Fashion at the Elysée

On 5 March, the President of the Republic and his wife welcomed around 100 designers, stylists, and fashion personalities to the Elysée Palace. Whether they were French or other nationalities, they all shared a love for France and they had all chosen to conduct business here. 

For the first time since 1984, a French President clearly acknowledged the people who make fashion and communicated his commitment to the sector, especially young designers. 

It was, of course, an opportunity to speak with the President and his advisors about the subjects that are so important to us: creating a centralised fashion school system in Paris, defending the crédit d’impôt collection (fashion collection tax credit), and the importance of savoir-faire. The President also met with some of the brands who work closely with the Fédération, such as Maison Château Rouge, Wear Lemonade, and Carolina Ritzler as well as several French manufacturing businesses whose incomparable expertise is indispensable to us all. 

Like all the guests, I was impressed with the President’s kindness to and interest in our industry’s entrepreneurs. I must thank him here for his warm welcome. 
Like the President, the Fédération Française du Prêt-à-Porter Féminin is convinced that creativity is our sector’s foundation. The Fédération’s Business Services Division is led by Priscilla Jokhoo, whose efficiency I truly appreciate. Every year the Division helps around a hundred young businesses built on very different economic models to handle subjects as diverse as strategy and financing. To help the next creative champions structure their businesses, we’ve also recently set up, with help from DEFI, a new program. “Talents” gives five young French brands a full year of coaching and mentoring. 

The Traffic trade show for fashion business services, 4 and 5 April at the Carreau du Temple in Paris, is another Fédération initiative. It targets both fashion designers in the growth phase and established businesses who want to discover the top performing and most innovative solutions for Fashiontech, retail, marketing, international development, and, new this edition, human resources. That the President and his wife share and endorse our commitment to creativity and savoir-faire is excellent news that will, no doubt, increase our country’s attractiveness. It’s also precious support for all the fashion entrepreneurs who choose France to enrich their vision and promote their business. We enthusiastically salute this rare presidential initiative and we are sincerely delighted with the value of his support. 

#ChooseFrance   

Pierre-François Le Louët