Jérôme Dreyfuss was born in Nancy in 1974. He moved to Paris at the age of 17 to study fashion at l'École Esmode, but left three months later to undertake a work placement at John Galliano. Here the budding womenswear designer learnt his craft in the design studio for two years, before leaving to join the team at Elite Model Management in Paris. Jérôme launched his debut womenswear collection, Couture à Porter, in 1998, when he was just 23 years old. Bold and elegant, with a quirky sense of humour, it placed the young Paris based designer firmly on the fashion map and prompted the press to pronounce him, “The enfant terrible of French fashion”. Jérôme won the prestigious Andam Award for Fashion in 1998, and designed the stage costumes for Michael Jackson’s last album one year later.
Jérôme made the career-defining transition from ready-to-wear to accessories in 2002. “One evening I was having dinner with my girl friends when I noticed that none of them were carrying handbags,” he explains of his decision. “When I asked them why, they said it was because they couldn’t find a bag without a logo. So I said, ‘Ok, I’m going to make you one!’
