French luxury house renowned for its signature striped knitwear and a playful, Left Bank intellectual style.
ORIGIN
France
PRICE TIER
luxury
Sonia Rykiel, dubbed the "Queen of Knits," founded her Parisian fashion house in 1968, championing a vision of liberated, comfortable, and sophisticated womenswear. It began when a pregnant Rykiel, unable to find soft sweaters she liked, designed her own, leading to the iconic "Poor Boy Sweater" that graced the cover of French Elle and was famously purchased in every color by Audrey Hepburn. Her designs rejected rigid formality in favor of fluid knitwear, exposed seams, and bold stripes, embodying the intellectual and artistic spirit of Saint-Germain-des-Prés. Rykiel's philosophy of "la démode" (unfashion) encouraged women to create their own style, prioritizing movement and personal expression over fleeting trends.