PARIS — Belgian brand Bernadette is celebrating its fifth birthday by taking over the Petibon cafés in Paris during fashion week.
The Antwerp-based brand from mother-daughter design duo Bernadette and Charlotte de Geyter will set up in two locations across town to showcase its lifestyle brand, which encompasses a full range of retro-tinged dresses and homewares with its signature hand-drawn floral prints.
“We’re celebrating throughout the whole year, now this presentation will be the cherry on top,” Charlotte de Geyter told WWD in an interview.
Instead of a traditional runway show, the pair settled on the café concept to offer attendees a quiet break from the hectic show schedule.
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“We wanted to bring the coziness that’s in my mom’s house to Paris,” de Geyter said. The takeover will present Bernadette’s cozy concept, with all the brand’s brightly colored ceramics, including cups and candlesticks, as well as tablecloths, napkins, curtains and shades — sans the sartorial side. Instead, it will be a peek into Bernadette’s world.
And of course there will be cake, with special concoctions courtesy of Paris-based chef Monika Varšavskaja. Several baked goods will be on offer, including a pink-and-green gâteau with a Speculoos crust created for the occasion.
The Bernadette brand came about after de Geyter graduated from Antwerp’s Royal Academy of Fine Arts. An internship in London shifted her dream of working for a big brand, and she returned home to launch the line alongside her mother, the namesake Bernadette. The two reference archival pieces from Bernadette’s closet imbued with Charlotte’s own prints and sketches for easy, feminine pieces.
“The brand is very close to who we are. Our strongest point would be that we are two women of different generations, and we communicate about what we want to wear. It’s very feminine, but in a modern way,” said de Geyter.
Being based in Belgium gives the duo an organic perspective. “Antwerp is a very nice cocoon, because we get a lot of time and a lot of space to focus on the brand,” she said, adding that bringing the label to Paris is a moment to invite friends from fashion school.
“We are very excited to have a [brand] experience outside of photos and campaigns,” said de Geyter.
After the café, other experiences and even a runway show could be in Bernadette’s future. “It’s the next step for the brand,” said de Geyter. Bernadette launched bridal and brooches earlier this year and is available in Le Bon Marché and Galeries Lafayette in Paris.
The Bernadette takeover will be in two locations at 24 Rue de 4 Septembre, in the 2nd arrondissement, and 47 Rue Cler in Paris’ 7th from Sept. 24 to Oct. 2.
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