PARIS — AZ Factory will showcase the work of emerging designer Lora Sonney at an event during Paris Couture Week as part of its ongoing commitment to support new talents, the house revealed exclusively to WWD.
Following Tennessy Thoreson’s cabaret show last season, Sonney — a fellow graduate of the Geneva University of Art and Design (HEAD) — will present 10 looks inspired by the great outdoors at a show to be held on July 3 in the garden of the Fondation Cartier, which is home to AZ Factory’s atelier.
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Historic Swiss manufacturer Jakob Schlaepfer, where Sonney is a textile designer, will support the fabric research for the project, it added.
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AZ Factory is a joint venture between Compagnie Financière Richemont and Alber Elbaz, billed as a creative hub for smart, solutions-driven fashions that care. Following Elbaz’ untimely death in 2021, the brand pivoted to a platform for collaborations with guest creatives, or “amigos,” with plans for six presentations a year.
While couture week is reserved for new talents, the ready-to-wear shows are a time to unveil collaborations with more established designers such as Lutz Huelle, who is returning for a second collaboration this month. The designer leads the fashion and accessories design department at HEAD.
The strategy is analogous in some ways to fashion prizes, only offering an entire ecosystem — a design studio, atelier, marketing muscle and communications channels — and not only cash and mentoring. AZ Factory’s studio also continues to turn out product stories, with a range of printed silk pajamas due out this summer.
Sonney graduated from the master program at HEAD in 2021 and was a finalist at the 2022 edition of the Hyères International Festival of Fashion and Photography, where she presented a collection incorporating recycled garden hoses. The French designer also has internships at Marine Serre and Celine under her belt.
“Her multicategory approach, mastery of textile techniques, sharp vision for creating a fully defined aesthetic, work on sustainability and new materials have completely intrigued and seduced the AZ Factory team,” the brand said in a statement.
AZ Factory unveiled its first fashions, centered around smart fabrics, in January 2021 alongside a business model hinged on projects rather than collections, and with storytelling, problem-solving and entertainment embedded in design, distribution and communications.
So far it has clocked eight collaborations with guest “amigos” including Thebe Magugu, Ester Manas, Cyril Bourez, ShelterSuit and Thoreson. Molly Molloy and Lucinda Chambers, the duo behind the Colville label, created an AZ Factory range for fall 2023 retailing.