France Andrevie was a French-born designer who began her career in Belgium under the name Laurent Vicci. In 1976, she risked what little money she had and moved to Paris, where she purportedly received very little support from French banks or journalists. It was the Japanese and Americans who first contributed to the incredible success of her boutique at 2 Place des Victoires in the 1st.
The work consumed Andrevie. In addition to designing the collections, she was also her own manager and accountant. She would isolate herself, working long hours in silence on her craft, often depriving herself of sleep. She lived in hotels surrounded by her cats, enchanted by the idea of waking up in a different Parisian neighborhood every morning.
Andrevie was part of the masculinization of women’s fashion in the late 70s and 80s, alongside Claude Montana, Thierry Mugler, Anne-Marie Beretta… “What I have always wanted is a mix of masculine and feminine clothes, I love the simplicity of what men wear and I've tried to reinterpret it in a feminine way, but without the froufrou that the word 'feminine' usually implies.”
France Andrevie is futuristic, new wave, other times soberer, but always pushing boundaries. Her runways were colorful, vibrant, and exciting. Linda Mason created some of the eye-catching makeup looks that marked her shows: “She had a strong vision, so strong that you could intuitively pick up on it. She wouldn't second guess your ideas she would just let you create what you felt for her.”
It is fair to describe Andrevie as she, herself, described her favorite author, Colette: “un personage d’avant-garde, en dehors des normes.” She passed away in 1984.
France Andrevie, « lionne dans le monde du prêt-a-porter. »
