Sophie Mechaly (born 1967), previously known as Sophie Albou, is a Paris-born designer best known as the founder of the Paul & Joe clothing line. [1] The daughter of Yvan and Nicole Haggiag, a clothing company executive and designer respectively, Mechaly worked for the clothing company Azzedine Alaia in 1983, and was later educated at the Sorbonne and the Institut Français de la Mode. [1]
In 1995, she started a menswear company called Paul & Joe, adding a womenswear line in 1996. The first show in the United States was opened in New York City in 1996. [1]
Mechaly opened another store in Notting Hill, and also has a store in Covent Garden. The London stores were closed due to what was rumoured to be financial trouble – they reopened in [2] 2009, with the explanation that it was simply restructuring.
Mechaly partnered with American apparel company Urban Outfitters to produce a female casualwear line, Rendez-Vous, in 2011. [3]
In 2015, it was announced that Mechaly will partner with American lingerie company Cosabella to produce a female lingerie line, Paul & Joe x Cosabella, to be released in Spring-Summer 2016. [4]
Paul & Joe Beaute is a brand line offered by Japanese cosmetics brand Albion Cosmetics, inspired by her fashion house Paul & Joe. [5]
In 2022, Mechaly was an investor on the 2nd season of the French reality television series Qui veut être mon associé? ("Who wants to be my business partner?"), part of the Dragons' Den franchise. [6]
Giorgio Armani is an Italian fashion designer. He first gained renown working for Cerruti and then for many others, including Allegri, Bagutta, and Hilton. He formed his company, Armani, in 1975, which eventually expanded into music, sport, and luxury hotels. By 2001, Armani was acclaimed as the most successful designer of Italian origin, and is credited with pioneering red-carpet fashion. In 2010, he opened the Armani Hotel in Burj Khalifa, the world's tallest building. According to Bloomberg Billionaires Index, as of 2021, Armani had an estimated net worth of US$9.53 billion.
American Eagle Outfitters, Inc. is an American clothing and accessories retailer headquartered at SouthSide Works in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. It was founded in 1977 by brothers Jerry and Mark Silverman as a subsidiary of Retail Ventures, Inc., a company that also owned and operated Silverman's Menswear. The Silvermans sold their ownership interests in 1991 to Jacob Price of Knoxville, Tennessee. American Eagle Outfitters is the parent company of Aerie, Unsubscribed and Todd Snyder.
Christian Marie Marc Lacroix is a French fashion designer. The name may also refer to the company he founded.
Lane Bryant Inc. is an American women's apparel and intimates specialty retailer focusing on plus-size clothing. The company began in 1904 with maternity designs created by Lena Himmelstein Bryant Malsin. Lane Bryant, Inc., is the largest plus-size retailer in the United States. As of 2022, the chain consists of 448 stores in 46 U.S. states. Lane Bryant, Inc. is not affiliated with Lane Bryant catalog, which was spun off as a separate business in 1993.
Anna Sui is an American fashion designer. She was named one of the "Top 5 Fashion Icons of the Decade", and in 2009 earned the Geoffrey Beene Lifetime Achievement Award from the Council of Fashion Designers of America (CFDA), joining the ranks of Yves Saint Laurent, Giorgio Armani, Ralph Lauren, and Diane von Furstenberg. Her brand categories include several fashion lines, footwear, cosmetics, fragrances, eyewear, jewelry, accessories and home goods
Free People is an American bohemian apparel and lifestyle retail company that sells women’s clothing, accessories, shoes, intimates, and swimwear. It also has a beauty and wellness category, which includes products such as cosmetics, skin, and oral care, oral supplements, crystals, and books. Their headquarters is located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and Free People is a part of Urban Outfitters, Inc., along with Anthropologie, BHLDN, Terrain, and the Vetri family restaurant group.
Baby Phat by Kimora Lee Simmons is a privately held American apparel brand established in 1999 by entrepreneur, Russell Simmons. Initially launched as a womenswear offshoot of the menswear label, Phat Farm, Baby Phat by Kimora Lee Simmons eventually grew into a comprehensive lifestyle brand that is widely regarded as one of the most definitive brands of the early aughts era. Baby Phat by Kimora Lee Simmons was re-launched in December 2019.
Escada SE is a luxury women's designer clothing company headquartered in Aschheim, Germany. The company is owned by Regent, L.P., an international private equity firm led by investor Michael Reinstein.
J.Lo by Jennifer Lopez is an American lifestyle brand founded by Jennifer Lopez. Since the release of her debut fragrance Glow in 2001, the line expanded to include clothing, watches, accessories, bedding and perfume, becoming a huge success in the United States and international markets.
Frost French was a British fashion label established in 1999 and run by the British movie actress Sadie Frost and Jemima French.
Roy Halston Frowick, known mononymously as Halston, was an American fashion designer, who rose to international fame in the 1970s.
Anthropologie is an American retailer operating in the U.S., Canada, France, Germany and the UK that sells clothing, jewelry, home furniture, decorations, beauty products, and gifts.
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.
Victoria's Secret is an American lingerie, clothing, and beauty retailer. Founded in 1977 by Roy and Gaye Raymond, the company's five lingerie stores were sold to Les Wexner in 1982. Wexner rapidly expanded into American shopping malls, growing the company into 350 stores nationally with sales of $1 billion by the early 1990s when Victoria's Secret became the largest lingerie retailer in the United States.
Joseph Mimran is a Canadian fashion designer and entrepreneur, best known for founding the Club Monaco and Joe Fresh brands. He was also an investor on the Dragons' Den television series.
Kay Cohen is an Australian fashion designer and business woman based in Sydney, Australia. Cohen has led a number of lingerie design brands, most notably as Founder and Creative Director of Pleasure State and as General Manager and Creative Director of Elle Macpherson's Lingerie label Elle Macpherson Intimates, also Cohen is known as the inventor of the Biofit uplift bra.
Star in the Hood Unltd. is an international mid-range to luxury clothing company founded by music managers Archie Lamb and Jack Foster. The company is named after Tinchy Stryder's pseudonym Star in the Hood from 2006. Star in the Hood specializes in men's, and women's lifestyle streetwear and accessories, stocked at JD Sports in 155 stores in the United Kingdom, also in Europe, and Southeast Asia. The items are produced in very limited quantities.
Ralph Lauren Corporation, the legal name of the Ralph Lauren brand, is an American publicly traded fashion company that was founded in 1967 by American fashion designer Ralph Lauren. Headquartered in New York City, the company produces products ranging from the mid-range to the luxury segments. Ralph Lauren is known for marketing and distributing products in four categories: apparel, home, accessories, and fragrances. Known mostly for its flagship brand Polo Ralph Lauren, the company's brands include mid-range, sub-premium, and premium labels up to its highest priced luxury Ralph Lauren Purple Label apparel.
Fleur du Mal is a lingerie and ready-to-wear brand that sells at retailers including Shopbop, Barneys, and Net-a-porter. The company was founded in 2012 by Jennifer Zuccarini.
Scandale is a French clothing designer credited with the invention of the girdle and the first company to mass-produce a product using the fabrics Lycra and Lastex. Their innovation greatly impacted the fashion industry and the way women around the world wore undergarments. They were also the first company to use illustrations in advertising, important to French culture, and using contemporary French illustrators, artists, and photographers, like René Gruau, who also designed the iconic Scandale logo.