Bouchra Jarrar Is Back— And She’s Taken a Page From Azzedine Alaïa’s Do-It-Your-Own-Way Playbook

The last time we caught up with Bouchra Jarrar, during couture last July, it was for her photography debut—although she did discreetly dangle the possibility that she might, someday, return to fashion.

Photo: Gianni Pucci / Indigitalimages.com

First published Vogue

Then, just as everyone was heading out for the holidays, the Fédération de la Haute Couture et de la Mode posted its official couture calendar, and there was Jarrar’s name for the first time since she hit pause on her label in January 2016. She’s still the lone indie woman designer to be an official member of haute couture’s élite. “I thought about it for a really long time,” the designer said in an interview with Vogue. “After 25 years in fashion, I felt that it was important to continue my label in a format that lets me get back to the essence of my work.” That essence will be distilled as Bouchra Jarrar Edition n°1, a tightly edited collection of approximately 15 looks revealed for a handpicked guest list of editors, buyers, friends, clients, and loyalists at an as yet undisclosed location. Jarrar’s never been one for crowds. Though the designer declined to get into much detail, she explained that now, finally, she is ready to reconnect with her sartorial essence: timeless essentials like killer trousers, a perfecto, an impeccable white shirt, a smoking, a crisp overcoat, plus the occasional day dress and evening gown to honor her couture standing (and clients’ needs). Her repertoire is true to her Parisian roots: black, white, navy, khaki, leather, silk, poplin, and tennis stripes. And while she may occasionally re-edit a past design, or work one of her own vintage pieces into the mix (yes, she held onto her stock), Jarrar’s Edition is most of all about doing fashion her way, producing artistically and artisanally in the French capital and elsewhere. Above all, it’s about rekindling a passion.

Par TINA ISAAC-GOIZÉ