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Can you tell us about the genesis of Balzac Paris and Léopoldine Chateau? #Open heart
- Chrysoline from Gastines: Balzac Paris was born in 2011, and when we started, we made bow ties. Made in France, tailor-made, with a real idea of know-how and good manners, we were inspired by Honoré de Balzac's "Treatise on Elegant Life"! In 2014, we left bow ties behind to launch a women's ready-to-wear brand. We make ourselves known thanks to our Literary sweatshirts, which are still an essential part of the Balzac Paris wardrobe today!
- Lepolodine Chateau: The Léopoldine Chateau brand was created 5 or 6 years ago. At first, I only worked on my hearts print, inspired by the iconic Barbie " Loving You " of the 1980s. The heart then became my brand DNA over time. Today we are working on other prints, even if the heart remains... at the heart of the brand! Our latest news is that we have opened our first store in Paris in the Sentier, at 103 rue d'Aboukir.
How was the Balzac Paris x Léopoldine Chateau collab born? #Heart stroke
- Chrysoline from Gastines : We got in touch on Instagram and we thought it would be nice to do something together, that the heart motif of Léopoldine Chateau could completely find its place on Balzac Paris pieces. We imagined a real mix and match: the cuts of Balzac with the universe of Léopoldine. Everyone brought their touch to make a real mix of the two houses!
- Léopoldine Chateau: As Chrysoline says, we wrote to each other on social networks and it was clear that our 2 universes worked well together! Aesthetically but also ethically. When we called shortly after with Chrysoline, the heart motif was quickly obvious!
If you had to sum up this collection in 3 words? #To the Heart of Joy
- Chrysoline de Gastines : Favourites, love at first sight! Love in the broad sense of the term!
- Léopoldine Chateau: Cheerful, energetic and ethical.
If you had to summarize the collection in 3 colors? # High Hearts
- Chrysoline de Gastines : Red , for the iconic heart of Léopoldine Chateau, purple, because it is the iconic color of the season, and green!
- Léopoldine Chateau: I would say green first (it's my favorite in the collection), then purple and ecru.
What were your inspirations for the collection? #Heart to Heart
- Chrysoline de Gastines : As we said above, the idea of the collection was really to mix the essential heart print of Léopoldine Chateau and the favorite cuts of our customers at Balzac Paris. The jewelry line is also very interesting, we have declined the Léopoldine Chateau heart ring in different colors and in a necklace and earrings version! We were particularly inspired by this ring because it is both playful, fun and very elegant. For me it really symbolizes the collab, it's an object that we took a lot of pleasure in declining.
- Leopoldine Chateau: At the beginning, we had started to imagine dresses and pieces that were a little feminine. But in the end, our universe worked well on something more sportswear! A slightly more masculine cut with a still quite feminine pattern, that was the right mix. We can't hide that at that time, the context of confinement also guided us in this direction: we were very much at home, we wanted comfort!
How is this collab collection eco-responsible? #The Net Heart
- Chrysoline de Gastines : The materials are obviously eco-responsible, but the real challenge was on the jewelry! The stones from Swarovski were designed from sand in a European workshop.
- Leopoldine Chateau: The ready-to-wear pieces were made in Portugal, and are in organic cotton or Ecovero® viscose.
What are your favorite pieces from the collab? #Artichoke heart
- Chrysoline de Gastines : My favorite piece is the Heart ring! I love it ! I find it really very cool, she has something of quirky: visually it has this very precious stone aspect, but with the heart it has this slightly playful touch! I also love the Bree t-shirt to wear this summer with Maylone shorts or Espiègle overalls.
- Leopoldine Chateau: The Harlow sweatshirt, without hesitation! I took the green for me.
Do you have an anecdote to share with us? #Light hearted
- Chrysoline de Gastines : Léopoldine and I were pregnant at the same time during the design of this collection! We were therefore completely in love with these precious little beings to come… As I was saying, this collection is love in the broadest sense of the term!
- Leopoldine Chateau: The collection was imagined during the Covid crisis and the many confinements: we were never able to see each other in real life with Chrysoline! We did everything by videoconference, by email, by phone: we only met physically once the collab was already on its way to production.
