REVEALED WINTER 2024 - Magazine - Page 36
Simone Pérèle at 75:
Colors and Lace
BY CAROLINE TALBOT-CROSDALE
What women want is always central to Simone Pérèle’s offerings.
From the company’s start in post-World War
II France to the post-pandemic period, tastes
may have changed drastically, but Simone
Pérèle is there to satisfy women’s wants.
colors like red, disco pink,
Celebrating 75 years in business, the company
sticks close to its founder’s principles.
in transparent tulle with complex scallop edges.
burgundy, eg gplant and
purple. The embroideries are
European and feature bunches of 昀氀owers cut
“It was love at 昀椀rst sight,” she says. “Everybody
“We stick to sociological trends,” explains
Stephanie Bujard Pérèle, the founder ’s
granddaughter. “When Simone Pérèle first
opened her business in Paris, she tried to
capture what women really wanted.”
in the studio fell for it. Embroidery was always
part of our DNA.”
Expansion could be part of the company’s DNA
as well. In the future, the product range could
The corset maker was unafraid to create a
different style of outfit. “Women refused
to choose between comfort and style; they
desired both,” Bujard Pérèle explains to
Revealed. And the Soleil bra, named for its
bust darts in the pattern of the sun’s rays, was
created. “The design was comfortable, and the
pointy cups revealed a graceful 昀椀gure.”
include categories like tights, slippers and
“Women refused
to choose between
comfort and style;
they desired both.”
Stéphanie Bujard Pérèle,
product and brand director
home textiles. “We will study them to see if they
make sense,” said Bujard Pérèle.
What started as a little studio in Paris grew
into a thousand-person company. It has two
factories: one in Tunisia and one in Madagascar.
Simone Pérèle has about 50 owned stores
Many classics have been created over the years
to ful昀椀ll women’s wants. Petale, sheer underwear made of mesh
and tulle, debuted in the 1970s, while the 1990s saw the rise of
push-up bras in satin. During the pandemic, women wanted
basic bras in neutral and nude colors.
Fast forward to today. “Corsetry remains our core business,”
says Bujard Pérèle, who also serves as the company’s product
and brand director. “It is close to 90% of the annual revenue.”
Which leads us to what women want today — color and beautiful
lace.
in France and Australia and 300 shop-in-shops in various
department stores. In The United States, the brand sells at
Nordstrom, Neiman Marcus, Bergdorf Goodman, Saks Fifth
Avenue and Dillard’s.
“When I was younger, I asked my parents what their jobs were,
and they told me manufacturing,” recalls Bujard Pérèle. “Today,
our role is much more complicated than that. We design,
produce, distribute our products, and publicize what we do.”
Still, the small company feeling dominates the creative process.
And Simone Pérèle’s o昀昀erings re昀氀ect this. The brand’s three
new collections—Intrigue, Scenario and Festive—are alive vivid
R E V E A L E D - THE W INTE R IS SUE #10
“Here in the studio,” she adds, “we look at the patterns, one by
one, cup by cup.”
