Jeanne Damas Paints the Town Rouje
LONDON — Jeanne Damas has landed in London’s Mayfair with a store for her fashion and beauty brand, Rouje.
“It’s funny because a few years ago when I wasn’t looking for boutiques or anything, I was walking in London, and I walked on these streets, which I thought were beautiful for shopping,” said Damas, who came across South Molton Street again when she was searching for a place for her store.
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She plans to open boutiques in key countries, including Spain, Germany and the U.S., which is one of her biggest markets, along with her home country of France.
As an extension of the brand, Damas launched Rouje Beauté line in 2018, which firstly consisted of makeup, but now is now venturing into skin care via a collaboration with clean beauty retailer Oh My Cream.
“It was really important for me to be [stocked] there because in France it’s the concept store of clean beauty,” she added.
Oh My Cream launched in London last winter on the King’s Road.
“I have always loved coming to London, especially for shopping, but it seems to me that a new generation of beauty destinations is still missing,” Lévy told WWD at the time, adding that her brand’s holistic approach and stocking of exclusively clean beauty brands fills the gap in the capital city’s market. Her ambition is to “become the next favorite beauty destination for English women.”
In the fashion realm, Damas has teamed up with ‘90s French designer Lamine Badian Kouyaté, founder of Xuly Bët, who Damas thinks will be a shock to many people. She said it felt right because they both share similar values, despite the contrast in aesthetic.
She’s even taken the task of shooting the images for the collaboration with Kouyaté — something she’s never tried before.
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