Paule Ka calls on founder Serge Cajfinger

By

Anaïs Lerévérend

Translated by
Jennifer Braun

Published
Sep 11, 2017

The revival of Paule Ka will actually be a return to its roots. Having just been bought by Xavier Marie, founder of Maisons du Monde and also a majority shareholder of the group Rautureau and Bonton, the Parisian label will bring back its founder and original creator Serge Cajfinger.

Cajfinger, who launched the brand in 1987 is making his return, six years after he sold his shares to private equity firm Change Capital Partners and three years after leaving the artistic direction. He was appointed vice president in charge of ready-to-wear collections, a role he immediately accepted in order to begin preparing his first collection, the pre-fall 2018 collection, which will be presented in November, before launching fall/winter 2018 and celebrating the house’s thirty years during Paris Fashion Week in March. Meanwhile, at the end of September, the house will present only a capsule signed by the studio for spring-summer 2018.

For now, vice-president of Paule Ka, Serge Cajfinger does not yet have an official president to report to. The change of ownership has indeed caused the departure of the duo currently in place for the last two years - Alithia Spuri-Zampetti, the artistic director, and also Catherine Vautrin, CEO. The fashion house is slowly announcing the next steps following the takeover and has still not named he who will fix the strategy.

Despite international investments in recent years, Paule Ka has not succeeded in meeting the growth targets set by its previous owner, Change Capital Partners, with sales remaining stable at around 50 million euros.