Laëtitia Ivanez: long live elegance for all

It is in the stunning setting of J1 just before the Mucem, that we meet the new artistic director of Galeries Lafayette. For the past year, Laëtitia Ivanez has taken over the group's own collections. And his arrival really felt like a sea breeze. Logic for this Marseillaise! "I was born in Avignon but from the age of 6 months, we went to live in Marseille. I think we have visited almost all the districts of the city, she explains with her big brown eyes. So my roots are on the Haven..."

Laëtitia got into fashion very early on. She vividly remembers her parents dyeing their fabulous petticoats, blouses and other beautiful pieces. "Very ethereal dresses. Angora sweaters. They created their own colors and dried everything in the sun. So I was immersed in color from childhood. My parents had this Louis Ivanez brand in their little shop on rue du Museum. It was THE boutique in Marseille. Drivers stopped in front to let customers off. We lived in Les Olives, avenue des Poilus. It was at this time that I met Laurence Guez (Maison Empereur)".

In the 90s, the shop finally closed. "My father then went to Paris and I followed him. I was around 14 years old. I've always been a bad student! I wasn't focused. I only knew one thing: I didn't want to especially not doing my parents' job. What I liked was acting!". Laëtitia follows the Cours Florent for two and a half years, then works with Jacqueline Duc at the Théâtre du Renard. "I was in my twenties! This is how I remember the inauguration of the Opéra Bastille. I was a mime in Les Troyennes and we were all very scared because the decor was collapsing! I ran to the castings, and to pay my classes in the evening, I worked at Agnès B. during the day."

Thus between two tirades from Andromaque and Honorine, Laëtitia Ivanez continues to touch beautiful fabrics, her sharp eye to cross precious tones. Fashion still, certainly discreet, is present. She was all the more so when her father launched Les Prairies de Paris. "I didn't have to do the collections. My father was much more creative than me. I actually helped him sell. I remember when he went to buy fabrics at the Saint-Pierre market."

280 models per season

Very quickly, however, life decides otherwise. His dad disappears even as the collection is to be presented at the ready-to-wear show. "I had to take over by learning everything on the job. I was 24 years old. Even if I told myself that it was not my job, it was very emotional". Then, at a moment's notice, Laëtitia takes over, her large shopping bag filled with petticoats still in her hand. She travels the route of the first concept stores and other chic multi-brands like Gago in Aix. "My father had designed petticoats with 13m of fabric. He found my proposals too simple!".

Yet the famous Barneys group is conquered. And Laëtitia's petticoats flew to the United States in 1995. For 25 years, she was to develop a unique brand, a very marked identity, both romantic, with beautiful cuts and precious materials. And colors, of course. She knows how to surround herself with beautiful and loyal people like Yan Useré. She will even create two very beautiful collaborations in 2002 with the shoemaker André who will be immensely successful. "I learned a trade. The theater helped me a lot... Not to be afraid."

At the moment, the brand is a little "dormant". As Laëtitia says: "The Prairies of Paris take a siesta in the sun". She intends to bring it back to life but already has a lot to do with the Galeries Lafayette. Because for a year, the artistic direction of the group is a huge challenge for the one who advocates "elegance for all". "I want to reach as many people as possible. To make more noble materials, natural materials, accessible."

His summer collection is already a success. We love the Tony dungarees, the Mash sweatshirt with the Calvi logo, the Thym skirt. Prints, fresh colors. A sparkling and mischievous vintage twist. With very low prices. We are already dreaming of a collection for men, children and even a whole universe for the home, so sure is Laëtitia's taste, precious and deep. And engaged. She controls the origin of yarns and fabrics, trying to tend towards organic. "I want people to consume purer, healthier, without having tissues full of pesticides and more human too."

The designer is very rigorous. Logical when you have to produce 280 models per season. "I don't do things by halves, it's true. I observe a lot. Customers on the shelves, what they touch, buy. I really want to talk to everyone. I had head an accessible, good-humored and benevolent fashion." Successful bet.

And when she's not dreaming of fashion (which is rare), Laëtitia rushes to Marseille, boards the first shuttle, heading to Frioul. "Precisely in Pomègues. I love it. It's imperative. I love nature, water, sand. Then, I go to Noailles, and depending on the time, I go to the garlic market , to that of the santons." Proof that Laëtitia is a real Marseillaise? She loves football and OM: "I was center forward and goalkeeper... Marseille is my heart, my energy, my mom, my light. And I claim color and light."

Little confidences...

Belote. The designer lives near the Canal Saint-Martin: "But I'm sure that I'll end up in retirement on the beach of the Catalans to play belote too. I dream of it."

Coachella. "I like to walk, dance, sing. I travel too. I went to Coachella with my son. It was fabulous."

Silhouette. She draws little. "I make silhouettes that I annotate. It's almost mathematical, there are numbers, words."

Groupy. Laëtitia is a committed woman. "It was the first time that I voted for the presidential elections. As I got older, politics took more place. And then we see passing laws, injustices. I liked Emmanuel Macron. I liked his simplicity in explaining things, his open-mindedness. I find him very human too. And with his 39 years he gives hope. I would like to dress them both! The appointment of Françoise Nyssen delights me all as much."