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Portrait of Emma François, creator of Sessùn

Culture and Fashion

Bound as she was for Tokyo, it was impossible to meet Emma François, the creator of Sessùn personally. So it was by telephone that we went over her more than 15 years in the business. A born storyteller, she talked about her brand like others might a love affair.

By Sarah Carrière-Chardon - Photos Sessùn - November 14, 2011

Provence, yes Sessùn comes from here, for its light, its sweet and gentle image, but the brand is also a big traveler. Almost born in Mexico, if Emma hadn’t sewn, knitted and embroidered since her high-school years in Montpellier. Fascinated by crafts and textiles, Emma completed her thesis on “crafts in the dynamics of development” in Latin America and came home with objects, then very quickly has local craftsmen work on contemporary versions of them. Fair trading ahead of her time, her economy teachers remained unconvinced, but the Who’s Next trade fair in Paris proved

 

them wrong! She moved to Marseille in 1997, this booming city gave her the south, with its industrial base in textiles and established infrastructure. There she won the “Young Designer” prize from the Fashion Institute, which consolidated her creative intuitions around an audit. “Back then, I deceived myself a bit about Marseille, today, I think that it’s not a favor to return. I wouldn’t leave it for anything in this world. It’s in this city that I design, that I bring up my children, it’s a sleeping gem, but you have to keep moving to stay alert”. So Emma doesn’t sit still. Every two months, she takes off

for a few days alone with her sketch books, she creates little foreign bubbles which allow her to make big steps forward on each collection: Japan, New York, Scandinavia, India, China, Portugal and Italy. “And then I love our clichés, so I always return, just to eat goatfish behind the reed fences, with my toes in the water.”

As for the infrastructure, it’s a tight-knit team who wait for her. Emma deals with “25 personalities and energies”, the core group of faithfuls who have grown up with the brand. Because today, Sessùn counts 600 sales points around the world, including own-name stores; in Provence, they’re located in Marseille, Aix-en-Provence and Avignon. There we find this timeless vintage, simple cuts with couture details on raw and refined materials. A mix of masculine and feminine, the 40s are never far away, there’s a play with the contrast of silk and velvet, cotton, wool or linen, in a relaxed elegance. Each collection belongs to a world of invention, and Emma participates in music festivals or collaborates with artists on interdisciplinary projects. In this way, for her exhibition at the Bon Marché in Paris, she holds court in “My Pretty Room”, in the company of Finnish illustrator Anna Emilia, to present us with a world even more girly, secret and dreamy. Love store…

Discover

Boutique Sessun
10 rue de Courteissade
13100 Aix-en-Provence
The exhibition "My Pretty Room" at the Bon Marché in Paris until Nov 21,
http://www.sessun.com

Emma François, créator of Sessùn