Maria Luisa's name has always represented an elegant yet alternative take on fashion.
Now, it also christens a collection that reflects the comfortable, chic style of Maria Luisa Poumaillou herself. From opening her first boutique in 1988, she has provided a cutting-edge showcase for such emerging talents at Galliano, Margiela, Tisci, Kane... By creating her own collection, she is by no means trying to rival her protégés. This move from buying to designing is more an expression of her fun-filled passion for the job, and a desire to bring a hint of lightness and irony to fashion's everyday.
The Maria Luisa collection can be summarised as "Style for less". These are affordable, universal clothes, indispensable allies for active, urban women in Paris, New York or elsewhere. The collection strives to be essential but shies away from boring basics. Each season features easy-to-wear dresses with mandatory pockets for that relaxed stance. Fabrics are high quality, soft to touch, ready to travel. They can be rolled up into a suitcase and endlessly reinvented. One of Maria Luisa's initial goals was that each item of her collection could be worn with any garment sold in her boutiques. The Maria Luisa line will also be carried by other stores around the world with a similar ethos. The bottom line: no item over 500 euros, carefully selected fabrics, high-quality production. The essential foundations of an instantly appealing wardrobe.
From season to season, the Maria Luisa collection follows its own flights of fancy without sticking obsessively to trends. Fluid, pared-down lines give a contemporary effect with a hint of androgyny. A light elegance which knows how to have fun and let the impertinent house spirit shine through. Prints and colours allow themselves the odd quirk to better underline the sobriety of another piece. The collection represents fashion with a capital F: aimed at an elite but without an ounce of snobbery, it finds its place in every wardrobe. Maria Luisa offers a collection for every day - as long as one day doesn't resemble the next.
