PARIS — A storied pioneer of classic, ladylike and fairly priced ready-to-wear in France, Weill went through some tough times during the pandemic, when luxury and fast fashion took nearly all the spoils.
But since the beginning of the year, sales on Weill’s online store have zoomed 80 percent — and this is on top of a 50 percent gain last year. Overall, company sales advanced 7 percent in 2024, with interest from specialty stores perking up.
Chalk it up to a trend toward the “jolie Madame” style gathering steam on resale sites and TikTok — and a full-on youthquake at the Paris-based company.
Last year, Elie Weill, 42, took over as president and chief executive officer from his father, Bernard, and uncle, Jean-Pierre, and spearheaded a reboot to start attracting a younger, more fashionable demographic. He’s part of the fifth generation of the family-owned business, which in its early days supplied French department stores Le Bon Marché and La Samaritaine with private-label apparel.
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“People are talking more about the brand for sure,” Weill said in an interview. “We’ve done huge work to make the brand cool and desirable again, tweaking the product, the collection, the image, the store concept… We twisted all the fabulous DNA that we have to make Weill more modern and appealing.”
While leaning into Weill’s reputation for jackets, blouses and handsome outwear, done up in artisanal tweeds and fine silks and wools from Italy, Weill brought on a new design team to freshen its offer and styling under his direction.
“I wouldn’t say the brand was dusty, but we needed to clean it up, to make it cooler, more desirable,” said the executive, who has worked at the company for 15 years, doing everything from pattern-making to operations and international development.
He’s steadfast about “affordable pricing,” but recently came up with the idea to add a slightly more upscale, annual capsule by a rotating guest designer.
Dubbed W, the first capsule is hinged on tweed jackets and starts landing in Weill stores this week. It’s backed by a campaign styled by Marie-Amélie Sauvé, known for her long collaboration with Nicolas Ghesquière at Louis Vuitton and Julien Dossena at Rabanne. She is also founder and creative director of Mastermind magazine. (Weill declined to identify the first guest designer.)
Realized with exceptional fabrics, W clothes are priced about 20 percent higher than Weill, but are still far less expensive than designer or luxury labels. Jackets run from about 645 euros and top out at 985 euros versus 500 euros to 675 euros for the main Weill line.
Also this week, Weill opens its showroom for its fall 2025 collections, and is angling to catch the interest of American department stores and marquee specialty retailers in Europe and beyond.
Roughly 70 percent of Weill’s revenues come from its network of 25 company-owned stores in France, and franchise locations in markets like the Middle East.
Boutiques that have been renovated with a new concept — it falls somewhere between a showroom and an apartment — are tracking 30 percent gains, the executive said, flashing a smile.
He hopes to grow the wholesale channel to 50 percent of revenues from the current 30 percent, and spies lots of runway in North America and Asia.
Accessories are also seen as another path to growth, with the design team riffing on an archival carriage monogram for an expanded fall 2025 offer.
In Weill’s estimation, consumers, especially in China, are hunting for brands with heritage and DNA, which Weill has in spades, starting when founder Albert Weill left the Alsace region of France and opened a small atelier in Paris dedicated to women’s fashion on Rue d’Aboukir, his wife, Anna, designing every piece.
He said the company has accumulated formidable savoir-faire in tailoring, and manufactures all apparel in Europe — mainly Italy, Poland and Portugal.
“The idea is to catch the attention of new partners all over the world,” Weill said.
