IN CONVERSATION WITH MORGANE SÉZALORY

interview by ELISABETH BERGER WALDENEGG

Morgane Sézalory built Sézane without any of the usual credentials. No design school, no fashion-house apprenticeship, not even a shop to begin with. What started in 2008 as Les Composantes, a monthly online rendez-vous of vintage pieces she sourced and photographed herself, became France’s first online-only fashion label in 2013, taking its name from a contraction of her own. A decade on, it is a near-billion-euro house with Appartements from Paris to New York, a devoted following, and a social-impact fund, DEMAIN, running quietly through it and yet it still moves with the intimacy of something dreamt up in a Parisian bedroom. Now, with a new chapter arriving this August, Sézalory is choosing to question all of it again. We spoke about the Sézane moment, the freedom of building from the outside, what she refused to let anyone touch, and what it really means to become “the label of the future.”

On any given Saturday in Paris, there are queues outside the Appartements and girls carrying Sézane bags on every corner. What do you think is happening right now? Why does Sézane feel so of the moment?
Increasingly, I find that people are drawn to fashion that’s both enduring and unique. So much of our design language comes from vintage and from a sensitivity to detail. I think people recognise the thought that goes into each piece, from the curve of a collar to the weight of a button, or the way a sleeve falls just right.

Each piece has its own character but is also designed to fit into your life and wardrobe with minimal effort. That balance of character, versatility, and quality feels especially reassuring right now.

“French girl fashion” has become a shorthand the whole industry uses, but you were there before the phrase existed. How do you actually define it and is it still an accurate description of what Sézane is today?
I don’t believe there is one single “French girl.” What many French women share, perhaps, is an appreciation for well-made pieces that feel high-quality, beautifully cut, and are easy to return to season after season.

Yes, French style remains part of Sézane’s language, but we’re not limited by it. Our pieces are designed to be interpreted in your own way, wherever you are. It’s less about trends than instinct: mixing pieces you love, whether new or vintage, in a way that feels personal.

all images courtesy of SÉZANE

You built Sézane without the traditional fashion-industry path. Looking back, what do you think that outsider perspective gave you that someone who came up through the system might not have had?
It probably gave me a certain freedom. I didn’t have a fixed idea of how things were supposed to be done, so I relied a lot on instinct and common sense.

A significant part of Sézane’s story comes from embracing online shopping early and from building a very direct relationship with our customers. From the beginning, I wanted to share not only the pieces, but also the inspirations behind them, and to listen closely to the women wearing them. I still spend a lot of time reading the messages I receive.

That closeness has shaped the brand as much as any formal training could have. It has made us pragmatic, creative, and always willing to question ourselves. I often tell my teams that if something doesn’t feel right, it is never too late to start over.

Something new is coming soon. A big change for your brand. What was the impulse behind it, and why did you choose this moment?

I’m deeply grateful for the success Sézane has had, but I also believe that when something is going well, it is exactly the moment to keep questioning and evolving. For many years, Sézane moved very quickly. It grew through instinct, through encounters, through the joy of making things and sharing them with our community. Whilst I loved it, it meant there was not always time to step back and reflect.

Over the past year, perhaps because I was approaching forty, I began to look at things differently. I felt the need to listen more closely to what still felt true, and to let go of what no longer did. This new chapter is not a rupture. It is Sézane stepping more fully into itself: clearer in voice, stronger in vision, while honouring all that came before. Because you can love what you have created and still feel called to reveal new sides of yourself. Perhaps that is why la rentrée felt like the right moment. In France, it has always been a season of return, but also of possibility. A moment to begin again.

How much of this new chapter is surface? A new logo, new colours, new packaging and how much is it an inside shift? What is changing at Sézane on a level that won’t be immediately visible
There will be visible changes, of course: a new identity, new packaging, and a new feeling in our spaces. But none of those choices is only surface-level. Each one reflects a deeper shift at Sézane: more clarity, and a brand expressing itself with greater confidence and maturity.

The quieter changes are perhaps the most important: a more assured collection, and a clearer vision of how Sézane can continue to be part of women’s lives.

We also want to bring DEMAIN further into the light. Since 2018, the social impact fund has donated 13 million euros to 33 not-for-profit organisations across 6 countries, reaching 130,000 people. Much of that work happens quietly, but it matters deeply to us, and this new chapter is also about sharing those stories with greater clarity.

Every time a brand opens a new chapter, it risks losing something. What did you consciously protect, what simply wasn’t allowed to be touched?
For us, this new chapter was never about becoming something else, but about taking what has always been strongest and refining it.

Our commitment to quality, fair pricing, craftsmanship, and pieces that truly become part of a woman’s life remains unchanged. So does our love of vintage, and the way it continues to guide us toward design that endures.

We have spent time refining the categories that matter most to us: leather goods, knitwear, and denim. Yet the foundations remain the same: creativity, quality, and the desire to keep moving forward without losing what made people trust us in the first place.

You said in 2019: “Our goal truly is to become the label of the future.” What does that actually look like today, and has your vision of it changed since then?
The idea of becoming “the label of the future” has always been about building something that can last.

For me, that means creating pieces with thought and care, while also nurturing a world around them: a community, a way of working, and a commitment through our social impact fund DEMAIN that goes beyond clothing.

So no, the vision has not changed entirely. It has become clearer. The future is not about constant newness; it is about meaning, care, and the ability to keep moving forward while staying true to what you hold dearest.

So many celebrities wear Sézane. Is there one person you’d love to see in it who hasn’t yet?
It’s always incredibly flattering (and still a little surreal) to see such big names as Anne Hathaway or Meghan Markle choosing to bring Sézane into their wardrobes. But what feels most gratifying to me is seeing women on the streets of Paris, or anywhere else in the world, going about their everyday lives, wearing something from Sézane.

There isn’t one single person I dream of dressing. Sézane has always been about seeing each woman make the pieces her own.