by Sabina
The Parisian Edit:
Vintage Inspired French Style Knitwear
b.Fleurs by Sabina is the debut capsule collaboration, co-designed by b.Fleurs Founder and Creative Director, Moni Wang and Parisian journalist and style icon, Sabina Socol.
Born and created together across continents under lockdown, their combined mutual love of thrifting Parisian vintage mixed with a 90’s reference has been designed with a focus on Sabina’s relaxed, effortless style, designed to be worn together as soft layering pieces, offering wardrobe solutions through a core knitwear edit for any season.
‘I’ve simply just always been a sucker for knitwear! I think it’s so soft, comfortable and flattering, while always giving off a laid back vibe. I love wearing knits all year round, no matter the season.’ – Sabina Socol
‘Working with Sabina was such a pleasure and beautifully like-minded – her instinctive style and references were an extension of my mood board, we had a mutual understanding of how we envisage staple knitwear any season’ – Moni Wang, b.Fleurs
The exclusive capsule offers five limited edition pieces as key wardrobe staples to solve every knitwear styling need.
A mini dress is fitted with frill edge and side split detail, tops feature retro square necklines with subtle collar, all incorporating fine pointelle textures alongside a two piece relaxed chunky knit cardigan, worn with a matching ribbed crop top, all created using soft wool and mohair.
A muted palette of soft pastel shades mixed alongside pistachio green and caramel nude tones allows for easy neutral layering.
‘I loved the vintage inspired aesthetic of the b.Fleurs brand. It just resonates with my style so much. I think that Moni and I just look at the same things for inspiration and find the same things beautiful.’
‘I like my wardrobe to be timeless, vintage inspired and always a little bit sexy and feminine.’ – Sabina Socol
‘During the summer I’m into small knitted tops and for fall, I love cardigans and short dresses. I also feel like knitwear kind of implements a vintage feel to the garments, which I’m all about.’ – Sabina Socol
‘My essentials for fall are obviously cardigans, which I like to wear open with a small top underneath, or closed, as tops. And the little short dress that can transition easily from late summer, if worn with bare legs and mules, to fall with a pair of tights and some knee-high boots.’ – Sabina Socol
SABINA SOCAL Q&A
– What drew you to the b.Fleurs aesthetic, how did you discover the brand?
I loved the vintage inspired aesthetic of the brand. It just resonates with mine and my style so much. I think that Moni and I just look at the same things for inspiration, and find the same things beautiful. I could just tell right away, and I could tell that that’s what would make the collaboration work.
– What inspired you to collaborate?
I immediately felt that we would have the same inspirations and goals for the collections, because our aesthetic and taste is so similar. And I was right about that.
– What was the inspiration for this collaboration? How did you envisage your designs taking shape, what was your approach to starting this collaboration?
As I always work for collaborations like these, I start to think about what I fundamentally want to wear at this time, what’s missing from my wardrobe. I ask myself ‘what would be my dream piece this season?’ and it just starts from there. I think it really transpires from the collection too.
– How did you share your mutual ideas with Moni the designer given the distance and restrictions of lockdown, what was the developed design process?
I sent Moni some (badly drawn) sketches with details of collars, shapes, and materials I envisioned for the pieces, and she immediately figured out what I was envisioning and added her unique touches.
– How did you find this unique way of working during lockdown?
Working together from so far away (distance and also culture-wise) was an extremely interesting process to me. I’m always looking for new challenges and to open myself to the world, and cultures I’m not familiar with, so for me, it made me want to do the collaboration even more. And I’m glad to say that it was much easier than I anticipated, everything went very smoothly !
– This collaboration has been a celebration of two cultures unifying together as a meeting of two like minded creatives, what does this collaboration mean to you?
I myself grew up multicultural, so I’m always curious to learn about other cultures than mine, see how we can communicate and work together. There is nothing more mind opening than this in life; it’s what I’ve always believed.
– What are your styling tips?
I always have my base, which is usually a pair of jeans or nice high waisted pants and a manly coat, and then I build my outfit around it. I believe this is one of the things that makes a personal style.
– What style influences you?
I’m influenced by a lot of different things when it comes to my personal style. It can be directly from other brands (especially during fashion weeks), but mostly from vintage. I’ve been thrifting since as long as I can remember, when it was way harder to find good vintage stores and offers and I’ve always loved it. I also like to take inspiration from pop culture; movies, video clips, tv shows…
– Tell us about your fashion/editorial background?
I studied communication and journalism in Paris and did a lot of internships at fashion magazines during that time. I then worked as a freelance writer before entering a full time position at a well known magazine in Paris. I quit it three years ago to try and work for my own and create my business.
– How do you approach Paris Fashion Week and your wardrobe planning for this?
Usually, fashion weeks are an extremely exciting time style wise, because they allow me to get out of my comfort zone and try new things. I like to pick out looks from the brands I attend the shows of and mix them with my personal pieces. I have no idea how this season is going to turn out though, because of the current circumstances, so we’ll see !
– Tell us about your favourite places to go in Paris?
In Paris, my favourite thing to do is to hang out in my neighborhood, which is full of cute little spots. Actually, there is always something new that pops up and I love it.
– What are your travel essentials?
It’s not fashion related, but I can’t travel without a noise blocking headphone. It’s a real game changer and I’ve used it so much the past few years. It’s a must buy for anyone who travels a lot.
– How do you pack?
At the last minute 😉
SHOP THE COLLABORATION
Check out b.Fleurs by Sabina exclusively on bfleurs.com
Photography: Ludovic James Dias
Assistant: Marion Catusse
Hair: Arnaud Boujon
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