Scene setting: Considering that fashion is France’s second-biggest industry, and Paris is the global capital of fashion, that for all the streets named after generals and colonels, none bears the name of a designer. Well, that was the case until yesterday. Just before Sonia Rykiel’s latest show, the capital’s mayor Anne Hidalgo, revealed (together with Nathalie Rykiel) a new blue-and-green plaque bearing the name ‘Allée Sonia Rykiel’ on the Rive Gauche. It's not a grandiose, institutional street, but a long alley off boulevard Raspail where, every day, Parisians can find a traditional organic market including bakeries, fishmongers and fruit, vegetable and cheese stands. It was here, under the brightly striped tents and the lightbulb garlands, that the show took place.

Mood board: For designer Julie de Libran it was more than ever about honouring the real Parisiennes and their day-to-day dressing, just as Sonia Rykiel did. There were no evening gowns, no silk chiffon or ostrich feathers in sight. This season, the Rykiel woman is not the one busy seducing at night, but the one who wakes up the next morning and lazily puts on a mac to pop off for croissants – a reality for many a Parisian. And so she was dressed in the brand’s classics: chunky knits, twisted and shredded and put together emulating raphia market bags. Marinière stripes in tops, dresses and coats. Linen onesies. And, of course, loose trench coats. A casting of models including Dree Hemingway, Adesuwa, Lili Sumner and Grace Hartzell were joined on the runway by a few men, kids and even a couple of dogs. After all, that’s what the weekend market is about.

Soundbite: ‘Sunday’s organic market is my obsession’, said de Libran, a Rive Gauche dweller herself. ‘And this place reflects the sense of responsibility I have always felt as a creator, producer and mother. This collection is my first to consistently use materials that are kinder to the planet; a starting point, small steps, but important nonetheless. This is a significant detail revealed by the designer prior to the show. It makes perfect sense that, just as the house’s founder answered to the needs and wants of the women of her time, de Libran might do the same with her own generation.

Scene Setting: It was, as usual, the Palais de Beaux-Arts in Paris’ Rive Gauche — the home of Madame Rykiel for her whole life and career — that the latest Sonia Rykiel show was held. For the occasion, the sculpture-filled building was customised with neon versions of the multicolour horizontal stripes that were dear to the French designer, and a larger-than-life screen was positioned at the end of the catwalk. A sense of expectation loomed through the venue... not surprising, given that this season marked the 50th anniversary of the brand and, judging by the festivities held ten years ago for the 40th anniversary (a multitude of other designers, including Martin Margiela, reinterpreted and reworked the house’s staples) there was no doubt about it, we were in for a treat.

Mood board: Sure enough, the show opened in true Sonia Rykiel style, with four brightly smiling models (a signature of Sonia’s shows, who often stressed that her work was all directed toward the happiness of women) clad in chubby Mongolian coats and boots. It was all about the joyous spirit of the Rykiel years, with happy models, catchy music and even a special appearance by the newly reformed band Bananarama.

Best in show: Even if it the show was an homage to Madame Rykiel’s heritage, the brand’s designer Julie de Libran couldn’t resist the temptation of inserting some of her own references through the years, taking inspiration from the post-punk and new-wave era, in the shape of leather miniskirts, perfectos and thigh-high, kitten heeled-boots which had a lovely whiff of French yé-yé years. It was complemented by plaid motifs, sequins and, of course, colourful stripes — and although a bit more colour would have been welcome — it was undoubtedly effective.

Scene setting: The heart motif is a signature symbol of the Sonia Rykiel brand, and for its A/W 2017 show, held at the grand École des Beaux-Arts, creative director Julie de Libran erected a giant foil heart at the head of the runway. The motif also emphasised the influence of the late French sculptor Niki de Saint Phalle, once photographed wearing a silk dress adorned with romantic hearts, and whose colourful mosaic designs featured silvery reflective fragments.

Mood board: Colourful patchwork plaids and hand-finished Aran knits reflected Saint Phalle’s prismatic aesthetic, while silk dresses, trousers and high-necked blouses were printed with graphic designs resembling mosaics. High-shine coats evoked the artist’s use of plastics, presented alongside more military focused double-breasted coats in khaki and cream. A series of bohemian looks in the finale featured v-neck dresses embellished with bright feathers, and long padded gilets, both essential pieces for a sophisticated French girl in festival mode.

Best in show: A double-breasted striped jacket with shining gold buttons was cinched at the waist before flaring architecturally over the body, while a khaki utilitarian jacket featured Saint Phalle-inspired panels of plaid and denim.

Mood board: In the recent aftermath of its founder's death, the house of Sonia Rykiel threw a good-time party; exactly the kind of silver-confetti strewn extravaganza that Sonia herself would have loved. After a rousing 'Rykiel forever' spelled out per letter onto the chests of models wearing knit sweaters and sexy hot pants, creative director Julie de Libran got down to her business of creating off-duty, full-volume clothes from the worlds chicest ingénues.

Best in show: The collection was packed with juicy gems, including enormously wide flood-like pants paired with everything from crisp indigo kaftan tops, pyjama shirt tops and tie front tops. Even better were the novelty knits shown such as sailor stripe sweaters that featured exaggerated lantern sleeve constructions and oversized shoulders dotted with gold buttons.

Finishing touches: The handbags were as big as tents and were cut from neutral canvas or strips of leather appliquéd with printed toile fabric. Ever the balancer with her high volume clothes, de Libran anchored the oversized looks with hefty platform shoes.

INFORMATION

Photography: Jason Lloyd-Evans

Scene setting: Julie de Libran headed off-site for this season's Sonia Rykiel show, which surpassed the usual Saint-Germain des Prés boutique locale for the grander Beaux-Arts de Paris nearby. Inside the school of fine arts, guests were handed blankets to rug up against the chilly night air.

Mood board: Three generations of Rykiel women had their imprints all over this collection (quite literally). De Libran worked with artist Maggie Cardelús on the season's illustrated 'Le Visages' print that utilised portraits of Sonia, Nathalie and Lola Rykiel as well as the designer and Cardelús, which embellished the collection's 1970s style, midi-length looks (including a skirt suit cut in leather and other ruffle front frocks) along with co-ordinating leather boots.

Best in show: There were plenty of bolero-length jackets this season, but the most patriotic crop top was easily a striped, paillette-covered jumper of white, black, navy and gold sequins. De Libran's striking selection of individual coats also held their own in the outerwear stakes, from a fur finished plaid overcoat to a shaggy pea coat and longline leopard-trimmed cardigan.

INFORMATION

Photography: Jason Lloyd-Evans

Mood board: Swallows circled Julie de Libran’s spring 2016 Sonia Rykiel collection, which swooped in as the central motif for this season’s colourful camouflage print along with her tactile Techicolor fur stoles.

Best in show: De Libran’s finale pyjama suits offered an after-hours alternative to the show’s mega-watt stream of heavily sequined gowns.

Finishing touches: Sonia Rykiel shows always have a certain Studio 54 fervor to them and this season’s swallow clad chain belts only served to seal the Seventies feel.

INFORMATION
Photography: Jason Lloyd-Evans

When Charles Dickens' Mr. Brownlow tells Oliver Twist, 'There are books of which the backs and covers are by far the best part,' he was clearly referring to lousy writing and not decorative value. That line, however, assumes new meaning upon entering the Sonia Rykiel flagship at 175 Boulevard Saint-Germain, where 50,000 books comprise a novel pop-up store concept.

Conceived by Julie de Libran, the brand's artistic director, in collaboration with publisher-director Thomas Lenthal and artist André Saraïva, the renovated space reads as an 'exaggeration' that makes an impact on many levels.

Purely in visual terms, the repetition of the pale wood shelving from floor to ceiling becomes a dimensional nod to the signature Rykiel stripes. If the arrangement of paperbacks seems more random than a rainbow gradient or author's last name, it's also more deliberate than the average home bookcase. Here, the titles seem to advance and recede like ridged patterning. Along corners, the covers face outward as if following the curvature of the artisan-built library.

For those who have not spent enough time on the Left Bank, this famed pocket of Paris is best known for its rich history and backdrop for writers, artists, auteurs and their overlapping social circles. Ms. de Libran, who has seamlessly settled into her role since her arrival last June, sought to reframe the golden age of Saint-Germain as it relates back to the brand circa 2015. 'It wasn't just about clothes but about the atmosphere and being able to spend some time to enjoy,' she told Wallpaper*. 'I thought it was important to come back to the universe of Sonia Rykiel.'

Hence the carpet designed by Saraïva leading up to the mezzanine with its motif of sassy lips, cigarettes, books and pencils (last year, he created a rather risqué floor covering for the nightclub Castel.) Framed in high-gloss red, this upper space feels part-boudoir, part-lounge-and appropriate setting for the eveningwear. Large format catalogues, many out of print and originating from London's Idea Books, become art accents instead of an all-over statement.

Back downstairs, a woven and striped fur throw adds a characteristically insouciant vibe to the vintage black leather sofa with its more masculine, Mies-ian look. From there, you notice that certain patterns emerge when scanning: the majority of titles were published in the 1960s-70s, exactly the period when Sonia Rykiel emerged as a key figure in Parisian ready-to-wear. Beyond those defining years - whether in fiction or fashion - the selection includes a respectable portion of the French canon: Emile Zola, Victor Hugo, Stendhal, Colette, Simone de Beauvoir and more.

Lest this start to sound too erudite, the overall environment emanates with lively plot twists. In the windows facing out to the street, video screens project a larger-than-life virtual tableau of characters sitting outside a café-reading, drinking wine and yes, even smoking. Among the group: Madame Rykiel's daughter Nathalie and granddaughter Lola. During one visit, the background music cycled through Donna Summer. Sneak a peak at the upstairs dressing rooms where a small selection of tomes might make you blush. Ms. de Libran's friend, well-known perfumer Daniela Andrier, developed an enveloping, in-store scent. 'I didn't want it to feel like an aged library; I wanted a feminine space that was very fresh and clean,' de Libran says of her directive, citing notes of vetiver and iris flower and hinting that it may serve as a starting point for an eventual perfume.

But as a concept, the store also presents a salient commentary on what's happening around it, namely, that the venerable booksellers of the area are gradually disappearing.

'We need the history as much as we need the fashion,' she says. 'I don't want to say that the [area] has turned to fashion shops but it's important that we respect that. It's always been part of the culture here… I'm not saying we open a library but maybe there are ways to mix these ideas together.'

While a similar book theme will soon be repeated at the Aoyama location (end of April) and then London (mid-May), Libran reminds that it is a not a permanent strategy (admittedly, it's not the easiest idea to replicate across all locations)-although she is certain that elements will remain.'

And if you were curious, the books are there for perusing. Ms. de Libran even tells the story of a friend who confessed to taking one home, too engrossed to leave it behind. Her response: 'I'd love if you bring it back but then you can take another book.' Needless to say, the same policy does not extend to the clothes.

Mood board: Julie de Libran is moulding a cool-girl intellectualism at Sonia Rykiel where she is continuing to shake up the storied Parisian maison and its signature knits with easy separates dressing.

Best in show: We loved the outerwear, specifically the shearling-lined navy pea coat that opened the show with a signature Rykiel navy and white striped sweater.

Finishing touches: Boots with built-in knee socks, fur chevron handbags and stripy scarves added a quirky Parisian touch.

Photography: Jason Lloyd-Evans