marclebihan

The Silk Slip Dress

Artisanal fashion excellence #formodernhumans

Today we introduce The Silk Slip Dress by Marc Le Bihan.

More than a 90’s comeback, it is a real timeless piece of artisanal couture. Its minimal design will make you stand out without screaming. Indeed, it’s the essence of elegance.

No one like Marc Le Bihan provides that sense of nonchalant elegance, which is understated, and never out of place. But also, his design makes you want to wear beautiful pieces in your everyday life. Because you build your wardrobe of meaningful garments over time with items you love to wear. Clothes you select with attention, privileging quality over quantity, choosing that special one rather than a shopping bag full of disposable fashion.

Discover The Silk Slip Dress

About the design
The design point is a sleek slip dress featuring thin shoulder straps, a draping front neckline and a v-cut along the back. Impeccable tailoring. Fluid straight line and a relaxed fit. Under knee length.
Understated, timeless, seasonless, artisanal couture.

The Silk Slip Dress
The Silk Slip Dress

About the material
100% silk. The fabric has a soft touch and a creased effect.

About the colour
This item is available in two colours:
Anthracite: an understated hue which is refined and elegant.
Anise: a vibrant light green that will boost your mood, but it lends to be combined with many colours.

Laundry
Dry clean.
However, you can wash it carefully by hand in cold water with soap for delicate fabrics and add white vinegar to prevent colour loss.

Styling tips
Wear The Silk Slip Dress as a versatile seasonless garment. In winter, complete it with a wool cardigan and boots. During the spring and summer seasons, underneath a sweatshirt or a mannish blazer and flat sandals, depending on the situation.
Also, for special occasions, pair it with heels. You don’t need anything else!

How to purchase from us:

Drop us an email or WhatsApp for any further information. Also, you can book your private shopping experience – physical or via video call. 

International Shipping available! 
We are based in Milano but ship our niche fashion selection #formodernhumans everywhere.

In order to provide unicity and a sustainable approach, our selection offers a limited number of pieces.

Treat yourself today! ❤️

Upcycling: the future of fashion

A trend or a permanent approach towards sustainable fashion?

Upcycling seems to be the future of fashion. Indeed, this technique is one of the best opportunities to make fashion a more sustainable industry. But is it just a trend? One of the buzzwords brands use to lure attention? Or is it here to stay?

Upcycling – what does it mean?

Upcycling means taking discarded materials, re-designing and reassembling them to create a product of higher value. While recycling transforms materials into something new, which implies more resources, and has a higher impact. Upcycling starts from current materials, having a lower impact. Therefore, this practice represents a pattern of circularity, the heart of sustainable fashion.

A personal note: family tradition

For us, daughters of a seamstress who was so passionate about making clothes that she even finished buttonholes by hand, it’s not a novelty. Since we were children, we’ve had familiarity with collecting buttons, zippers, and fabrics. Pieces from existing garments that mom would reshape to make something else: beautiful clothes for special occasions or garments and accessories for daily life. Our school bags and pencil case made of deadstock denim were fantastic.

upcycling

Upcycling background notes

A memorable example of upcycling comes from the movie industry. Rossella O’Hara’s dress, made from curtains in “Gone with the wind”, belongs to our collective imagery.

Many blogs attribute the “upcycling discovery” to this or that designer for a promotional purpose. But we cannot avoid mentioning Mr Martin Margiela. Since the beginning, his aesthetic mastered the deconstruction and reinvention of found garments, culminating in 2006 when Maison Martin Margiela Artisanal was born.

On the same line, we mention Marc Le Bihan. A big part of his work is searching for vintage garments, deconstructing and reconstructing them. He upcycled military uniforms from the 40s, 50s, and 60s, reshaping them into modern pieces. With Swedish pants, he created a coat; with military pull, a gilet; and with smoking pants, a long skirt. Also, he created pieces with postal bags made of heavy linen for a catwalk.

Among young designers, Marine Serre’s creativity stands out. Indeed she is doing a great job with upcycling.

By exploring fashion history, we can see that upcycling is nothing new. But what brought it to the centre of attention was the pandemic, which spread a do-it-yourself trend among young people. Most importantly, it favoured the diffusion of particular attention towards sustainable fashion.

Nowadays, many famous brands ride the wave to stay popular. Though advisable to become sustainable, a fashion industry that almost entirely revolves around upcycled garments is hard to imagine.

Limited number of pieces: our fashion alternative

Why limited quantities pave the way to sustainable fashion

The production of a limited number of pieces represents an alternative in the fashion industry. Indeed, it is a viable approach towards sustainable fashion.

It means producing much less without forcing the market to pursue never-ending growth. The purpose is to limit the impact of the fashion industry on the planet while protecting workers with decent wages. But, at the same time, offering quality and not quantity to consumers.
We are far from the scarcity principle and the fear of missing out, developed to manipulate people’s behaviour. Those patterns fake scarcity to hide a system of overproduction. Because of this massified production, the fashion system needs parallel markets, frequent markdowns and marketing tricks to push people to consume more and more.

The sustainable solution

Garments and accessories made by skilled tailors or crafted by artisans. In the hands of a healthier and more balanced manufacturing chain, those limited production would have a lower impact on the planet. This system includes small reorders and a made-to-order service for retailers. In the end, clients would get real quality pieces made to last rather than disposable fashion.

Unique fashion and sustainability: a limited number of pieces, our retail approach

We have reduced the quantities we buy from each brand we select. Perhaps they are not happy with it, but they cannot deny there’s a new reality, so we must face it and find solutions. Even though some brands come from Japan, which you may consider less sustainable, since quantities are small, the impact is low. Microscopic compared to the fashion supermarkets like big retailers or dept. stores.

Indeed, a limited number of pieces is our commitment to uniqueness and sustainability. Specifically, we are satisfied with Marc Le Bihan, who gave the opportunity of a made-to-order service to those who appreciate his unique designs.

Eventually, we can foster the status quo, pursuing an exploitative system. Or, we can explore alternatives.
We chose to work for a different possibility, an evolution, a change for the better. And a limited number of pieces is our commitment to unique fashion and sustainability.

The Layered Mesh Skirt

Marc Le Bihan: unique fashion beyond trends

Today we introduce The Layered Mesh Skirt by Marc Le Bihan.

It is a statement tulle skirt that will improve your Fall/ Winter style. The design inspiration goes from Degas dancers to a touch of gothic chic. It is a piece of impeccable tailoring, which is the expression of timeless fashion beyond any trend. Indeed, Marc Le Bihan‘s design refuses trends and their transience. Therefore, purchasing his clothing is a matter of choosing valuable pieces, beautifully unique and made to last. Indeed, you’ll wear them for a lifetime.

Don’t miss the interview with Marc Le Bihan here!

Discover The Layered Skirt

About the design
The handkerchief hemline of the skirt highlights the asymmetric silhouette. Also, three mesh layers overlap, plus lining. Tone-on-tone grosgrain ribbon emphasises the waistline. Back zip fastening. Thanks to the perfect design, the fit is absolutely flattering. Indeed the skirt falls with good fluidity, avoiding a puffy effect.

The Layered Mesh Skirt
The Layered Mesh Skirt – Marc Le Bihan

About the material
The mesh is polyamide. Lining 100% silk.
Most importantly, Marc Le Bihan dyes different colours by hand in his atelier in Paris.

About the colour
Dark red: a dark tone of red, intense and powerful. The image is sophisticated and chic. Mark Rothko, the abstract expressionist painter, frequently used this colour.

Laundry
Dry clean only. Cool iron.

Styling tips
The Layered Mesh Skirt is a unique garment that will make you stand out. You can wear it with black leather ankle boots, a wool sweater and a coat for your day-to-evening outfits. Or with a leather jacket and Converse, too. Do you have any special occasions? A Christmas party or End of the Year’s Eve? Wear it with a silk top, a mannish blazer, and elegant shoes.

Order now: International shipping available

We are based in Milano, but we ship our niche fashion selection #formodernhumans everywhere.

Drop us an email or WhatsApp for any further information. Also, you can book your private shopping experience – physical or via video call. We’d love to help!

The Tied Shoulder Dress

Today we introduce The Tied Shoulder Dress by Marc Le Bihan.

Let us start with this assumption: most of the products labelled as sustainable are not so. If you want sustainable garments, you should buy only quality items from small independent designers. Of course, these pieces are more expensive than disposable stuff. But a few quality clothes for a capsule wardrobe made to last are the only possible sustainable choice. The other option is buying vintage or nothing at all.

Indeed, Marc Le Bihan doesn’t talk about sustainability – zero focus on marketing or advertising. But it is implied in his work, which is what counts: unique creativity, good design and beautiful fabrics. He delivers timeless, special garments you will wear for a lifetime. And production is artisanal and limited.

Discover The Tied Shoulder Dress

About the design
It is an I-line long-sleeved maxi dress with exposed stitchings. A side-tied shoulder details a unique neckline.
Close-to-body design, but not too tight, makes it comfortable to wear.

The Tied Shoulder Dress
The Tied Shoulder Dress by Marc Le Bihan

About the material
The fabric is a wool blend jersey with a very soft hand. Indeed, it is comfortable and pleasant on your skin.
29% wool, 65% viscose, 6% elasthane

About the colour
Aubergine: a rich purple hue that enhances an understated luxury image. Also, you can match it with many other colours, from neutral tones to dark ones.

Laundry
Dry clean.

Style tips
The Tied Shoulder Dress shapes a flattering silhouette. It needs a slip dress underneath. However, wear it day to night by simply changing the shoes. You can combine it with Meagratia oversized blazer or the knit vest. It looks great!

We ship everywhere!

We are based in Milano, but we ship our niche fashion selection #formodernhumans everywhere.

Drop us an email or WhatsApp for any further information. Also, you can book your private shopping experience – physical or via video call.
We’d love to help!

The Asymmetric T-Shirt

Today we introduce The Asymmetric T-Shirt by Marc Le Bihan.

It is an iconic piece of clothing handcrafted in Marc Le Bihan Parisian atelier for a niche audience. In fact, that is what Marc Le Bihan does: couture fashion, garments you will wear for a lifetime because couture is forever. 

And once you wear it, you feel it. You see how it beautifully falls on your body. Indeed, it is an example of good design for people who want something different. It is modern and timeless at the same time. Also minimal but cool.

Discover The Asymmetric T-Shirt

About the design
This couture t-shirt has a side stitching that creates an asymmetric cut revealing a ruffled effect. The silhouette, spiralling around the body, is flattering and timeless. Round neckline. Long-sleeved with wide cuffs featuring a side hole to provide a glove effect. Raw cut hemline and detailing. 

About the material
100% cotton. Specifically, dyed by hand cotton. And the texture is ribbed and very soft. So it feels comfortable when you wear it. Really, you would never take it off!

The Asymmetric T-Shirt
The Symmetric T-Shirt
Marc Le Bihan

About the colour 
Aubergine: a rich purple hue that contributes to enhancing an understated luxury image. And you can match it with many other colours, from neutral tones to dark ones.

Laundry
Wash by hand – easy care.
You can wash this product by hand in cold water. 
Please wash it separately. Cool iron it on the reverse side.

Styling tips
The Asymmetric T-Shirt is stylish but easy to wear. Indeed, you can easily match it with your clothes. It enriches your jeans or black trousers. And try it under a blazer for your work wear outfits.

We ship everywhere!

We are based in Milano, but we ship our niche selection #formodernhumans everywhere.

Drop us an email or WhatsApp for any further information. Also, you can book your private shopping experience – physical or via video call. We’d love to help!

Niche fashion: what does it mean?

And can it stand on its own?

Niche fashion is a matter of having a personal identity, refusing mass products and somehow having a certain repulsion for what is extremely popular.

The question is: do you want to look like everyone else? Dress like everyone else? And think like everyone else?

If yes, maybe reading this post is a waste of your time. Indeed many people like to be the copy of others. But if your response is no, it’s worth a few minutes of reading. Exploring the concept of niche fashion will help you understand that small universe outside mass trends.

It’s an imagery that finds very little space in our homologated culture. Social media flattened everything privileging a single line of thought.

Created by visionary designers, it finds support from a limited number of selected international retailers who still have a passion for research. And by people like you, who love searching for authentic gems.

Niche fashion
Marc Le Bihan tulle skirt

However, niche has a meaning in marketing but has a slightly different connotation in fashion. In marketing, it refers to a group you identify as your target audience.

Niche in the fashion field

In the fashion field, professionals call niche brands or collections those designs out of the mainstream. Cult pieces of clothing or accessories not for all because of their design, quality and craftsmanship. Which image is so unique that only people with a specific taste will understand them.

In essence, niche fashion is about having a different sensibility towards design and quality. It is for connoisseurs, insiders or everyone having an eye to recognise it, people who escape from mass thinking and find pleasure in the unconventional.

Now, can niche brands stand on their own?
The news that Calzedonia group just acquired Antonio Marras, taking a majority stake in the brand, opens the discussion.

Niche fashion will never be trending, never too popular. It wouldn’t be niche. And it has nothing to do with algorithms.
And so, preserving a culture of diversity is vital for niche brands to survive.

Barefoot elegance

What’s new in style

Thinking about reconnecting style with nature got us in the mood for a new liberating impulse: barefoot elegance.

Indeed lately, we have been thinking about some barefoot outfits. Of course, the summer season makes it an option to consider, as it encourages a sense of freedom.

Because of the new work-from-home lifestyle, the opportunities to take the shoes off and enjoy a more relaxed style have increased. Furthermore, locked down in our concrete prisons, we felt the need to stay in contact with nature more and more. Feeling the ground through our feet somehow stimulates positive vibes.

Do not get us wrong. Shoes are a fundamental detail in defining an outfit, the most important accessory. In fact, the right shoes can even revive an insignificant dress, so it’s worth investing in quality shoes.

But, let’s see it as the exception to the rule: enjoying feet’ contact with the ground is a new inspiration.

Pointing out a style reference, Sade Adu is the person who has set a high standard. A timeless and classy icon who often used to go barefoot on stage. Her sophisticated but effortless style was out of the schemes then as now.

barefoot elegance - Marc Le Bihan dress
Barefoot elegance – Open-back cotton dress by Marc Le Bihan

Of course, it’s difficult to reach her level, but let’s try.

Try your barefoot elegance style

Occasions to go barefoot?
A party at home or in a garden, lunch in the countryside or a pool party. And a beach party, of course. Summer offers many opportunities!

What are the clothes to wear?
For instance, take “The Double Silk Dress.” But also “The Open Back Dress.” Both by Marc Le Bihan are perfect for these occasions. Just add a few accessories, and your barefoot look will stand out.

Sensing the ground under our feet stimulates a harmonising feeling, a liberating state of awareness. Indeed, being barefoot is a way to reconnect with nature.
So when possible, try your barefoot elegance look.

And if you have any doubts about your style, WhatsApp us!  
We’d love to assist you!

The Open-Back Cotton Dress

A Spring/Summer masterpiece

Today we introduce The Open-Back Cotton Dress – by Marc Le Bihan.
A style which reveals contrasts: avant-garde and bucolic, dark and romantic, rich but effortless.

This robe tablier in cotton voile is a timeless piece which shows Marc Le Bihan’s mastery and his unique vision of fashion. Made by hand in his atelier in Paris, it’s for a specific niche of people who can understand the designer’s unconventional creativity and exceptional quality. So, a meaningful garment made to last and stand out with that nonchalant elegance typical of Marc Le Bihan.

About the design
The shape recalls an apron dress with a square cut neckline along the front. Two front straps in grosgrain connect with two back ones by creating a neat and sophisticated open-back design. Also, the open-back is adjustable thanks to a drawstring along the neckline, which enriches the fluid silhouette.
It’s a fully lined garment. Specifically, the lining cut is asymmetric and peaks through the hemline, giving a bodied shape and no see-through effect. Under-knee length with a raw-cut hemline.
The fit is comfortable but very stylish, and you will not go unnoticed.

The Open-Back Cotton Dress
The Open-Back Cotton Dress
by Marc Le Bihan

About the material
100% cotton voile. Even though fully lined, the material is lightweight and fresh. Moreover, the hand of the fabric is slightly creased, highlighting the effortlessness of the dress.

About the colour
White: a candid and pure colour with an aristocratic image.

Laundry
Dry clean.
However, it is possible to wash carefully by hand in cold water with very soft soap. Please, wash it separately.

The Open-Back Cotton Dress is perfect for the Spring/Summer summer season. But it’s beautiful also in a layered styling. So, try it with a wool jacket or a cable knit cardigan when the weather gets colder.

Drop us a message for any further information. We’d love to assist you!

The Silk Double Dress

Timeless nonchalant elegance

Today we introduce The Silk Double Dress – by Marc Le Bihan.

Fashion to us means offering a value choice, meaningful pieces made to last. And creativity, together with artisanal production, makes fashion special. Indeed, these elements give life to unique garments, beautiful pieces that you don’t find everywhere. And it is part of their intrinsic value.

When it comes to searching for uniqueness, creativity, and artisanal work, Marc Le Bihan has a lot to say. So let’s discover another one of the stunning timeless pieces we picked out for the Spring-Summer season.

The Silk Double Dress

About the design
This lightweight dress is made of two layers of silk featuring an asymmetrical cut and under knee-length. Specifically, they are two separate dresses, which you can wear all together or just one. A tone-on-tone Chantelle lace along the neckline and a front lace flower enrich the above dress. The second dress is less decorated, with boat lace detailed neckline and lace along the hemline. 

The Silk Double Dress
The Silk Double Dress
by Marc Le Bihan

About the material
100% silk. The hand is soft and slightly shiny. Moreover, its creased effect makes this dress suitable not only for special occasions but for a dose of nonchalant elegance.

About the colour
Bronze: a delicate dusty shade that adds a sophisticated touch. The image is impalpable and refined.

Laundry
Dry clean.
However, it is possible to wash carefully by hand in cold water with very soft soap and add white vinegar to prevent colour loss.

When you wear the complete ensemble, The Silk Double Dress is opulent but effortless at the same time. If you choose to wear only one layer requires a slip dress under, and even if less rich, the image is always beautiful. 
For special occasions, pair it with minimal heels. Or, try it with lace-ups or flat sandals for a nonchalant outfit.

Drop us a message for any further information. We’d love to assist you!