Paule Ka  |
| Industry | retail |
|---|
| Founded | 1987 |
|---|
| Founder | Serge Cajfinger |
|---|
| Headquarters | |
|---|
| Products | Ready-to-wear |
|---|
| Revenue | €63 000 000 (2016) |
|---|
Number of employees | 200+ (2013) |
|---|
| Subsidiaries | France; United Kingdom; Spain; Germany; Belgium; USA |
|---|
| Website | www.pauleka.com |
|---|
PAULE KA is a French ready-to-wear brand, created in 1987 by Serge Cajfinger.
Born in Lille [1] in 1955, Serge Cajfinger spent his childhood in Brazil; [1] he returned to France in 1968. [2] In 1974, he opened a multi-brand store in Lille known as PAULE KA. Serge Cajfinger later left Lille for Paris to set up a designer label under the same name, opening the first ever PAULE KA store in 1987 in the heart of Paris’ Marais district. The brand's style is geometric [3] and sober, [4] sophisticated yet urban, with some lasting characteristics such as black dresses, [5] must-have bags [6] and the use of bows. [7]
In 2007, State-owned fund Caisse des dépôts et consignations invested in PAULE KA. The fashion house set up its headquarters on the rue Saint Honoré in Paris and opened a store in Cannes. 2011 saw the arrival of Change Capital Partners, who were also to invest in PAULE KA, enabling the brand to set itself new growth objectives. [1]
International development ensued 2012 with the opening of stores in China and across Europe as well as a showroom in New York. [8]
In 2014, Following the decision to change the company's governance, Cajfinger left the House he founded after almost 30 years as Chairman and Creative Director to devote himself to new personal projects.
In July 2015, a year after Cajfinger's departure, Alithia Spuri-Zampetti was appointed Creative Director of PAULE KA.
In July 2017, the company Marco Polo became main shareholder of Maison PAULE KA. Serge Cajfinger takes the lead again to supervise upcoming collections alongside the House's creative team.
Fashion personalities such as Kate Middleton, Amal Clooney, Jessica Chastain and Anne Hathaway wear PAULE KA.
Jean Paul Gaultier is a French haute couture and prêt-à-porter fashion designer. He is described as an "enfant terrible" of the fashion industry and is known for his unconventional designs with motifs including corsets, marinières, and tin cans. Gaultier founded his eponymous fashion label in 1982, and expanded with a line of fragrances in 1993. He was the creative director for French luxury house Hermès from 2003 to 2010, and retired following his 50th-anniversary haute couture show during Paris Fashion Week in January 2020.
Christian Dior SE, commonly known as Dior, is a French multinational luxury fashion house controlled and chaired by French businessman Bernard Arnault, who also heads LVMH. Dior holds 42.36% shares and 59.01% of voting rights within LVMH.
Givenchy is a French luxury fashion and perfume house. It hosts the brand of haute couture and ready-to-wear clothing, accessories, perfumes and cosmetics of Parfums Givenchy. The house of Givenchy was founded in 1952 by designer Hubert de Givenchy and is a member of Chambre Syndicale de la Haute Couture et du Prêt-à-Porter. It is currently owned by luxury conglomerate LVMH.
Elie Saab is a Lebanese fashion designer.
Groupe Caisse d'épargne was a French cooperative banking group, with around, 4700 branches in the country. It started with the founding in 1818 of the Caisse d'Épargne et de Prévoyance de Paris, France's first savings bank. The group was active in retail and private banking, as well as holding a significant stake in the publicly traded investment bank Natixis. In 2009, it merged with Groupe Banque Populaire to form Groupe BPCE. A retail banking network under BPCE still uses the brand name.
Yves Saint Laurent SAS, also known as Saint Laurent and YSL, is a French luxury fashion house founded in 1962 by Yves Saint Laurent and his partner, Pierre Bergé. The company specializes in haute couture, ready-to-wear, leather accessories, and footwear. Its cosmetics line, YSL Beauty, is owned by L'Oréal.
Celine is a French luxury fashion house founded in 1945 by designer Céline Vipiana. The headquarters are located at 16 rue Vivienne in the 2nd arrondissement of Paris at the Hôtel Colbert de Torcy, which has French Historic Monument classification. Séverine Merle has been the Chief Executive Officer since April 2017.
Giles David Deacon is a British fashion designer, Creative Director and Founder of Giles Deacon group, a fashion enterprise. Deacon joined the Paris Fashion Week in 2016. Deacon has been known to challenge the traditional ideas of womenswear and often uses wild prints and pop culture references in his designs. Deacon was employed by the fashion houses Bottega Veneta and Gucci, before founding his own label, GILES, in 2003. He launched his first collection for GILES at the 2004 London Fashion Week and was named "Best New Designer" at the British Fashion Awards.
Ports is an international luxury fashion house founded by Japanese Canadian fashion designer Luke Tanabe (1920–2009) in Toronto in 1961. It specializes in luxury women's and men's ready-to-wear as well as accessories. Acquired by Chinese Canadian brothers Alfred Chan and Edward Tan in 1989, Ports expanded into the Chinese market in the early 1990s where its parent company — which traded on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange from 2003 to 2018 and has since been privatized — now operates more than 300 retail stores. Sub-brands of the fashion house include Ports (International) in China and Asia as well as Ports 1969, with subsidiaries in Milan and New York City as well as a flagship store in Paris, for global distribution.
Davit Komakhidze known as David Koma is a Georgian fashion designer based in London, England.
Italy is one of the leading countries in fashion design, alongside France and the United Kingdom. Fashion has always been an important part of the country's cultural life and society, and Italians are well known for their attention to dress; la bella figura, or good appearance, retains its traditional importance.
Max Azria was a Tunisian-Jewish-born American fashion designer who founded the contemporary women's clothing brand BCBG MAX AZRIA. Azria was also the designer, chairman and CEO of the BCBG Max Azria Group, a global fashion house that encompassed over 20 brands. Azria left BCBG in 2016. BCBG Max Azria filed for bankruptcy in 2017 and was sold to Marquee Brands and Global Brands Group.
Icade SA is a multinational real estate investment trust (REIT) that is headquartered in Issy-les-Moulineaux, Paris, France and is a subsidiary of Caisse des dépôts et consignations. The name is an abbreviation of Immobilière Caisse des Dépôts. It invests in various types of properties including health care, offices, business parks, housing and public facilities. It is one of the largest property businesses of France. Icade became the leading commercial real-estate company for offices and business parks in the Ile-de-France region, is the largest REIT in healthcare sector of France and a key partner of major French cities. The main shareholders are the parent organization and Crédit Agricole.
Alexander McQueen is a British luxury fashion house founded by the designer Alexander McQueen in 1992. After his death, Sarah Burton was its creative director, from 2010 to 2023. Its current creative director is Seán McGirr.
Maxime Simoens is a French designer who has been the artistic director of Paule Ka since 2019. He is an "invited member" of the Chamber of Parisian Couture union.
Maison Margiela, formerly Maison Martin Margiela, is a French luxury fashion house founded by Belgian designer Martin Margiela and Jenny Meirens in 1988 and headquartered in Paris. The house produces both haute couture-inspired artisanal collections and ready-to-wear collections, with the former influencing the designs of the latter. Product lines include womenswear, menswear, jewellery, footwear, accessories, leather goods, perfumes and household goods. Known for deconstructive and avant-garde designs with unconventional materials, Maison Margiela has traditionally held live shows in unusual settings, for example empty metro stations and street corners. Models' faces are often obscured by fabric or long hair to direct attention to the clothes and design. Margiela resigned as creative designer in 2009 and John Galliano was appointed to the role in 2014.
Equipment is a fashion label currently based in Los Angeles, California. Originally launched in 1976 by Christian Restoin, husband of former Vogue Paris Editor-in-chief Carine Roitfeld, the brand is currently carried in over 60 countries and 600 retail doors, including two Equipment retail stores.
Gabriela Hearst, born November 3, 1976, in Paysandú Department, Uruguay, is a women's luxury ready-to-wear and accessories designer. In addition to designing her namesake collection, she runs and operates her family's ranch in Uruguay.
Opening Ceremony is a fashion brand founded in 2002 by Carol Lim and Humberto Leon. The brand designs and creates its own products and also retails other emerging fashion labels. During the COVID-19 pandemic the company announced it would close all its physical stores. Opening Ceremony was one of the first retail shops to carry Havaianas and Topshop products, and has carried Alexander Wang, Comme Des Garcons, Proenza Schouler and Rodarte.
The Simpsons | Balenciaga is a 2021 animated short film based on the television series The Simpsons. The production staff of The Simpsons collaborated with French/Spanish luxury fashion house Balenciaga to produce the film that premiered on October 2, 2021 during Paris Fashion Week. The ten-minute film, directed by David Silverman, parodies the fashion industry and highlights Balenciaga's recent clothing.
