Veteran French Fashion Editor Lifts Curtain on New Project – WWD

CURTAIN CALL: Add Frédéric Martin-Bernard to the ranks of these starting a side hustle during the pandemic.

After a 25-year profession in journalism, the French fashion editor is branching out into inside design with the launch of Window, a service providing curtains made to measure within the Vosges space of northeastern France, a former textile industry hub.

Martin-Bernard grew up a stone’s throw from one of many native family linen factories, began stitching at 12, and studied textile engineering earlier than shifting to Paris to pursue his dream of working in style. 

After leaving his longtime place of style director on the every day newspaper Le Figaro in 2019, he felt the urge to return to his roots. “Stitching is a bit like driving a motorbike — you don’t overlook it,” he mentioned.

His first undertaking was a curtain comprised of a classic bedsheet sourced at a flea market. Admiring the consequence, guests to his residence began sharing their difficulties find curtains, prompting Martin-Bernard to conduct a market evaluation on the sector.

He discovered an enormous hole within the supply between low cost, ready-to-hang curtains, and custom-made drapes on the high finish. Window provides an middleman answer, with Martin-Bernard caring for every little thing from measurements to placing up curtain rails. 

Clients can select between a inventory of classic mattress linen and a choice of round 20 materials, together with linens, wools and cotton jacquards, all sourced from French mills.  

“The concept is to work with a restricted choice of materials, like a seasonal assortment in fashion. I order the materials from the mills, so I meet their minimal order necessities. Meaning I can supply decrease costs than upholsterers, and that’s how I can afford to provide in France,” Martin-Bernard defined.

“In actuality, there may be little or no in inside design that’s nonetheless made in France,” he famous.

He works with two textile producers in his native area, who ship the curtains inside three to 4 weeks. “Throughout lockdown, I labored on my stitching machine on prototypes for the finishings, that are designed a bit like reversible garments, impressed by my background in ready-to-wear. All of the seams are trimmed,” he mentioned.  

The launch of the model on Tuesday, through the web site windowparis.fr and Instagram account @window_paris, was initially timed to coincide with the Maison & Objet inside design truthful, which has now been postponed to late March. 

Martin-Bernard, who continues to freelance for publications together with Les Echos Week-end and Icon journal, plans to open a pop-up in Paris across the time of the commerce present, and is already engaged on an idea for ready-made curtains produced in France utilizing pure materials.  

Simply because the coronavirus pandemic has inspired many people to improve their homes, it’s helped him to reconnect along with his authentic ardour. 

“Stitching is like gardening or cooking. It’s a must to take note of each sew,” he mentioned. “I bear in mind sitting on my sofa throughout lockdown, embroidering totally different variations of the Window emblem. It felt actually good.”

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