Born near Bordeaux, Isabelle is the youngest of a family of 7 children. Sweet and sensible, nicknamed the « little one » (la petite) Isabelle was always a dreamer.
So whilst her school friends were playing with dolls, Isabelle; whose aunt was a dressmaker, played with fabric swatches – she sewed, unpicked, put together and stuck, borrowed her brothers‘ jackets, her dad’s sweaters and her sisters‘ skirts to come up with her own style
Curious and determined, she discovered knitting and wanted to know everything about it: garter stitch, cross stitch even crochet – she knew it all!
Wool is a symbol of softness and warmth and was the starting block for her love of knitwear.
At 15 Isabelle became more fashion forward and came to Paris – getting to know the local cafes, museums, libraries and discovering the magic of books and especially photography – ‚an art that brings sensitivity and depth to others aesthetics by excellence‘
After passing her exams, Isabelle registered at La Sorbonne and worked weekends at the flea market – a goldmine of information, “ I remember the first thing I bought, it was stripey top and reminded me of the actress Jean Seberg. That was the day I realised that the most beautiful things weren’t necessarily the most complicated but could simply be made from beautiful material and in perfect proportion“
She wildly bought things ‚from vintage stands in St Ouen: like a simple sweaters‘, giving them a makeover and selling them to her friends at university. During this time she developed real passion and became the ’style guru‘ in her group.
In 1989 she got married in a simple white dress from the early 1900s that she discovered in an attic
In 1992 she decided to launch her own brand
‚We are all ‚les petites de quelqu’un’…with all the emotion that this implies. In the spirit of being the youngest in my family, to me Les Petites was the obvious choice‘
