LE NEW BLACK: how did the constraints or opportunities of this first ever Paris digital fashion week influenced your creativity? Your organisation? 

Pierre-Louis: the current crisis sped up the digital projects we had planned for the next two seasons. It boosted our creativity, particularly in terms of marketing. We are lucky enough to have a strong network that helped us to be reactive. We proposed a movie in virtual reality, and it completely fits with our DNA. 

We wanted to mix physical and digital to reassure our buyers and provide them all the digital tools they need to prepare their orders and to work on their budget. We actually chose LE NEW BLACK before the crisis as it was part of our BtoB strategy. The quality of the collection's display and of the ordering tools led our choice. But we also sent our lookbooks to dozens of key buyers, mainly Asians, influencers, and prospects and it really helped them to trust the collection without touching the fabrics. COOL T.M is a young brand, agile, with a light structure and no flagship store, and very good results this season. We had to jump in the future while staying completely in phase with what we wanted to do for COOL T.M just one year ago, and it makes us very happy!

LNB: What new initiatives did you take and will renew? 

P-L: We are very happy with our movie for our SS21 collection. We want to use it as content for different digital platforms to promote our brand image and reputation, mainly in Asia. We also have appointments in our physical showroom in Paris in September. In terms of production, Covid-19 forced us to deliver earlier in the season to answer the needs of the market, rationalise our production around limited series, and use existing stocks of fabrics.

Regarding LE NEW BLACK, we want to improve the quality of our product images next season and enrich the editorial contents. We want to innovate and surprise our audience while playing with codes and having fun! We are also very concerned about production and want to rationalise as much as possible, from digital samples to limited editions or upcycling existing pieces.

"We are at the heart of a French and Parisian ecosystem, innovative and agile and LE NEW BLACK is part of that ecosystem always proposing innovative concepts! We are already thinking about integrating the 3D showroom!"

LNB: What are the three innovative companies or people you would recommend the industry to follow, regarding the major challenges we are facing (ecology, equality, economy etc.)

P-L: We just arrived in the business so we wouldn't allow ourselves to give lessons to anyone. But we carefully follow the evolution of the "Fashion Pact" and we think that major actors such as Kering must show the way regarding these major challenges our society is facing. In terms of technology, we follow the innovations of the blockchain, especially when it's about transparency and traceability, and a company like Arianee is a good reference.

Watch their SS21 collection movie:

Photo credits: Antoine Ferrier, Olga Varova, Alex Brunet