Branding flirty fun BY GEORGETTE GOUVEIA
T
he joy in living — what the French call joie de vivre — permeates every aspect of Le Frou Frou Couture. The 1-year-old company’s brightly colored signature canvas handbags — festooned with fringe and feathers and lined in gingham and polka dots — vie with sequined caps and boldly patterned scarves and caftans for the visitor’s attention amid repainted and retooled antiques. There are even handbags on shelves in the kitchen, the color of caffe latte, of course. The company’s logo, business cards and postcards are shocking pink, as are the silky pouches in which your purchases are slipped before being bound up in a black shopping bag with the pink logo and finished with a black-and-white polka dot bow. Even the name Le Frou Frou Couture — which nods to a British Vogue description of the strapless black Elizabeth Emanuel gown that announced then Lady Diana as a future fashion icon — says flirty, feminine, fun. Just like company founder Antonia Raimbault, who greets us in short black shorts and a leopard print blouse accented with a black neckerchief and matching espadrille sandals that complement her raven tresses, black being her favorite color. But the playfulness belies a well-thoughtout business model. Antonia shows us a black-and-white school notebook filled with ideas for the company’s name. She was advised not to go with Le Frou Frou Couture, because people might not be able to pronounce it. (It’s froo froo coo TOUR.) In the end, she resisted the temptation to dumbdown her brand. But just in case she went with a different name, husband Peter shows us the various domain names they purchased. He is the other half of the story — as much involved with the business as she is, painting the showroom furnishings and spruc-
Le Frou Frou Couture canvas handbags combine classic styles with fun details – a star, the French royal fleur de lis, daisies and polka dots.
