Christophe Lemaire

Christophe Lemaire (born April 1965) is a French fashion designer, founder of eponymous label Lemaire, and former creative director at Hermès and Lacoste. He is noted for his simple, elegant design style, as well as his collaborations with brands such as Japanese retailer Uniqlo.

Early life Lemaire was born in the town of Besançon in France. He described his upbringing as that of a "typical French bourgeois family," travelling between Senegal and France and attending boarding school. His parents are divorced. His uncle is Robert Caillé, publisher of Vogue France. At seventeen, he dated fellow future designer Isabel Marant, the two designing clothes and selling them to stores on consignment. He credits the work of Japanese designers Yohji Yamamoto and Rei Kawakubo for sparking his interest in fashion. He introduced elements of street fashion into the brand, which reinvented its preppy image from the 80s. this time with partner Sarah Linh-Tran.

Personal label Lemaire launched his label, named simply "Lemaire," in 1991, until going on hiatus to join Lacoste as artistic director. After bringing the brand back in 2014 with partner Sarah Linh-Tran, Lemaire quickly grew. The company reached 7 million euros in profit in 2015, attracting funding from investment firm Bpifrance. In March of 2015, he announced a collaboration with Japanese fast fashion retailer Uniqlo, which developed into his own line at Uniqlo dubbed Uniqlo U. Uniqlo U is based out of the Uniqlo Paris R&D Centre, which Lemaire helms as artistic director. Revenues of the brand reached 14 million USD by 2018, and the retail holding company Fast Retailing (parent company of Uniqlo) acquired a minority stake in the brand in 2018. Milan, Chengdu, Tokyo, and Seoul.

Design style

Lemaire is noted for his practical, minimalist designs that resist trends, emphasizing clothes practical for daily wear rather than "a spectacular point of view." He is heavily inspired by Japanese fashion and culture, beginning with his first visit to the country in 1995.