Repetto and Marine Serre Talk Craftsmanship, Sustainability and the Power of Collaboration
For Marine Serre, Repetto has always been part of the landscape. The designer grew up not far from the French shoemaker’s historic workshop in the Dordogne department of southwestern France.
“When I was young, I remember with my sister going to the factory store, because I couldn’t afford them back then,” she said. “So I had four or five pairs, and when I wasn’t in heels, I would wear my little Repetto flats.”
This summer, Serre road-tested a special pair: a black Lilouh style that she designed herself. It’s part of her capsule collaboration with Repetto, unveiled in June alongside her signature upcycled looks as part of her stint as guest designer at the Pitti Uomo trade show in Florence.
While the runway show featured a high-heeled sandal, the collection hitting stores on Monday will focus on two flats: the aforementioned Lilouh, embossed with Serre’s signature moon crescent on the toe, in black, silver or red; and the Camille, featuring an allover moon crescent print, in denim, black, white or red.
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Charlotte Gaucher, chief executive officer of Repetto, said the collaboration came naturally, noting the two brands have a lot in common.
“I was the one who approached Marine. I’ve always admired her career trajectory, which is exceptional, her universe and her DNA,” she said. “We wanted to merge our two worlds: Repetto’s timeless elegance, rooted in craftsmanship, and her daring, futuristic vision.”
They are both independent family-run companies: Serre works with her sister and business partner Justine, who is administrative and financial director of the label, while Gaucher, a former L’Oréal executive, now heads the company her late father Jean-Marc acquired in 1999.
Both brands were founded by women. In the shoemaker’s case, it was Rose Repetto, who started making ballet shoes for her dancer son, Roland Petit, and created her first pair of city shoes for actress Brigitte Bardot in 1956.
Both also have a commitment to sustainability. Repetto makes 150,000 pairs of shoes a year, of which 70 percent are produced at the workshop in Saint-Médard-d’Excideuil, using a technique that involves stitching the shoe before turning it right side out. The remainder is manufactured in Portugal.
The French factory, acquired in 1967, has been awarded the prestigious Entreprise du Patrimoine Vivant (Living Heritage Company) label, which distinguishes French companies with superior artisanal and industrial know-how.
Serre, who won the LVMH Prize for Young Designers in 2017 and the ANDAM family fund award in 2020, has made a name for herself with her regenerated and recycled designs.
The leathers used for the Repetto collaboration are certified gold-rated by the Leather Working Group, the internationally recognized standard for responsible leather manufacturing. Meanwhile, the denim is certified GOTS, the acronym for Global Organic Textile Standard, and Oeko-tex.
Gaucher said Repetto has been testing alternative materials as part of its ongoing commitment to become more sustainable, but has yet to find any that can rival the resistance of leather. Serre noted that as long as the material is a by-product of the meat industry, she has no issue with using it.
“It was really important to me to use the best quality leathers to make sure the shoes last a long time. For this, I really leaned on Repetto’s know-how,” she emphasized.
“Another reason I was keen to work with them is the fact they still have this factory in Dordogne that creates jobs in France and preserves this know-how, because we’re losing a lot of know-how. It’s truly irreplaceable,” she said of French firms offshoring production.
Serre wryly noted that although her label is best known for its signature MS Rise sneaker, she’s been making women’s shoes for six years, but getting traction in the category can be more challenging than for other accessories such as handbags.
“The shoe business is more difficult, if I’m honest. That’s also why I do collaborations, because it’s not that easy to break through,” she said. “More people can afford Repetto shoes than my shoes, so the idea was also to bring the Marine Serre vision to the street, because Repetto is known worldwide.”
The shoes are priced at 390 euros for the Camille, which ordinarily retails for 310 euros on average, and 370 euros for the Lilouh, which is usually priced around 295 euros. While there’s no direct comparison with Serre’s existing styles, her moon-printed jersey ankle boots will set you back 750 euros, while the MS Rise sneakers retail for 450 euros.
The collaboration will be available in Repetto’s three stores in Paris, its corner at department store Le Bon Marché and online, in addition to selected distributors in Asia and more than 60 of Marine Serre’s wholesale stockists worldwide, the company said.
The tie-up will be celebrated with a cocktail on Feb. 25 during Paris Men’s Fashion Week.
It’s the latest designer partnership for Repetto, which launched its first collaboration in 2000 with Issey Miyake and has since worked with brands including Yohji Yamamoto, Comme des Garçons, Karl Lagerfeld and, most recently, Jacquemus.
Serre has previously linked up with the likes of Nicholas Kirkwood, Jimmy Choo, Melissa, Converse and Salomon.
