Can you give us a brief introduction to Delphine Delafon ?
DELPHINE : It's a brand that bears my name but also my values. I've never worked on it as a marketing pitch, but things have always taken care of themselves as I refused to make concessions. I was often approached by people who encouraged me to put profit before values, and I could never accept that way of working. I've never been radical about it either, but it's more like a natural desire to follow my desires and keep the way I like to work as my DNA and as my primary value. What I love most of all is working by hand, and that's why all the bags that come out of my workshop are different, unique, but still accessible and made in my own workshop.
What is your background and what led you to launch this project?
DELPHINE : I come from a clothing background and I think that's reflected in my bags and the way they're made. There's nothing academic about the way they're made or the way they're thought. That's what makes them a bit different I hope.
When I was making clothes, it was always leather that attracted me, the materials, the textures, the metalwork. I used to make mixed leather/fabric dresses, sometimes with metal parts on top.
For DD, I never thought of ‘launching’ anything; it was my first customers who really got the brand off the ground and bought into what I was offering. In 2017, after 8 years, I decided to put my company on hold because it was growing too fast (and badly) and I couldn't keep up either morally or financially. At that point I lost my name. I became a consultant for emerging brands (Marcia, Martin Martin, Cordiz, Becane and others). I help them develop their collections in all aspects (production, pricing, suppliers, design and sometimes strategy). I also regularly create designs for ‘friend’ brands (Gas Bijoux, Ba&sh, Françoise and others).
I work mainly on instinct, which has often played tricks on me, but the result is rewarding in the end because I've been doing what I love for 20 years.
What's your favourite Delphine Delafon piece?
DELPHINE : Too difficult, it changes all the time.
I do, however, have a passion for metallic pieces (chains, buckles, eyelets, etc) which always come back.
I also released a capsule of leather clothes for Delphine Delafon in 2017 and I have a lot of ‘fetishes’ in that collection - a pair of red lambskin trousers or lace-up boots with a wooden heel.
At the moment, if I had to choose a bag, it would be the Honey Bunny in its neon pink version, the ‘Honey Love’.