I'd been thinking about this collective for most of the year before it became real. My first instinct wasn't a plan so much as a list — a few designers I really wanted to bring to Paris with me, people whose work I admired and thought would be exciting together.
The first group I approached were a couple of women I'd met at Round Top. And the way it goes with anything new, there was hesitation. I understood it completely — it's an investment, a risk, and when there's no precedent yet, no "here's how it went last time" to point to, it's a lot to ask someone to say yes to. Out of that first group, nobody signed on right away. Interestingly, one of them came back around much later for a pop-up — but I'll get to her.
Around the same time, the practical side of things was shifting too. I'd originally hoped to fill the space with six designers for the full run. But Paris Fashion Week is an incredibly competitive week for space, and when a second location I'd been counting on fell through, I had a choice: scale up and scramble for whatever was left, or scale down and build something I could stand behind no matter what. I've always run my boutiques the same way — start smaller than you think you need, and grow into it, rather than take on too much space and scramble to fill it with things you never really planned on. So that's what I did here too. I wanted a curated, intentional group. Not a full roster for the sake of a full roster.
Around that same stretch, I met Tanya at a white party, and I could tell almost immediately she was sharp on social media and grounded in a way I trusted. I brought her on to help run House of Story Global day-to-day — designer inquiries, communication, keeping everything moving — so that I could actually stay focused on my own collection instead of trying to do all of it myself. That delegation has turned out to be one of the best decisions I made. Tanya's now deeply involved with the designers, and she's the one running our weekly "meet the designer" series on Instagram, so you can get to know everyone showing with us before September.
The first real yes came from an unexpected place. I met him at Art Basel — impeccably, colorfully dressed, the kind of person you notice across a room. He ended up next to me at the bar getting a drink with his girlfriend, and it turned out he was a designer. His work is extraordinary — a lot of hand stitching, and just as much personality behind it. We did a few Zooms, and then, when it turned out we'd both be in Miami at the same time, we sat down for coffee to talk details. He has a huge following in Paris and had always wanted to show there. He became the first designer to officially sign on — ONE432.
From there, I turned to my friend Neely, who I know from LA and whose eye I've always respected. She's since moved to New York part time, where she has her own space and represents a handful of independent designers — she's ground-level in a way I'm not, close to a lot of talent I wouldn't otherwise cross paths with. Through Neely came two more of our presenting partners for the back of the space — C'est Jeanne, whose gloves are incredible, and Yanawara New York, whose knits are extraordinary.
Neely was also behind two of our pop-up designers. The first pop-up spot, though, came through my friend Esmée — her friend Jamie, who raises the goats himself and makes incredible mohair pieces from it. He lives just outside Paris and teaches at one of the fashion schools there, originally from London. We've spoken on the phone a few times now, and he's exactly the kind of warm, colorful presence I wanted to open the week with — Moirai Mohair, our very first pop-up.
Through Neely came two more: Sophie Tiné, from the Netherlands, and Llama and Chaguar, bringing an incredible collection and home decor from New York.
And then, just last week — almost at the last minute — one of my very first choices came back around. She'd said no the first time, for all the reasons I understood, but she reached out and said yes to a pop-up on Saturday. Her swimwear is beautifully made, quality pieces with a sexiness to them I haven't seen anywhere else in the market. She's based out of Saint-Tropez. And then, quite literally as I'm finishing this post, we filled that very last spot. A dear friend referred me to a designer who lives right there in Paris and makes the most incredible gowns. It feels like the most magnificent way to close out our week, and I love that we're ending with a local voice in the mix. Atelier Corbaz will be with us for our final pop-up day, Sunday, October 4th.
What I love most about this group is that nobody is competing. Everyone is complementing each other — different mediums, different countries, different points of view, all adding up to something none of us could do alone. Every designer is bringing their own clientele, their own friends, their own energy into that room. That collaborative spirit is the whole reason I wanted to build this in the first place. As Aristotle put it — "The whole is greater than the sum of its parts." That's the seed this entire collective grew from.
Next week, I'll tell you what comes after the roster is set — getting the word out, bringing buyers, editors, and influencers into the fold, and building a full week of daily events so there's a reason to walk through that door every single day of Paris Fashion Week.
— Katharine