Turning an unfortunate incident to his advantage during his last year at business school in Paris, Arthur de Soultrait applied for an internship with a small company in the US. One week after taking up his job, he was informed that the company was going bankrupt. Luckily for Arthur, in his suitcase was a selection of tasteful ties he had brought over from France, and he put his young sales skills to work in order to raise the money he needed to return home. With the considerable funds he collected, not only did he return home, he even created his own line of 100% silk ties under the label, “Vicomte A.”. This line was closely followed by a selection of belts, and brightly colored polo shirts, only to experience further success by attracting the likes of young businessmen.
The Vicomte A. brand soon became distinguished with luxury, classical chic, emboldened by bright and daring colors, and an inimitable finish in matching colors and prints with the lining and the seams. Today, Vicomte A. produces a total look, from casual sportswear (including shirts, sweaters, driving shoes, smart house slippers, 48 hour travel bags), to hunting attire, a line for polo teams, and a woman’s and children’s ready to wear collection. With the upcoming opening of the Vicomte A. flagship store in Kuwait, we interview the founder himself about his exciting business.
As a brand, what is the Vicomte A. vision?
Vicomte A. is a young Polo and sportswear brand at heart. We are classical, yet non-traditional, fun and fresh. As a young team, we all love fashion, and we design for the younger generation.
How did Vicomte A.develop as a brand?
At first, the signature product for Vicomte A. was the line of ties. One year later, we wanted to make the Vicomte A. logo famous, and then we expanded the line into polo shirts for the first two years. The shirts were loved by young customers and picked up popularity in Paris and other big cities. With that success, we expanded the team, the brand, the quality of the fabrics we use, and our next aim was to go globally. Now we carry a men’s and women’s line, and soon kids’.
What will the Vicomte A.boutique in Kuwait include?
It will include all of our collections, as it will be one of our main flagship stores in the world, it will also be one of our biggest flagship stores. Our brand new concept that we are launching soon will be a part of the Kuwait store, making it one our most exciting Vicomte A. stores worldwide.
What do you think of the local and regional market, do you think the your product fits well with our region?
Yes, absolutely. We know we have a loyal customer base from what we have seen with our store in St. Tropez and another recent visit to Dubai. People here are very well-cultured, well-traveled, and they love easy-wear clothing that is simply stylish. Because we know that customers here are lovers of style, we felt that they would interact well with our brand.
Does the Vicomte A. collection change every year? Or does it have one common recurring theme?
For every season, there are two parts to our collection. The first part illustrates the pure Vicomte A. style which we see with every season. The second part has a story with every collection, based on what we see is fashionable and current with the Vicomte A. customer. We take a story that is different from our core branding, or our core style, and expand upon it. We take an interesting story and give it a Vicomte A. element.
So what is the inspiration, or story, for this summer?
With the new collection, our story illustrates the new traveler, discovering new places that surprise him as he travels all the cities of the world. This, in turn, is reflected in his style with new materials and fabrics that we’ve incorporated. The collection is suited for the world traveler, including cargo chic essentials with an innovative, futuristic edge. At the same time, it is easy to wear and flexible, with vibrant colors.
What is the signature Vicomte A. style?
The main link in every collection includes all the details and quality that goes into making each garment, as well as the bright colors we like to work with. We employ only the best cottons from Peru, or Italy, and most of our products are produced in Europe, an aspect that is very hard to come by nowadays due to costing difficulties for mass market production. The colors are always young and fresh and our details are known to be interesting to make the garment appealing inside and out. One unique fabric, such as a double-sided kind, would make a traditional blazer seem lighter, and even more stylish than the usual.
Vicomte A will be opening soon in phase II of the Avenues. For more information, please visit vicomte-a.com.
