Longchamp X D’Heygere: The Ingenious Collaboration That Transforms The Everyday
Longchamp has partnered with the jewelry and accessories designer Stéphanie D’heygere to create a collection dedicated to mobility and inclusivity. With this gender-neutral capsule, the iconic Le Pliage® inspires an array of ingenious and surprising products which adapt, transform and fold up in an instant, facilitating everyday life and demonstrating a commitment to sustainability.
Who would change a winning team? Certainly not Longchamp, which has renewed its collaboration with Stéphanie D’heygere to design a collection that is both wonderfully practical and delightfully playful. Longchamp Creative Director Sophie Delafontaine is a great admirer of the Belgian designer: “When I first met Stéphanie, I was completely bowled over by her work and the whole universe she created. Her designs have a real identity, but also an extremely ingenious dimension that speaks to Longchamp. After our successful debut collaboration on a poncho in 2019, we wanted to take the next step by exploring a greater range of possibilities.”
Every piece – two bags, an umbrella, a poncho, a rain hat and pants – shares the same ingenious idea of incorporating an extra function in addition to its original one. Thus, the pants can be rolled and unrolled, the belt bag transforms into a backpack, the umbrella is slung across the body, and the rain hat folds and unfolds with the speed of an origami.
Clearly, the Longchamp & D’heygere collaboration combines a sense of humor – like the Belgian designer’s jewelry and accessories – with intelligence and efficacy. Come rain or shine, on foot or on wheels, running to catch a train or leaving in pursuit of new horizons, movement is facilitated by the capsule’s ingenious, transformable, go-anywhere designs in recycled polyester and nylon.
The color palette focuses on classics – black, navy, white and fuchsia pink – which evoke the elegance of Longchamp and, in the hands of Stéphanie D’heygere, take on a very Parisian brand of laid-back chic. In addition to these timeless, unisex shades, a leopard print injects a spirit of glamour and daring, which works equally well for men and women. “I regard the gender-free aspect of the collection as a particular success: the cuts and the details are neither feminine nor masculine, and the sizes go from S to XL,” says Stéphanie D’heygere.
“Inclusivity and universality are very important to me, and I always try to include these values in my work. I know that, with Longchamp, we can explore this dimension further.” Of course, the strength of the collaboration comes from the codes and values of Longchamp’s cult Le Pliage® bag, whose Russian leather flap signs every piece.
This ingenious, multi-faceted capsule is inspired by a contemporary, sustainable spirit. The creative curiosity shared by Longchamp and Stéphanie D’heygere was directed towards using the expertise of the Longchamp workshops to produce a collection composed of recycled materials. The result is a limited edition where nothing is superfluous, and everything essential.
In the Philippines, Longchamp is distributed by Stores Specialists, Inc., and is located at Greenbelt 5. Visit ssilife.com.ph or follow @ssilifeph on Instagram for more information.