Meet Thalie Paris

Tell us about how the brand started and transformed along with you.

Nathalie Dionne: Thalie Paris is an eco-luxury brand of handbags & accessories founded in Paris in 2020. The brand was created in the middle of a worldwide pandemic with a desire to explore innovative and recycled materials for french luxury leather goods.

I imagined the brand manifesto during the first Paris lockdown in March 2020. While taking a walk towards Palais de Tokyo in the 16th, where I live, I found Thalie written on a 30's Bas Relief of French sculptor Janniot. Therefore the brand's aesthetic is inspired by 30's Modern Art, Paris 16th & enigmatic Parisians who have inspired fashion photography and art throughout history, like the patron of the art Marie-Laure de Noailles at the "Le bal de la mer", wearing a dress made of marine leather or a series of images by Helmut Newton shot in the late 70s in Paris 16th.  

Thalie is also an endearing nickname, short for Nathalie, that my father used to give me as a child.

In your opinion, what are the main distinguishing features or iconic elements of the brand?

Nathalie Dionne: Thalie handbags have a definite signature, yet they are practical & minimalistic with a twist. I hope that one day I am able to say, that at Thalie we created iconic bags, which will pass through generations.

Each Thalie bag is designed to sublimate women, privileging ergonomics and movements, and durable sensual materials. At Thalie Paris, we foster the creation of a more sustainable luxury by ensuring our raw materials are sourced in eco-friendly ways by using environmentally certified suppliers, recycling materials, and using plant-based textile innovations. In fact, Thalie has been featured as one of the top 2022 vegan leather handbag brands. Thalie's cactus handbags collection has received the "PETA vegan approved” label. The material is made from cactus fiber, a plant-based material supplied by the Mexican firm Desserto. This vegan material is an OEKO-TEX-certified organic vegan material, developed and produced in sustainable farms in Mexico from the native nopal cactus.

While the “Marine leather collection” is made of Squama Lux, a recycled marine leather from discarded salmon skins of French Sushi restaurants developed by ICTYOS in Lyon France – a startup incubated at Maison des Start-ups LVMH. This collection is entirely made in France.

And last, but not least our "Upcycled" collection is manufactured from dormant stocks of leather from the luxury goods industry which otherwise might end up in landfills. Redefining ‘waste’ through the upcycle of a high-value product like leather is a very important part of our strategy in our efforts to make the fashion industry more sustainable.

What are some challenges that you have faced with your brand?

Nathalie Dionne: Thalie was launched during the pandemic, which actually, was more of an opportunity for me, as I used this time to create the brand Thalie, imagine its manifesto, design the first collection, establish relations with factories, trademark our name, test our concept, constitute a luxury advisory board, recruit our team, get our design perfected, launch Instagram and our e-shop... The list goes on… Yet it’s been quite a ride so far and in such a short period of time.

Luxury requires time… but luxury leather goods require a lot of specific know-how, plus we wanted to produce in the best ateliers in France and Italy. We did a good 18 months of R&D on testing new sustainable materials like recycled salmon leather or cactus. It also took us a little longer to get to the market, as professional buyers were not traveling to France until the end of 2021. Yet we still managed to get a lot of international press and open some of the most prestigious accounts like Bloomingdales Dubaï and L’Exception in Paris.

Could you please tell us how exactly you chose the direction of fashion and why?

Nathalie Dionne: I was formerly trained in fashion design, haute couture, and millinery. For most of my career, I designed products across all categories, from dresses to tailoring, jeans, knitwear, small accessories, jewelry, and bags, but never luxury bags.

I have always been very admirative of French “Savoir-faire” & craftsmanship in leather goods, and while I had launched my first brand in my early twenties around evening dresses, I decided this time to start with handbags - a hero category for most luxury brands and a category that needed some urgent sustainable alternative.

I realized during 2019, as I was consulting for a major French retailer in France, that there was very little to offer for truly sustainable leather goods. I had tested recycled leather from garden gloves, and pineapple leather but I did not like the feel. In 2019, I met three engineers from ICTYOS, who were working on recycling discarded skins of salmon from sushi shops. I found this material so luxurious and thought it would be exciting to test it as a replacement for exotic leather on handbags, as it resembles python actually. The first LIVIA made of recycled salmon was created, and the result was stunning! We presented it at Première Classe in Paris in February 2020 and it was an immediate hit.

Is there any other line of work / alternative field that you would ever consider?

Nathalie Dionne: I love startups, ecosystems, and venture capital. Launching Thalie has allowed me to be part of accelerator programs like HEC Challenge + or Greentech with Village Capital.

Part of launching your business is fundraising, which I got great at while connecting with top luxury funds and investors. Actually, on the Thalie advisory board, we have the ex-CEO of Jil Sander and Givenchy.

As an expert from the industry, what are your thoughts on the fashion standards and trends of today?

Nathalie Dionne: I think trends are very scattered and mainly Instagram is a vector for trends. It’s easy to find what key styles are worn by top influencers. Trends are also created by brands investing more money into sponsored products and collaborations with KOLs (key opinion leaders).

What or whom do you consider your greatest inspiration?

Nathalie Dionne: For handbags, I quite admire the quality craftsmanship of Hermès’ Kelly, the metal pieces, and rare leathers. The Constance is my favorite, although 2.55 and the double flap is really a masterpiece!

I’ve always been admirative of Balenciaga’s '60s architecture dresses or Chanel’s timeless designs, especially from the ’30s. Also visiting Yves Saint Laurent‘s Haute Couture Atelier and office before it shut was a privileged moment.

I also saw his last haute couture show at Beaubourg when I arrived in Paris in 2002. I always found YSL’s collection full of colors and energy, I love his quotes on women & couture, very pure, sensitive, and elegant.

More recently, I met with Spanish designer Arturo Obegero from the Federation of Haute Couture, a rising star designer whom we are collaborating with on developing a special bag for Spring '23.

What is the best part about your profession?

Nathalie Dionne: Creating a brand as driven as Thalie to make change happen toward a sustainable future and seeing a beautiful community grow around it - is a wonderful feeling. I love to create new collections always with a differentiated point of view. I also very much enjoyed the travels and meeting so many interesting and passionate people from the fashion industry.

What is your secret to success?

Nathalie Dionne: The secret to success is to remember to enjoy the ride and keep dreaming big!

Pictures: PR