French designer, Jean Charles de Castelbajac is to open a London flagship at 50-51 Conduit Street in February 2008.
The store will be designed by Christian Ghion, who also designed the celebrated Castelbajac Paris flagship. Ghion is a designer, set designer and interior designer His work can be seen in Paris at the V.I.A, Cartier Foundation, Museum of Decorative Arts, and Georges Pompidou Museum, as well as in the permanent collections of major Japanese and American museums. Always in quest of original shapes, experimental materials and new technologies, his designs aim to make a strong impression and consequently the link with Castelbajac is a perfect fit.
The new store will stock the entire range of Castelbajac’s products including his fashion collections, luggage, sunglasses, shoes, headwear and stationary.
Jean Charles de Castelbajac, has been designing and creating high quality men’s and women’s apparel and accessories for over 30 years. His signature pieces include the teddy bear coat, Iceberg’s cartoon sweater and the first quilted coat in 1972. His first collection was shown in 1973 and his visionary styling inspired the fashions of military, shooting and utilitywear. He founded the controversial denim brand Jesus Jeans in 1975 and has also designed for Sportmax, Maxmara, and Ellesse.
Numerous celebrities, including Madonna, John Lennon, Andy Warhol, Mick Jagger and recently Rufus Wainwright and socialite Tara Palmer Tomkinson have worn his designs. Other projects include Farrah Fawcett’s costumes in Charlie’s Angels and dressing the Pope for the National Youth Day celebrations in Paris in 1997.
In 1997 Jean Charles received recognition as a high profile and worldwide designer through his design and distribution partnership with Itochu in Japan and South Korea. The Castelbajac brands for menswear and womenswear have since developed a loyal following in these markets.
From April to July 2007 the Musee Galliera in Paris held a retrospective exhibition of Jean Charles de Castelbajac’s work over the past 30 years entitled “Gallierock”, which was sponsored by the City of Paris. Castelbajac has also exhibited at London’s historic Victoria and Albert Museum.
The JCC brand is extended into many other areas through licensing agreements and partnerships with:
Rossignol – ski wear
Okaidi – childrenswear
Codir – eyewear
Pacific Creation – perfume
Deshoulières – chinawear
Bragard – uniforms
Pierre Frey – soft furnishings
Toulemonde Bochart – carpets
Lutece – wallpaper
Daum – crystal artwork
Lampe Berger – luxury lamps
Atomic Soda – stationery
New Era – headwear
Lee Cooper – jeans
JCC flagship stores worldwide, include Paris, Tokyo, Kobe, Guam, Galeries Lafayette, Lyon and now the new flagship in London’s Conduit Street.
David Jensen Photography:
https://www.davidjensen.co.uk/
