Olympia Le-Tan, the creator and designer of bags and clutches that imitate books in a quirky way, is leaving her own label. Rising to fame, all thanks to embroidered clutches, Le-Tan started the label in 2009 from her mother’s house.
The French designer took to Instagram to break the news to her 120,000 followers saying, “I started this journey at my mother’s kitchen table with my own two hands, a needle and thread, and the naive little idea of creating a world for women, combining my love of craft, books, fantasy, sex, and nostalgia…”
The announcement comes as a surprise to the industry insiders as the brand had already stepped down from showing at Paris Fashion Week last year. According to some sources, the accessories label had already fallen into receivership due to several unpaid bills.
Her departure from the namesake brand effectually means the intellectual property rights to her brand will be bestowed to Gregory Bernard, who was her partner in starting the business.
As for Le-Tan’s future plans, not much was revealed in her social media broadcast. She simply added, “I am sure the next chapter is soon to come and will be just as enchanting and exciting. I will still personally be posting all kinds of stuff about my life, my friends and my work on this page, as I always have.”
The brand itself currently owns one physical store on the back side of the celebrated Palais-Royal in Paris that was opened in 2014. Owing to the exodus, Le-Tan’s farewell collection will remain the line launched in March 2017 as well as her collaboration with Japan’s Uniqlo.
