Victoire

Chain of boutiques (four in Paris, four in the rest of France and one in Tokyo) and label of ready-to-wear fashion distributed also in Italy. The first store was opened by Alain Lalonde in Paris, in the Place des Victoires. The fashion designer on an exclusive basis at the time was Catherine Chaillet, who designed the fabrics, and selected and offered accessories. In 1965 Lalonde monopolized the square with another retail outlet of only men’s prêt-à-porter. Two years later, he sold it all to Antoine Riboud, who hired Franµoise Chassagnac to manage it. The Victoire line has been characterized over the years, as a classical fashion with minimalist sytle. The men’s and women’s outfits are always made of natural fabrics (linen, cotton, cashmere and wool) and the colors, never garish, tend to oscillate between black, dark blue, hemp, and white. The knitwear (this statistic is from 1999) constitutes 40 percent of production.
Under the management of Gilles Riboud, the family-owned company expanded, with 11 shops for menswear, womenswear, and accessories in French territory. The most recently opened shop is the one in Saint Tropez, in the Boulevard Louis Blanc.