Sonia Rykiel is a fashion boutique that is definitely worth a visit during your stay in our boutique hotel on Haussmann Boulevard. The boutique is known for the Poor Boy Sweater. The knitwear designs and new fashion techniques made Sonia Rykiel the “Queen of Knits”. The Sonia Rykiel label was founded in 1968 upon the opening of the first store with clothes, accessories and fragrances.
Sonia Rykiel was born as Sonia Flis. She was born to Jewish parents on 25 May 1930. Her mother was from Russia and her father was a watchmaker from Romania. In 1948 she was employed to dress the window displays for the Parisian textile store, Grande Maison de Blanc. In 1953 she married Sam Rykiel, the owner of boutique Laura. Through her husband she got in contact with fabricants that where interested in her self made clothes.
In 1968 she opened her first store in the Rue de Grenelle. She sold clothes that gives women another imago. Freedom instead of elegance. Sonia Rykiel was on a crusade against corsets and bras. Her sweaters where most of the time striped or black. They looked like they got shrunken in the laundry, but were made from the best textiles. One of her first clients was Audrey Hepburn. Clothes from the label of Rykiel are being sold worldwide in exclusive stores. In 2009 Sonia Rykiel got invited to design lingerie for H&M. In some interior stores you will find blankets, plaids and pillows that are designed by Sonia Rykiel.
For the 40 year old anniversary of the label they organized a special double fashion show. The first part was designed by Sonia but the surprise was the second part of the show for Sonia. It was organized by her daughter Nathalie and the clothes were designed by colleague designers with the theme “This is how they see the fashion of Sonia Rykiel”.
Sonia liked to wore the clothes from her own label. Her favorite colors were dark green, brown, navy and black garments. Rykiel said “I hate wasting time getting dressed. I like to put something on and just think: Yes. That’s it.” When she was tired she liked to dress very simply. Rykiel was also known for her distinctive hairstyle, a red hair cut into a bob with a heavy fringe. Sonia Rykiel passed away in 2016 at the age of 86 and was caused by the complications of Parkinson’s disease.
After your visit to the Sonia Rykiel boutique you can enjoy a nice cup of coffee in our luxury hotel in Paris 8.