When Christophe Lemaire showed his most recent collection at Paris Fashion Week, nothing seemed that out of the ordinary. The clothes were fantastic, understated and minimal as per usual. You would have never known that the brand subtly changed its name from "Christophe Lemaire" to, simply, "Lemaire." I mean, until now that is.
Name changes are fairly en vogue as of late. Saint Laurent did it a little while back (shout out world-crusher Hedi Slimane) and Galliano and co. trimmed the MMM of Maison Martin Margiela down to just Maison Margiela. This is a bit different however. Those are two big name, storied fashion houses, while Lemaire's rebranding, regardless of how subtle, comes in the infancy of arguably menswear's fastest rising designer. For many, this will be their first interaction with the brand and its clothing. Think of it more as a coming of age than an adult filling a name change request with the government or something.
The brand isn't just changing it's name either. This also represents a shift of how the brand will work from here on out. It's no longer the eponymous label of solely Christophe. While his life partner, Sarah-Linh Tran, has been involved as the brand's co-designer, the two will be leading a true independent design collective moving forward. What that exactly means for the clothing itself, we're not entirely sure. However, it does come with the opening of an online store where you can buy product directly from the brand, so that's more than welcomed. Overall, it feels like a good sign for what that is quickly becoming everyone's new favorite designer.
