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WORDS: AMY BRADFORD (INSIDE STORY) PICTURE: CHRISTIAN SIMONEPIETRI/SYGMA/CORBIS (INSIDE STORY, PORTRAIT), ANDREA FERRARI (RAINBOW BRIGHTS, MAIN IMAGE)
I N S I D E S T O RY R EP E T TO It may seem strange for ELLE Decoration to feature a company that makes ballet pumps – but Repetto, established in 1947, is much more than a fashion brand. Its heritage represents a unique mix of craft and culture, and its historic boutique will set interiors lovers’ hearts aflutter. Even its logo, which is suggestive of typewriter script, has an artistic pedigree, having been designed by Surrealist artist Leonor Fini (named as a Style Icon in our June 2012 issue). Visit Repetto’s Paris store – open since 1959 – on rue de la Paix and you’ll get a sense of the label’s history. Amid crystal chandeliers and crimson seating, shoes in every colour of the rainbow are laid out on glass-topped tables featuring delicate metal bases that recall the tracery of shoe ribbons and bows. Walls of pink satin pointe shoes
are a reminder that this is still a professional business – Repetto has kitted out the likes of Rudolf Nureyev and Mikhail Baryshnikov. Indeed, brand founder Rose Repetto’s son, Roland Petit, was a dancer and choreographer, and her first ballet shoes were created for him. It was Brigitte Bardot who made Repetto a symbol of French style. In 1956, she asked for a dance shoe to be turned into streetwear, and wore it in the film And God Created Woman; today, her ‘Cendrillon’ pump is the mainstay of the collection. In the 1970s, Serge Gainsbourg (pictured) – who suhered from sensitive feet – fell for the ‘Zizi’ lace-up jazz shoes created for dancer Zizi Jeanmaire; Repetto made him a brand ambassador. So, if you fancy following in the footsteps of Bardot or Gainsbourg, walk this way. From £185 (repetto.com).
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3 2 1 ‘Oval’ bowl by Martti Rytkönen, £810, Kosta Boda (kostaboda.com) 2 Shelving, £4,234 as pictured, Cubit (cubit-shop.com) 3 ‘Colour into Liquid Air’ by Gracjana RejmerCánovas. Until March 23; Platform Gallery at Habitat, 208 King’s Road, London SW3 (habitat.co.uk)
RAINBOW BRIGHTS Want to add colour to your world? Take inspiration from the vivid shades used for the ‘Happy Oece, Happy Home’ project in Milan by Spotti and Studiopepe for USM (above), or marvel at artist Gracjana Rejmer-Cánovas’s jewel-toned textile hangings (3), on show at Habitat’s Platform gallery. Then check out Cubit’s stacking shelves (2) in 15 new shades, including Indigo, Jungle Green and Fuchsia. Complete the look with Swedish brand Kosta Boda’s rainbow-hued ‘Oval’ bowls (1).
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