Leave it to Fauré Le Page to turn military codes into an elegant fashion statement with the French Garden collection.
Thursday was a huge shopping day in Greenbelt. The mall was buzzing with lines snaking two floors down either for the latest iPhone drop at midnight or the newest bag charm.
At Fauré Le Page, fans didn’t even wait to be served a flute of bubbly. Regulars of the royal gunsmith-turned-luxury leather goods brand came in hours before the 5 p.m. invite, Gangsta cardholders blazing, asking for first dibs on the French Garden pieces. Its limited edition Daily Battle iteration in 27 Zip, a favorite size among Filipinas for being “just right” for stuffing all essentials, only had one piece left. The hand carry-sized Dream Bag 55 looks like it’s next to sold out.
Hype is the opposite of what the brand stands for. Famous owners of FLP include Louis XV, Louis XVI, Marie Antoinette, Napoleon, Balzac. Today, it’s toted by an IYKYK set — if you know all about its badass take on the gun holster or its handcrafted scale-inspired canvases and jacquards from a trip to its Rue Cambon store in Paris, you know.
The Philippine flagship celebrated the French Garden collection launch by opening up its back entrance — something I wish more Greenbelt 4 stores would do, really — to the lush Greenbelt Park. Men of all ages arrived clutching the Pochette while the millennial and Gen Z fans ditched gender codes with the Ladies First. As for the ladies, early birds showed up in the Daily Battle tote for daytime. Those who came in time for the detoxifying green juice opted for the baguette shape and refined hardware of the Good Knight 25 clutch. Its proportions make it refined for evening while its Saga Spark jacquard sheathing, smartly set off by grained calfskin borders, gives it a rock chic edge.
The French Garden bags, wallets and tote bags dominate the park walkway without being flashy, turning heads of both men and women. Its tone-on-tone stylistic trompe l’œil effect design, inspired by military camouflage and reworked in an elegant contrasting green and black version, is meant to blend into the greenery, unafraid of the outdoor elements. It is made in Fauré Le Page’s exclusive Scale Canvas, screen-printed using a process similar to that employed for printing on silk. The scale-patterned fabric is then waxed and grained, endowing it with suppleness, as well as a glossy feel and impressive toughness you’d expect to see in leather.
While available in limited quantities, worry not — this drop signals the first of at least two more in the months to come. The pattern will come in other colorways. Aforementioned bag charm fans can watch out for a Philippine exclusive medallion, inspired by the iconography of our country, with that très chic FLP touch.
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In the Philippines, Fauré Le Page is in Greenbelt 4, Ayala Center, Makati.