Today we’re talking to Julie Charvet Robinne, founder of L’Envers, a Spanish knitwear label that produces its collection with local manufacturers. Julie’s great-great-great-grandfather Alfred Charvet opened a wool mill in the north of France in 1820 and her great-grandfather later specialised in the production of linen fabrics. After studying economics, Julie worked in various fashion companies, including Petit Bateau. With L’Envers, she not only wants to implement a sustainable concept. She also wants to create transparency in her product. For example, she uses yak wool from Mongolia, which is 30 times warmer than sheep’s wool, and focuses on upcycling, occasionally using surplus cotton and wool textiles not used by the LVMH group’s luxury fashion brands.
IRMA: How did the idea of L’Envers start in 2015 and how did it evolve into what it is today?
JULIE CHARVET ROBINNE: It was during an interview for a fast fashion brand in 2014 that I took a closer look at fashion, its players and how it works, and I had watched the documentary The True Cost, which opened my eyes to how the industry works, or doesn’t work. It was a revelation and instead of continuing the recruitment process for that brand, I decided to create my own brand and go against what I had discovered.
This is how L’Envers was born. The name is apt (L’Envers means “the opposite” in French), as it represents the company’s refusal to operate like all fashion brands that produce in large quantities, often in distant countries and with deplorable working conditions.
Launching a fashion brand is also an ode to transmission and family heritage, a reminder of my family roots. Both my families have always worked in the textile industry in Armentieres, in the north of France, a former French stronghold of spinning, knitting and linen. In 1820, my great-great-great-grandfather opened the largest woollen mill of the time.
Nearly 10 years of creation, challenges and the joy of dressing with confidence women who are looking for high quality pieces knitted with slowness, softness and sense.
IRMA: How do you find your knitters and how do you manage to make all the pieces look the same even though they are handmade by different knitters?
JULIE CHARVET ROBINNE: Our family run workshop, 2 hours from our home, was an immediate partner in the development of the brand and has been with us ever since. We’ve grown together and helped them buy new knitting machines to improve and increase their production capacity. A real shared adventure and a thirst to keep alive this ancestral know-how that is being lost.
I found my workshop thanks to my network and my tenacity, and I spent a lot of time searching and finding it.
Each piece is individually knitted and therefore truly unique. That’s the beauty of craftsmanship and knowing that each piece has been knitted just for you.
IRMA: How much does your environment influence your design? Where do you find ideas to develop your business and new designs?
JULIE CHARVET ROBINNE: I find my inspiration by reading art books, browsing vintage shops and visiting exhibitions, so it’s important for me to get out of the countryside and be inspired in the city. I also travel to take a breather and be inspired by other cities. I also travel to take a breather and get inspiration from other cultures.
IRMA: Your website reads like a magazine and gives a lot of information about your product. How important is it for you to continue to tell a story?
JULIE CHARVET ROBINNE: Telling a story is what I love and what I prefer to do in my job. When you buy a piece from L’Envers, you’re not just buying a piece, you’re entering a world, you’re getting to know the craftswoman who knitted the garment and you’re understanding where the raw material comes from.
IRMA: You moved from the city to the country, what do you like best about living in the country?
JULIE CHARVET ROBINNE: Being a businesswoman and a mother of 3 children requires a lot of energy, so living in the country is essential to recharge my batteries and rest. I love the duality of living in the countryside and working/being inspired in the city.
IRMA: Is there a place you dream of living?
JULIE CHARVET ROBINNE: By the sea, to go surfing!
IRMA: A wish come true for your business.
JULIE CHARVET ROBINNE: To develop my brand all over the world, but always in a sustainable way! And for my children to take over.
