As I mentioned in a previous article, Paul & Joe is a label that French designer Sophie Albou named after her two sons.Sophie was born 1967 in Paris of a Tunisian mother and of a father also from North African descent who, together, operated a shirt-making company.
Sophie launched Paul & Joe exclusively as a menswear label in 1995, after having studied at the Sorbonne and the Institut Français de la Mode in Paris.
Flora- and fauna-inspired, this exquisite French designer has released her 2010 autumn/winter collection, which is entitled “the Silk Road”:
The spirit of the 2010 autumn/winter collection of Paul & Joe is “the Silk Road.”
From April 1931-February 1932, Citroën promoted the 1st expedition to open the Silk Road to cars, entailing 30,000 km from Beirut to Beijing via Turkestan, Afghanistan, Xinjiang, and the Gobi Desert.
Twenty-five people took part in the endeavor, among whom were painters, writers, photographers, archeologists, and geologists.
The objective was to abolish all borders, whether geographic, cultural, or political.
The collection is rich in velvet, cashmere, and silk with an assortment of ethnic prints—mixed and matched with a splash of color!
One key silhouette is drawn from the city, such as straight coats with fur scarves, short-fitted jackets with Jodhpur pants, and tropical wool suits.
Secondly, the collection abounds in sportswear: jacquard shawl jumpers and velvet pants, printed shirts with a hooded wool jacket and jersey pants, nylon jackets with jacquard jumper and jacquard accessories.
Ties are still narrow and the silhouette is still sleek!
