PARIS — La Veste, the vintage-inspired fashion brand created by Spanish entrepreneurs and influencers María de la Orden and Blanca Miró, is opening its first store in Paris.
Launched in 2018, the made-in-Spain label is in growth mode, with plans to launch a capsule collection with Moda Operandi in April and grow its fledgling leather goods and childrenswear lines, alongside the homewares collection it introduced in 2020.
The 860-square-foot boutique at 4 Rue de Tournon, opening on the French capital’s arty Left Bank on Thursday, was designed by Barcelona-based interior design studio Quintana Partners, which captured the brand’s eclectic design ethos with a mix of cozy textures and vintage furniture.
“We wanted it to convey La Veste’s colorful and warm feel, but we also wanted it to be very elegant and Parisian, so it’s a mix of both worlds,” de la Orden told WWD.
A floral carpet, patterned wallpaper and colorful friezes set the tone of the two-story space. The fringed changing room curtains are made from a patchwork of La Veste’s signature striped and patterned fabrics, while the entrance is dominated by a large slant-top library desk dotted with opaline lamps.
Beyond the blazers after which the label was originally named, bestsellers include its colorful striped Pippi pants; School shirts with statement collars, and Tirol skirts that are short in the front and long in the back. Fans include Kelly Rutherford, Leandra Medine and British actress, poet and filmmaker Greta Bellamacina.
Blanca Miró and María de la Orden
Iulia Matei/Courtesy of La Veste
The store will carry a selection of exclusive items, such as the new Orangerie bucket bag, in addition to monthly capsule drops, starting with a junior line in February, following a successful first foray into kids’ clothes last year.
De la Orden is a mother to a 2-year-old girl and a 7-month-old boy, while Miró has a daughter of four months. They stumbled onto the vacant store while shopping at neighboring children’s clothing store Caramel.
“This is one of my favorite streets in Paris,” de la Orden said of the road, which is also home to jeweler Marie-Hélène de Taillac and homewares brand Astier de Villatte. “When I moved to Paris at the age of 17, I lived nearby.”
Miró is a regular visitor, making Paris a natural choice for their first store. “We both love this city and we have a big customer base here. It’s the capital of fashion,” de la Orden reasoned.
A serial entrepreneur, she was a sales manager for trade fair Who’s Next before branching out into fashion with the launch of her first brand, Mau Loa, in 2014. Since then, she’s also founded her eponymous brand Maria de la Orden, which she describes as “more classic,” and hair accessories brand Maison Olà.
She juggles her various projects with her career as an influencer, with 268,000 followers on Instagram and partnerships with brands including Loro Piana, Penhaligons and Dior Beauty. (Miró, meanwhile, has 692,000 Instagram followers.)
The changing room at La Veste’s store in Paris.
Ambroise Tézenas/Courtesy of La Veste
“Meeting other people has led to great projects for my brands, so I think it’s all linked. It’s great to wear both hats because you also learn a lot about other brands’ strategies, and you have access to people that you wouldn’t meet otherwise,” de la Orden remarked.
While her social media presence channels old-school socialite polish, Miró is like a funkier younger sister.
They move in elite circles. De la Orden is married to Edward Bouygues, president of Bouygues Telecom and son of French industrialist Martin Bouygues, and Miró’s husband is tech entrepreneur Javi Fondevila. Among their friends are Dior PR director Mathilde Favier and Destree founder Géraldine Guyot.
While Spain is the top market for the Maria de la Orden brand, La Veste is sold mainly in France, the U.S. and northern Europe.
It’s carried by around 20 stockists including Le Bon Marché in Paris; Liberty and Koibird in London; Ron Herman in Tokyo, and smaller boutiques including Tuke Bazaar in Palm Beach, Fla., and Dope in Cagliari, Italy.
“For the moment, we don’t want to open additional stores. Our main objective is to develop online sales and see how the first store performs,” de la Orden said. E-commerce accounts for 80 percent of sales, with wholesale representing 10 percent and pop-ups another 10 percent.
Following earlier collaborations with the Vault, Gucci’s now-defunct experimental online space, and brands including Rowing Blazers, La Veste is planning others this year, but the privately owned business is not seeking financial partners.
“We are completely independent and for the moment, we’re not looking for investors,” de la Orden said.
La Veste’s Orangerie bag.
Courtesy of La Veste
