See the New Sonia Rykiel Tribute Collection
Sonia Rykiel is the legendary Parisian designer dubbed the Queen of Knits after a long and rich fashion history as the head of her eponymous label. Rykiel died in 2016 at the age of 86 after a long battle with Parkinson’s disease. However, her legacy lives on through the brand’s artistic director, Julie de Libran.
In a special homage to Mme. Rykiel, the new collection brings together all of the sartorial elements that Rykiel helped champion since the ’60s, while being reimagined through Libran’s fresh design sensibility. Before arriving at Rykiel, Libran spent 10 years at Prada and six years at Louis Vuitton.
Rykiel’s iconic “poor boy sweaters” — the popular knitwear that features ribbing both on the body and the sleeves — are reworked in new colorful, bold stripes. Yet, Libran shows how far she can push the boundary in reconceptualizing how a knit should look and function by introducing a few new styles of knits.
For the tribute, Libran has created a cardigan with multiple colorful sleeves sewn along the shoulders to act like a cape. She also introduces the “twinset” — a sleeveless sweater with a cape.
In tandem with the above, Libran created deconstructed “demi-sweaters” which function as both a scarf and sweater without the actual “sweater” part. Think about the warm, comfy feeling of having a warm sweater tied around your shoulders (preppy style), yet it’s not a sweater at all. It’s a scarf, wrap slash pseudo sweater. Her creation is simple, yet ingenious.
Upon digging into Rykiel’s archives, Libran refashions Rykiel’s popular use of the fashion house’s address, 175 Blvd Saint Germain, as a bold, graphic element that is splashed across oversize pullovers, dresses, and demi-sweaters.
Libran’s biggest, yet most subtle, imprint of Rykiel’s legacy lies in the buttons within this collection. They all bear Rykiel’s actual thumbprints, which she discovered at the Miles (Mi-les) archive in Venice, where Rykiel’s iconic knits were made for over 27 years.
Rykiel has always been known to design for the modern-day women. After all, Rykiel was the same designer who segued into fashion when she was pregnant and wanted to look her most beautiful — and proceeded to create a dress and eventually her biggest hit — the poor boy sweater. Which, of course, soon appeared in Elle and was then worn by a flurry of Hollywood celebrities, from Audrey Hepburn to Catherine Deneuve. But above all, her designs were practical, functional, and extremely wearable. This collection is no different. It is meant to serve many purposes for the modern-day woman on the go, but who still wants to look stylish, confident, a bit avant-garde — yet sexy.
The collection is available now at Sonia Rykiel boutiques in New York, London, and Paris, as well as a few select international specialty boutiques.
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Model wears a few knits from the new Sonia Rykiel tribute collection
(Photo: Courtesy of Sonia Rykiel)
Model wears colorful, bold knit and cardigan from the Sonia Rykiel tribute collection
(Photo: Courtesy of Sonia Rykiel)
Model wears a black-and-white oversized sweater with the “175 Saint Germain” logo from the Sonia Rykiel tribute collection
(Photo: Courtesy of Sonia Rykiel)
A mode wears a red and blue oversize sweater with the “175 Saint Germain” logo from the Sonia Rykiel tribute collection
(Photo: Courtesy of Sonia Rykiel)
A model wears a black-and-white short sleeve top with shoulder tassels from the Sonia Rykiel tribute collection
(Photo: Courtesy of Sonia Rykiel)
A model wears a black and white striped sweater and the oversize sweater with the “175 Saint Germain” logo from the Sonia Rykiel tribute collection
(Photo: Courtesy of Sonia Rykiel)
A model wears the multi-sleeve cardigan from the Sonia Rykiel tribute collection
(Photo: Courtesy of Sonia Rykiel)
Two models wear striped knit sweaters from the Sonia Rykiel tribute collection
(Photo: Courtesy of Sonia Rykiel)
A model wears a colorful striped sweater with a scarf attached from the Sonia Rykiel tribute collection
(Photo: Courtesy of Sonia Rykiel)
The multi-sleeve cardigan from the Sonia Rykiel tribute collection
(Photo: Courtesy of Sonia Rykiel)
The colorful striped sweater and attached scarf from the Sonia Rykiel tribute collection
(Photo: Courtesy of Sonia Rykiel)
A pink and black striped “Poor Boy Sweater” from the Sonia Rykiel tribute collection
(Photo: Courtesy of Sonia Rykiel)
A green and black striped “Poor Boy Sweater” from the Sonia Rykiel tribute collection
(Photo: Courtesy of Sonia Rykiel)
A colorful striped “Poor Boy Sweater” from the Sonia Rykiel tribute collection
(Photo: Courtesy of Sonia Rykiel)
A black-and-white oversize polo-style dress with the “175 Saint Germain” logo from the Sonia Rykiel tribute collection
(Photo: Courtesy of Sonia Rykiel)
A red and navy oversize polo-style dress with the “175 Saint Germain” logo from the Sonia Rykiel tribute collection
(Photo: Courtesy of Sonia Rykiel)
A black and red deconstructed “demi-sweater” from the Sonia Rykiel tribute collection
(Photo: Courtesy of Sonia Rykiel)
The back of the black and red deconstructed “demi-sweater” from the Sonia Rykiel tribute collection
(Photo: Courtesy of Sonia Rykiel)
A green and red deconstructed “demi-sweater” from the Sonia Rykiel tribute collection
(Photo: Courtesy of Sonia Rykiel)
The back of the green and red deconstructed “demi-sweater” from the Sonia Rykiel tribute collection
(Photo: Courtesy of Sonia Rykiel)
A pink and red deconstructed “demi-sweater” from the Sonia Rykiel tribute collection
(Photo: Courtesy of Sonia Rykiel)
The back of the pink and red deconstructed “demi-sweater” from the Sonia Rykiel tribute collection
(Photo: Courtesy of Sonia Rykiel)
