too late,” he says. “Even if I’m the only one to notice.”
Di Felice joined Courrèges from Louis Vuitton in 2020, shortly after new CEO Adrien Da Maia, as part of a turnaround plan for the heritage house founded by André Courrèges and his wife Coqueline in 1961. Since his first show, Di Felice has repositioned the label for a younger audience: the clothes became edgier, the parties more underground, and the shows bigger and more conceptual. On the business side, Courrèges lowered the price of its re-edition collection of carryover styles like its vinyl jacket, aligning with newer labels like Coperni and Jacquemus. (The main line is more expensive, with prices gradually increasing to better align with heritage houses, Da Maia says).
The last time Courrèges spoke with Vogue Business in 2021, it was all systems go on turning the business around. “Today, I’m very proud and happy to say that the turnaround succeeded,” Da Maia says. “We’re looking now at a very different Courrèges than when I joined more than three and a half years ago.” Courrèges doesn’t share revenues, but Da Maia says the company has hit triple-digit growth annually in 2021 and 2022. It’s set to double its business this year. Courrèges declined to share if the brand has yet reached profitability.
Shows were “absolutely instrumental” in the growth and repositioning of the brand in the industry and attracting a younger audience, Da Maia says. “Shows are actually where we decided to invest the most,” he says. “Nicolas comes from the school of Balenciaga, Dior [where he held designer roles]. He had it in him to create great shows not just for production but also in terms of concept.” (Courrèges worked with French production company La Mode En Images on the SS24 show, which also produces shows for these major brands.)
When it comes to the casting, models of the moment like Mona Tougaard, Vittoria Ceretti and Anok Yai typically walk the shows. For SS24, Di Felice added French it-girl Deva Cassel. A partygoer himself, Di Felice soon roused the Paris club scene to Courrèges. After every show, they assemble for the after-show party Courrèges Club, typically held in a car park until the early hours.
Courrèges show collections are intentionally wearable, meaning they show “objects of desire” that buyers can buy into in the showroom, Da Maia says. “From the very first season, there’s a strong connection between the desire we created in the shows and the actual piece you can actually end up buying in the store.”
Accessories are a key part of Courrèges’s growth strategy, and the segment has been performing well, he adds, though ready-to-wear is still the main revenue driver. For SS24, Di Felice is launching a new bag, modelled on an archival bag from André Courrèges. It comes in a huge array of sizes, rendered in leather, textured leather and raffia. Most notable is the supersize version, around a metre in diameter, which can be buttoned down into a tote bag or small shoulder bag, as Di Felice demonstrates on the white floor of the studio.
Courrèges’s SS24 show was inspired by the idea of a woman graduating from university and going on a road trip, gradually loosening up and unravelling as she reaches the desert, where she “finds a cult run by mothers”, Di Felice explained, gesturing to the progression of looks on the board.
“I always need to have a story around the collection because I am so technical as a designer. It helps me make decisions.” The collection features modular cream varsity-inspired sweaters, second-skin bodysuits with generous cutouts, and shirting that can be done or undone, depending on the wearer’s mood. The asymmetrical skirt worn by Tougaard is made from vintage tents, and it even looks like a flat-packed tent when laid flat, which Di Felice illustrates. “It’s part of the story,” he says, “this is the moment when she’s meeting the cult.”
Linking Courrèges’s heritage with the present/b/
His shows might be conceptual, but Di Felice is proud that his Courrèges collections are wearable and designed to sell, without lots of showpieces you might see at other heritage labels. “My mission is to resurrect this house again, but as well to resurrect the business — let’s not lie,” he says. “I was aware that if I want to do more and more, we have to make the house healthy again, and get it back on track. Then I can do bigger shows, [secure] higher development budgets and show even more creativity.”
Courrèges’s heritage is often associated with the 1960s space-age aesthetic, clean lines and bold colours pioneered by its founder. However, the brand has had a tumultuous history since its 1960s heyday. In 2011, it was purchased by ad executives Jacques Bungert and Frédéric Torloting, who tapped Coperni duo Arnaud Vaillant and Sébastien Meyer in 2015. They exited in 2017 to launch Coperni, and in 2018, minority shareholder (Kering investment arm) Artemis acquired the brand outright, appointing Da Maia and Di Felice two years later.
They both inherited a lot of expectation. Di Felice is used to the question about balancing Courrèges purists with its new young audience. And answers deftly that the through line between Courrèges’s heritage and present is the technical: stitching, materials, the thickness of the crepe. “If you see vintage Courrèges, that means it was worn and bought,” Di Felice says. “This is part of the history of the house. Andre Courrèges didn’t just talk about creating clothes for the moon, he wanted to dress people in the street.” The brand’s vinyl jackets and miniskirts, reissued as carryovers under Di Felice’s watch, have become bestsellers, spotted on celebrities including Selena Gomez and Dua Lipa and Gen Zs in the streets of Paris alike.
Already, Courrèges is gradually growing its team from season to season, making it easier and easier. “We are still building a team, so for now, everyone does a little bit of everything,” Di Felice says. The brand hired a collection director last year to help Nicolas. And two weeks ago, Da Maia appointed Therese Lundström, the brand’s first CMO since Da Maia and Di Felice took over.
As Courrèges continues to reinvent, shows like today’s are crucial to boosting visibility in newer markets like Japan and Korea. “In the short term, you’re going to see us expanding in the US, APAC and France — consolidating the markets that we already see strong demand with while planning for future expansion in other cities in the coming years,” Da Maia says. Menswear is another frontier for expansion. The men’s business is growing, Da Maia says, which could mean a men’s show in the future, though there are no current plans.
For today, the focus is on reaction to the womenswear show. Courrèges was in the top 35 brands globally in terms of media impact value for Q2 2023, Da Maia says, per brand marketing platform and data analytics firm Launchmetrics. “It’s really the shows that created this spike and the spark all the time, and SS24 is going to be one for the books.”
The night before the show, with around 14 hours to go, Di Felice was late from casting. “It’s always difficult when the girls have other shows,” he said, “but we’re almost there.” When he arrived at the venue, he wasn’t happy with the floor, and the lighting needed some tweaking. “It won’t look like this; it’s too neat right now,” he comes over and assures. “We’re going to put more debris and dust on it.” After a deep exhale, he smiled, “I’m trying to stay calm.”
Correction: A previous version of this story said Courrèges lowered prices. The story was updated to reflect that it only lowered the price of re-edition pieces.
