Comité Colbert CEO Bénédicte Épinay | Laure Guilbault | Sunday Night Live

Émilie Hammen was appointed director of Paris' fashion museum Palais Galliera in July, at just 40. In this episode, we unpacked the historic fashion season, talked about the interview process for her to get this big job (it involved a job interview with Paris mayor) and agreed on weird girls being cool. Massive thanks to the Parisian members' club WeAre for having us record the episode in its beautiful podcast studio. 

This week, my guest is a legend, the OG of fashion. Jean-Jacques Picart coached countless designers and worked with some of the biggest names in the industry. Having him on the show has been a dream of mine, especially on the eve of Paris Fashion Week. When I invited him, he said: “I’ll come, but only if we do it in person.” I told him I didn’t have the setup for that. His answer? “Find a way!” So I did. The Parisian members' club WeAre hosted us. And I couldn’t be more grateful. Jean-Jacques shared his thoughts on fashion today, candid as ever, and some pearls of wisdom for business and life. Enjoy listening (this episode is in French.)

From Oct 3–5, the Grand Palais transforms into a luxury playground. Les Deux Mains du Luxe by Comité Colbert is all about celebrating craftsmanship and finding the next generation of artisans. Bénédicte Épinay, who has been CEO of the French luxury association since 2020, speaks about the lack of petites mains, shares her view on the current turbulence in the luxury sector and tells us why luxury will remain a key driver of France’s soft power. (The episode is in French.)

The New York-based fashion designer Nili Lotan was in Paris this week so I HAD to record an episode of Sunday Night Live with her. She created her brand in 2003 and built a $100 million dollar business. The fashion maverick who doesn't do runway shows, talked about starting her brand in her late 40s, freedom, intuition, and how she came to fiercely protect her Sundays. 

On October 20, my guest on Sunday Night Live was Carolina Cucinelli. Carolina is vice president and co-creative director of Brunello Cucinelli, the Italian luxury brand known its top-quality products and eye-popping prices. At 33, she brings her soft and modern touch to the company created by her father in 1978. She talked about the medieval hamlet of Solomeo, the family business and the opening of a Casa Cucinelli in London next year. 

On July 7, Laure’s guest on her Instagram Live was Pierre de Maere, the 23-year-old Belgian singer whose career took off at lightning speed. Pierre and Laure talked about the Belgian new wave of artists, the role of fashion in his career and more. Big energy in this episode with many questions from the audience! Be sure to stay tuned until the end and find out why you should never lend your clothes to your boyfriend! Here’s Laure. Just a heads-up, the conversation is in French. 

Thomas Jolly, artistic director of the Olympic and Paralympics ceremonies is my guest!  It's a very special episode since we recorded our conversation at Unesco in Paris, in the very zen Japanese garden. That’s because the opening ceremony will take place on the Seine banks, a Unesco World Heritage site. Thomas directed Henry VI, an eighteen-hour spectacle at the Avignon festival so a three-hour Olympic opening ceremony is actually quite short for him! He didn't reveal the content of the ceremonies but I understood that he will bring together many talents and he's an extraordinary talent himself so this bodes well. Enjoy the episode! Just a heads-up, it's in French. 

Mathieu Lehanneur is one of the most talented and renowned French designers. His graduate project famously ended up in the collections of the MoMa in New York and most recently, he designed the Olympic torch. Mathieu talked about the Olympics, the role of design in the world and why he couldn't be a fashion designer. 

I was delighted to have Mathilde Favier as a guest on the show. Mathilde is the head of public relations at Dior couture. She just published a book. It's titled "Mathilde à Paris" in French, "Living beautifully" in English. There were many questions from the audience during the show. We spoke about the evolution of public relations, celebrity marketing, her favorite cheese shop in Paris plus Mathilde shared some pearls of wisdom. Enjoy the episode! Just a heads up, this one is in French. 

Ben Clymer, the founder and executive chairman of Hodinkee, the site for watch aficionados, was my guest on Sunday April 21. (For the occasion, he was wearing  a G-Shock that he designed.) I sat next to Ben at a dinner in Geneva on the eve of the Watches & Wonders fair. He had a packed week coming up but was nonetheless very relaxed, fun and witty. I invited him to the show and am very happy that he agreed to participate. We spoke about how he started blogging back in 2008, built a community and nailed the mix editorial content/community/retail.