That VB Cool
Veronique Branquinho
Autumn/Winter 2007
It was announced back in June that Veronique Branquinho is set to return to ready-to-wear with a collection in Paris for Spring/Summer 2013. She was forced to close her eponymous label back in 2009 due to the recession, eventually filing for bankruptcy. The new line will be slightly lower priced than her original label, and will be created in partnership with clothing manufacturer Gibò Co. SpA. She has said that the new line will be a "bit more adult" than her previous work, which does make me wonder what we can expect, especially given how mature her style already was (indeed the collection above looks more suited to a cool professor than some young Raf Simons man - guess which I prefer). I am really interested to see how her vision has changed and developed during her time away from ready-to-wear. Admittedly more so in fact than I am about Jil Sander's return, though I am still hoping she and Plokhov (who also recently returned with an eponymous label) will wow in the seasons to come.
I do wonder how the partnership will impact her work, but given that now she only has to worry about the creative side (she was previously independent), it should allow for greater freedom. The lower price point is also something that will understandably influence her process, and for a designer whose work was to my mind so very much about the fabrics, it does raise questions. It can certainly be done however, and so I am rather eagerly awaiting the new collection. There is as of yet unfortunately no word about her returning to menswear, but I do hope that is on the cards for the future. I miss her work - quiet and mature luxury, it seems far too rare these days.
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