Just six months after its launch, Arjé’s quiet disruption is well underway.
A summer pop-up on Mott Street beat all expectations and made the brand instantly viable. Another is due in mid-October but, like the essentials they design, Bessie Afnaim Corral and Oliver Corral are discreet—they’re not saying where yet. They will allow that they’re calling it Chalet, so that gives a little idea of what they’re thinking. Best of all, their see-now-buy-now model means consumers don’t have to arm themselves with patience for the next six months.
Chapter Three, as this installation is called, is nothing if not covetable: coats for women and men in reversible shearling or cashmere blend come in white gold, caramel, Cognac, antique indigo, or black, with pretty and practical details like a sleeve slit from wrist to elbow to allow freedom of movement, handbags, and the like. Silk pants have a dévoré finish extrapolated from the brand’s signature “evil eye” motif—something they’re planning to spin out on jewelry in a beguiling, none-too-literal way. Beautiful silks, knit underpinnings, and ribbed cashmere sweaters invite layering and move easily from day to night. Because everything goes with everything, the whole concept projects serenity. Even the chakra-inspired arc of the racks contributes to the story.
Which is precisely the point. Bessie explains that she and Oliver “design in gestures,” elongating lines as they go. “We were sort of thinking about a modern geisha—who are they; how do they want to dress now?” she notes. Given that the couple splits their time between a home in Umbria, Italy, and a life in New York, they are well placed to know. It’s almost more a life philosophy than a wardrobe concept: Yes, a new collection drops every three months, but there’s a reassuring, no-waste logic to it. All the evidence suggests that Arjé is not out to change the game on their clients. They’re out to change the game for them.
