#064 ✰ Fashion, an expression of one's identity

SoaO: Sophie's Louis Vuitton bag • an interview with Zara's heir

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Apr 12, 2023

Hey there 👋 I’m Mathilde. We are Objet. We explore the intersection of consumerism, myth, satisfaction, desire, taste, joy, meaning and pride. Not specifically in that order. To brag at your next dinner, Objet is the french word for 'object' and should be pronounced 'OB-JEH'.

Hello! If you’re new here, welcome 👋
In today’s Objet journal:

Our mission 👉 Wait, what are they onto again?
Soul of an Objet 👉 Sophie’s one and only Louis Vuitton bag
What’s up on the app 👉 Bounties? Yes, get reco on your next purchase!
Cool reads 👉 Cause you know, it’s always cool to read cool stuff

Our mission

The relationship we, humans, have with shopping - and our objects as a whole - is broken: we want to bring back joy and pride.

Objet is a safe space to explore your desires and know yourself better. Objet is where style shops mindfully.

Soul of an Objet | Sophie Pages

Sublime possessions have soul and meaning. Meet Sophie’s first (and only) Louis Vuitton bag.

Sophie created her own path between startups, communities (mainly around identity, sexuality and relationships), bi-culture and the corporate world. She's now nurturing entrepreneurship at LVMH.

Sophie’s Objet profile | and here on Instagram

Hi Sophie! So what's the backstory of this object?

Back in high school, I lived in this small town in the center of France. Even though I was miles away from Paris, I was always drawn to the great things happening in the city: the excitement of music, art exhibitions, movie premieres, and of course, fashion! Whenever the catwalks came on TV, my dad would always shout for me to come see: "Sophie, viens voir la mode!".
It wasn't until later that I realised why fashion meant so much to me. As a kid navigating my bicultural heritage and struggling with social downgrading, fashion became a way for me to express my identity and feel confident. It was about looking and feeling like a million bucks, and it was also about the artistry and craftsmanship that went into every piece. There were those memories of me strolling through the streets of my Moroccan hometown, looking at the craftspeople workshops, hearing the sound of sewing machines and smelling the scents of leather.
As a 90s teen versed in rap music, I made a promise to myself: one day, I'll own a Louis Vuitton bag. Remember that awesome photo of Lil' Kim by David LaChapelle with the LV monogram all over her skin? There you go...
I had moved to London where I was studying and working part-time to support myself financially when a friend who had missed entrance to a university told me he'd drop out of education. He was done and wanted to go work in a store. I could not stand him making this decision. It made me think of how, in high school, I overheard a teacher say he would do nothing with his life. I was mad, to me, this friend was like all those talented folks we fail to support and see blossom as a society because they don't fit.
For some reason, I had a spare one-way ticket from Paris to London. So, I put it on the table and summoned my friend to join me there, which he did. I found him a place to crash, convinced my manager to hire him at the hospital, and he was back on track, back at university the following September.
Now you're thinking "where is this going? What about the Louis Vuitton bag?" Before leaving London, my friend took me to Selfridges, a department store, and like if it was nothing, looked at me and told me to pick the LV bag of my choice. I was like a kid in a toy store. I tried on a few (dozens?) and went for the Speedy model: it was perfect to me, a simple and efficient design, like a mini travel bag, which I thought was nice given the brand DNA.
That was 16 years ago, my friend is now the CEO of a successful agritech startup and every time I wear that bag, I feel special. Not just because it's Louis Vuitton, but because, as small as that bag is, it carries so many things about who I am and how rich a life I live thanks to my friends.

What object’s been your best investment?

My PowerBook for all the things I managed to do with it. I will never cease to be amazed at the fact that we're living days when you can launch a business with a computer. I wish I had that opportunity as a teen. I would love to see what I would have came up with that creative teen brain.

Is there any other type of things you truly like to dig into?

I go from fashion obsession to fashion obsession. Today I visited 4 thrift shops asking for silver pants after I had no luck on Vinted for a few weeks.

What’s the next purchase you’re currently contemplating?

A Loewe puzzle bag. Wait a minute, do I have a thing for bags?

Okay let’s have a little extra here. When Mathilde posted a bounty for t-shirts that don’t twist, you mentioned a technique of yours to make them last longer. Could you describe it please?

Yes of course! It's all about the drying process. Out of the washing machine, pinch your tshirt at the under arms with each hand, keep it tight along the line crossing your chest, now give it a good shake. Then move on a parallel line to the bottom of the tshirt and give another good shake. These series of shakes should get your tshirt flat preventing any twist. Last but not least, forget about the dryer, and hang your tshirt on a wire with that imaginary line joining both underarms exactly on the wire (I hope you enjoyed the bit of geometry). Better, use a hanger. In addition to preventing twists, with this method, you really don't need to iron your tshirts for those of you who do. Enjoy keeping your tshirts for ages, whatever their quality!

Thank you!

👀 Did you know? Once you onboard on the app, you can respond to and engage with cool people like Sophie in one click.

What’s up in the app

🌸🛼 Bounties are built to help you curate your next purchase and get reco from the community. This week’s version brings along a new navigation, and notifications when tagging a community member / being tagged.

[NEW bounties] 👇

sarahmcb is looking for a new trench coat
spolu is looking for a backpack for work
theo is looking for a cotton sweatshirt
katysnee is looking for a rat cage

Think you can help?
Could use advice in your next hunt?

Try us:

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… and if you're not on iOS - it happens to cool people - feel free to reply in the comments!

Cool reads

👀 Zara ≠ fast fashion

Excellent piece here, pointing incoherences in Marta Ortega Pérez’s rare interview with the Financial Times. Who’s Marta? She is the heir and non-executive chair of the Inditex empire, the fashion group behind Zara, Massimo Dutti, Pull&Bear, Bershka, Stradivarius and Oysho.

A family business

Marta Ortega Pérez started working officially at Inditex 16 years ago although, arguably, she was in the business from the womb. Born in 1984, she is the only daughter of Flora Pérez, the second wife of Amancio, who was still married to Rosalia Mera, his Zara co-founder, at the time. Today, Flora Pérez represents the family’s 60 per cent share on the board. Many family members are still involved. Óscar Pérez Marcote is Zara’s managing director; another uncle, Jorge Pérez Marcote, is the managing director of Massimo Dutti. Ortega Pérez’s second husband, Carlos Torretta, a cute, pony-tailed former model agent and golf fanatic, is the head of communication at Zara (she has one child with him, and one with her ex-husband, Sergio Álvarez Moya, whom she divorced in 2015). Her half-sister Sandra Ortega Mera has no part in the Inditex management, but acceded €6.3bn on her mother’s death in 2013.

A Coruña’s first employer

in 2017, Inditex overtook fishing as the region’s main driver of GDP.

Market share

Inditex is a colossus among retailers; its apparel and footwear enjoys a global market share of 1.6 per cent.

Average basket

The average cost of a checkout basket at Zara is €70, and €50-€60 at Bershka or Pull&Bear.

Positionning

Ortega Pérez has brought in talents who have helped elevate the house aesthetic to that of a luxury brand. Except, of course, Inditex isn’t luxury.

Her vision

“My focus is entirely on the product and everything that empowers the best possible delivery of that; and always improving shopping experience, both in the physical stores and online, and maximising integration between the two. And building on our sustainability work, which is more and more integrated in each and every process in the company, as well as influencing and sharing best practice with the industry at large. In short, my goal is to maintain and keep building quality, quality, quality in every aspect of the company.”

Fast fash.. what?

“We don’t recognise ourselves in what they call ‘fast fashion’,” (…) “because that brings to mind the amount of unsold items and poor-quality clothes focused on a very cheap price, and that cannot be further from what we do.”

Oh?

Zara alone produces about 450 million garments annually, with 20,000 new styles each year.

Oh (bis)?

And while the group is proud that 50 per cent of its product is sourced from proximity countries – Spain, Portugal, Morocco and Turkey (the rest is sourced from Asia) – a report by Société Générale in 2022 estimated that less than 20 per cent of Inditex product had any contact with their manufacturing facilities.

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Fun fact

If you want to know where the phrase ‘Fast Fashion’ comes from, it’s Zara. It was coined by the New York Times in 1989, and was written in response to Zara boasting that it took them "15 days between a new idea and getting it into the stores"

If you got all the way here and have been seeking a better way to experience shopping & enjoy your possessions, alongside enthusiastic, not-so-serious souls, try Objet: