Molli, the Rebirth with
Charlotte de Fayet

I’m a 37-year-old married Parisian and the mother of two children. I just took the iconic knitwear brand Molli over, whose soft character and quality I discovered when my children were born.

I studied in a business school and specialised in marketing. I started at Danone, with Evian, a transgenerational brand where I learnt a lot. Then, I went for almost 2 years to live in Argentina, where I started up a project in art and social. When I got back, I worked for L’Oréal in the luxury department, where I learnt about retail since I was in charge of the marketing for Kiehl’s and Shu Uemura. When my 2^nd child was born, I wanted to start a project and as luck would have it, I took Molli over! It has been two years now. We added a collection for women to the iconic one for babies.

Molli was born at the end of the XIXth century, when “hosiery” boomed. It was first fine knit underwear for women, adapted to the silhouette of the time (tight-fitting dresses). Molli offered knitted underwear in a fine and delicate knit, extremely complex to make, with perfect finishing touches. Then, these products have been abandoned for acrylic, which changed lingerie. So the brand opened a second chapter and invented clothes for babies in the 50s – the baby wear was knitted by women themselves. Thanks to its savoir-faire and perfect knowledge of soft and exquisite pieces, Molli was very successful. It was “Hermès for babies”. Now I’d like to carry on this desire for innovation and to offer, in addition to the birth collection (0-12 months and its famous “sleep suit” passed on from generation to generation), a collection for women in the spirit of Molli. Impeccable, refined, feminine and trendy knit tops, must-haves in our wardrobes with the iconic Molli knit and its legendary “garter stitch” with trousers, dresses and skirts easy to wear, with details in the stitches, collars and cuffs. I think Molli must be in the wardrobes of women who like fashion without following every trend, the ones who love discrete luxury, pure and timeless lines. What I like about Molli is the fact it is a brand with a history (it’s celebrating its 130^th anniversary this year) and a savoir-faire people have appreciated for generations: knitwear. When I took it over, I asked women who knew the brand to do a Chinese portrait. A very clear group of images, words and values came out of it. It was the base of my work to define the whole universe of the brand, for the designs and colours, but also for the finishing touches, packaging, shops, shop windows and pictures. Everything has the “Molli” spirit, which guarantees a coherent artistic direction and a very strong feeling of obviousness. It also came out that people were attached to the brand. It entered the life of numerous women when they gave birth. Our knitwear was the very first clothes of their babies. So there is an irrational and very emotional attachment to the brand. Actually I’m part of these women who literally fell in love with Molli.

In the collection for babies, I would say the iconic sleep suit which has been existing from 60 years and is trendy as ever. This is actually the design I got offered and, since I had to change the size, I first met the sales assistant in Saint-Germain shop and entered the Molli adventure. For women, I love the collar tops. We feel good and are chic. Two-in-one.

Molli lives in the incredibly competitive and fast obsolete world of fashion. I want to preserve it from this crazy rhythm and to keep what is part of this positioning. The idea of a timeless and confidential brand in a niche market for initiated women. We are going to start working in wholesale in Europe (mostly Germany, Switzerland and Benelux), in Japan and in the United States, but in a very “surgeon” way: we will privilege the positioning of the concept stores where we are going to enter. We want the sale points where there will be our products to be a setting for the brand. Everyone can buy on our website molli.com. We actually send pieces in the entire world. It’s great to please customers everywhere. The first challenge is going to be the development of the brand’s fame, thanks to the press and the women of influence who will “advise” it. In the medium term, my dream would be to have about 10 Molli stores in the world. Places where we could have the spirit of the brand, its timeless must-haves that would not change and the new items that would come liven up the collections but also the birth collection, today seen as “mini-Molli”. But we are not in a hurry. I want to move on without making mistakes, while being loyal to the brand’s history and values.

I read a lot of fashion and decoration magazines. It’s actually dangerous since it makes me want to change everything all the time! We live in a top-floor flat with a loft spirit, white walls and a light oak wooden floor. In this quite contemporary setting, I chose to focus on carpets, books and pictures to make it warmer. If I had to sum up my style, I’d say it’s a base of Liaigre in which a lot of elements would have been added! The main pieces of furniture in the living room are a big petrol grey velvet Flexform sofa and a desk reedited by Prouvé. On the walls, there are the pictures of the argentin association PH15, which helps street children by giving them photography lessons. I also chose the Mediterranea wallpaper by Fornasetti in the corridors to make them warmer. In terms of decoration, I like muted, cosy and warm places. My mom had a press office and she was in charge of Manuel Canovas and Porthault. At home, it was often flowery carpeting and tables full of candles! If I had to move, I think I’d do a totally different decoration, with ecru velvet curtains, wallpaper and objects bargain-hunted in flea markets. In terms of fashion, for the everyday outfits, I wear a lot of Molli designs and mix them with clothes by Acne and COS. I like the elegant and contemporary comfort of this kind of outfit.

The alarm clock goes off at 7.30, and from that moment, it’s a race to be ready for school at 8.30 (hopefully it’s just one minute walk from home). I like getting dressed fast with clothes which makes me look good and are easy to wear. Once the children at school, I go to the office, only ten minutes away, on my electric scooter (an awesome Christmas gift), and from then, the day goes by very quickly. I usually can’t go and eat outside, so it’s often Cojean in the office. But I don’t get tired of if! I finish work at 7.15 to free my nanny and I have one hour to enjoy my children, who have already had dinner and brushed their teeth. We just have the “quality time”, play cards, read stories and they go to bed at 8.30, well often at 9. My husband and I go to see friends every other night or they come to have dinner home. In this case, I usually go to Da Rocco to buy buratta and aubergine lasagne. During the winter, we hibernate, but when it starts to be sunny again, we enjoy Paris. We go to the theatre, restaurants and viewings.

The Cherche Midi, an Italian menu to die for in a French brasserie setting.