Souv Spring 2023 Collection – WWD

Emerging travelwear label The Souv will debut its first ready-to-wear collection on September 12 for Spring 2023. Founded by longtime fashion editor Mayte Allende, formerly of WWD and W Magazine, and designer Kevin Nguyen, who cut his teeth at Thakoon, Carolina Herrera and Madewell, the brand proposes a luxurious lifestyle outfit for the tourist-inspired salon.

“We found a gap in the travel wear category,” Allende said, adding that she and Nguyen met while consulting for an established New York City brand, whose name she declined to divulge. “We were both consulting and went to Paris – choosing fabrics and prints, dreaming – but everything we liked was a no. There was always another agenda.”

Before the pandemic, Allende and Nguyen envisioned their line merging a trendy, resort-like mood with the practicality of travel wear and the ease of loungewear—something a little more masculine, a little older, fresher, and less valued than what currently existed. in shop. Souv, which the pair originally started two years ago, became a response to what they saw as a void in the resort category and a result of their shared passions – vintage clothing, travel, culture and history .

“Souv is inspired by far eastern cultures, vintage shopping and artisanal traditions,” they said, adding that the brand name plays off the idea of ​​traveling and collecting special “souvenirs” along the way.

“Kevin would bring back the treasures he would find on his travels, which I’ve always loved,” said Allende, adding that the brand takes cues from her editorial eye and Puerto Rican roots as well as inspiration from Nguyen’s Vietnamese heritage and “world vision” as an avid traveler, photographer and textile collector.

As companies began to reopen after the pandemic, the pair slowly developed their first self-funded collection and teamed up with a small family factory in India to produce it.

“The premise of this collection started from two vintage souvenir scarves that I found while traveling through the south of France,” said Nguyen. “The worn texture and hand feel, soft drape, bold and vibrant colors of the scarves became the initial inspiration for our fabric, prints and silhouettes. Apart from the two outerwear, the collection is made entirely of this shawl-based fabric. I started by wrapping and tying these two scarves to create different knots and binding details, which is now an integral detail to the brand. All of our knotted pieces started from these two scarves worn in different iterations and shapes, and these styles are designed around these scarf covers.”

The spring lookbook consists of 20 styles with knotted sleeves, lace-up detailing at the front, open back and chamois hem, all these exude a lively feel through the collection’s viscose linen fabrication, which was chosen not only for its breathability, coverage and size fluidity, but also to keep the line minimal and easily packable.

Priced between $125 and $695, spring focuses on two key shapes that eschew construction and feature stretchy detailing and generous proportions – the kaftan and modern renditions of the Áo dài, said to “combine Nguyen’s heritage with a bit of Latin flair . ” For example, the Áo dài-inspired shirt dress and blouse highlight the style’s traditional waist slits, wide-leg trousers and mandarin collar, modernized with bright floral and palm garden prints.

“I have trunks full of vintage Áo dài that belonged to my grandmother and vintage Áo dài that I’ve collected from my travels around Vietnam,” Nguyen said. “The collection and individual pieces are designed with the traditional Áo dài in mind – from construction, lightness, simplicity and comfort. The collection features more visible details of Áo dài elements sprinkled from style to style.”

The collection’s colors and prints were inspired by photographs from Nguyen’s travels. For example, a one-shoulder knot dress in fuchsia, inspired by the pink buildings in Jaipur; a palm print from the beaches of Da Nang, Vietnam; a host of versatile garden flowers in Hanoi, Vietnam, and washed-out colors from the botanical gardens of Costa Rica. To reimagine Nguyen’s photographs, the pair partnered with an Italian print house also said to work with Valentino, Prada and La DoubleJ.

“As a lifelong editor, you really know the market and every single brand like the back of your hand — yet I’ve always wanted to launch something from conception,” Allende said. Learning from her previous experience as creative director of former label Bande Noir, she is keen to have “a lot more control as it’s just the two of us and we really share a vision”.

To help with their joint slow-and-steady approach, Allende enlisted Joann Pucciarelli, a merchandising strategist veteran from Theory, Diane von Furstenburg and Rhode Resort, to debut The Souv’s spring collection in the wholesale market, press and the public.

“For the past 10 years, I’ve been working with designers and even though I’ve seen a ton of brands and products when it came to me, I felt the product, looked at it and thought, ‘Wow, this is different.’ The fabric and prints are amazing, and it’s easy to wear. It really doesn’t matter [the] body type because it is fluid; it allows everyone to wear it, which I really appreciated in the collection,” said Pucciarelli.

“What we’re doing here is taking a slow approach, which I see as very important, especially in the time we’re in — to look at these boutiques and see where The Souv fits in,” she said. Boutiques and specialty stores in the US – especially in markets like Texas, New York, South Carolina, California, Tennessee and more – will likely be a focus during the brand’s market week, which runs from September 12 to 24 and will take place within a collective space within a new brand showroom under development, Allende added.

“We all agree that we want to work with great boutiques and really serve and support the stores that benefit from us. I know that small businesses – like us – that succeed have a very personal approach, they work to know their customer, they go out on the road, they spend time and money to find and build their community and they always, always decide the first conclusion,” added Allende and Nguyen.