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Minimalist womenswear label Baserange broadens international footprint with Tokyo opening
French womenswear label Baserange was founded in Toulouse in 2012 by a multinational designer duo - Blandine Legait hails from France and Los Angeles-based Marie-Louise Mogensen from Denmark - and ever since its inception it adopted an international outlook. While still based in Toulouse, Baserange has gone places and, after opening a shop in Melbourne, Australia, it recently inaugurated its second monobrand store, in Tokyo. The new, 40-square-metre store opened at the end of spring, as a partnership between Baserange and one of its Japanese distributors. It is located in the Shibuya district and is entirely dedicated to Baserange’s signature fashion, at once minimalistic and feminine.
The label’s founders have given themselves another year to open their third store, this time a directly operated one, in Los Angeles, where they have roots. The stores’ interiors are virtually bare, highlighting the label’s underwear and clothes, made with materials like piqué cotton, silk and alpaca, and whose seemingly straightforward, clean silhouettes emphasise the label’s commitment to a natural, tactile feel.
Meanwhile, the product range continues to broaden: Baserange introduced more ready-to-wear items, notably oversize knitwear made in France and silk dresses produced in Turkey, and will soon feature a few unisex ones, anticipating a fuller wardrobe from the Autumn/Winter 2018-19. The label’s basics, from tops to socks, will be replicated into a menswear line, which will remain relatively affordable, as they too will be partly produced in Portugal. Prices currently range from €75 for a long-sleeved top to €110 for a dress and up to €270 for silk items.
Baserange’s line extension efforts have been well received by retailers, and for the Spring 2019 the label expects to be distributed via 250 multibrand stores. This year, it acquired a number of new clients in France, such as the Galeries Lafayette Haussmann department store in Paris, and others in Marseille, Montpellier, Bordeaux and Lyon.
For the first time in some years, Baserange exhibited at the Man/Woman trade show in Paris last June, where it met new buyers as well as its loyal pool of international clients. Having a brand-new pre-collection was crucial for such an early showcase. The pre-collection already accounts for half of the label’s business, and its founders expect it to quickly become more important than the main collection.
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