16 March 2015/

ICONIC FRENCH, the US-based blog that explores and reveals the DNA of French Fashion, took a close look at HANDS OF OIZO to ask everything about our ‘Metamorphosis’ collection and our creative process.

Since the success of Coco Chanel bringing French prêt-à-porter to the US in the 50s, there’s always been a coveted mystery about the French inherent sense of style. Many have tried to investigate the French woman’s secret tips, and the fascination has never dwindled, as proven by the bestselling “French Women Don’t Get Fat” by Mireille Guiliano and the endless stream of articles addressing the topic. 

If you follow a few American Fashion blogs or magazines, you surely came across one of these “how to achieve French chic”, “how to dress like a Parisian”, or “10 secrets to dressing like a French girl”…

ICONIC FRENCH is there to bring a little help. 

Based in Boston, the French blog author Sandrine H. has decided to go further than these “copy the look” magazine pages and analyse, dissect and expose the very essence of French style. She tackled the mission of curating emerging French designers and revealing their personal creative approach and style inspirations.

We truly appreciated her process and answered all her questions about the genesis of HANDS OF OIZO’s first collection: “The Metamorphosis”.

ICONIC FRENCH dug into our designer Blandine B.’s cultural and stylistic background, to find out the precise inspirations that gave birth to each of our hybrid accessories.

Our ‘PANNIERS Waist-Belt’© (below) for example, is not only designed to create a daring silhouette, but also meets a very practical need: it comes up as a new alternative to carrying a handbag in your social outings, by providing a ‘hands-free’ yet stylish way to have all you need at hand, with its two large pockets on the hips.

Further than its contemporary and practical concept, it also refers to historical inspirations, like the ‘sack-back gown’ or ‘robe à la Française’ from the 18th century, which was worn over a ‘panniers’ structure:

For more details on the original concept of our designs, read here the full interview!

Many Thanks to ICONIC FRENCH!