RETORI presents Chapter 02 at Paris Couture Week A tribute to evolving identity in the heart of Saint-Germain-des-Prés

RETORI, the Italian luxury maison led by creative director Salma Rachid, unveiled its new collection Chapter 02 during Paris Couture Week. The event was held at 18 Rue Visconti, in the heart of Saint-Germain-des-Prés, once the residence and atelier of the renowned French decorator and patron Madeleine Castaing. The location reflects a worldview shaped by aesthetic freedom, irreverence, and poetic layering. A place where art and life merged, Castaing’s salon was known as a crossroads of ideas and objects that told the story of a life lived with intensity. RETORI restores the site’s original creative energy, making it an integral part of the Chapter 02 narrative, paying tribute to a figure who embodied independent thinking and visionary imagination. For this presentation, RETORI initiated a creative dialogue with Rooms Studio, a Tbilisi-based design atelier founded by Nata Janberidze and Keti Toloraia, known for their ability to reinterpret the past through a contemporary and evolving sensibility. Together, they reimagined the evocative atmosphere of Castaing’s universe, transforming Rue Visconti into a canvas on which RETORI’s creations shine as modern relics, intimate objects capable of narrating a personal and emotional journey.

The Chapter 02 collection stems from a collaboration with artist Miko Veldkamp, born in Suriname to Dutch and Indonesian parents, whose work centers on themes of identity and belonging. His richly layered and symbolically charged art inspired an exploration of human complexity, reflected in the lines and materials of the garments. Each silhouette is conceived as a companion in one's personal journey of transformation: voluminous coats, reversible outerwear, and wool cabans in Double fabric interact with fluid-cut dresses, airy skirts, and versatile pieces such as the iconic vest-dress. A recurring element throughout the collection is the mangosteen, a fruit native to Southeast Asia, reimagined as a metallic detail symbolizing Veldkamp’s cultural roots. Shirts and shirt dresses, along with jacquard wool jackets and cabans, feature graphic patterns inspired by the artist's visual language, offering a layered and dynamic interpretation of fashion.

The menswear offering expands with packable wool outerwear designed for travel, paired with total knit looks that blend functionality with sophistication. These include overshirts, tailored trousers, waffle-knit T-shirts, and relaxed-fit blazers in cashmere and silk that reinterpret formality with ease and elegance. Denim, reimagined through a sartorial lens, emerges as one of the collection’s technical highlights. Jackets and trousers for both men and women are crafted from 100% wool in a striking two-tone combination of green and orange. The collection also introduces a special line made from premium materials such as cashmere, linen, silk, and virgin wool: mélange knitwear, turtlenecks, dresses, and garments in neutral tones like clay, along with seasonal color variations, enrich the wardrobe with a trans-seasonal spirit. Bridging Chapter 01 and Chapter 02 are tricolor leather bandanas, reinterpreted through Veldkamp’s visual codes and transformed into metaphors for identity in motion. The color palette itself reflects this journey, moving between earthy hues—clay, butter, taupe, chocolate—and vibrant accents such as amaranth, orange, green, and iris, in an unexpected and rich chromatic dialogue. A collection that reaffirms fashion as a narrative art form. Chapter 02 is not merely a collection, but an invitation to embrace one’s evolving identity through garments that accompany each step of transformation. It is a testament to the brand’s commitment to an authentic, culturally resonant, and deeply human vision of luxury.