Paule Ka

Paule Ka is a French ready-to-wear brand, created in 1988 by Serge Cajfinger.

Born in Lille^[1] in 1955, Serge Cajfinger spent his childhood in Brazil;^[1] he returned to France in 1968.^[2]At the age of 19, he opens with his mother and his aunt Paule a multi-brand store in Lille. In 1988,^[3] he creates in the Sentier,^[4] a Paris textile district specialized in cheaper ready-to-wear, the Paule Ka^{[n. 1]} brand, with an up-market positioning,^[6] close to but cheaper than Sonia Rykiel,^[7] "very inspired by Jacky Kennedy and Audrey Hepburn".^[1] The brand's style is geometric^[8] and sober^[9] with some lasting characteristics such as black dresses^[10] and the use of bows.^[11]

A 350 m² flagship store opened in 2006, at rue Saint-Honoré, Paris.^[1]

In 2007, the Caisse des dépôts et consignations, a French financial organization, took a 17% interest in the company.^[1]

French politician Ségolène Royal^[12] · ^{[n. 2]} and Cécilia Attias,^[8] Nicolas Sarkozy's former wife, are customers.

Other lines

Following the launch in 2010 of a small collection of evening dresses called Black Carpet,^[14] Serge Cajfinger has dressed Leighton Meester, Rihanna, Taylor Swift, Julie Bowen and Jennifer Carpenter.^[15] In 2010, he designed a capsule collection for La Redoute, the largest French mail order retailer, presented by Agyness Deyn.^[3]

Notes

Sources