At the end of the afternoon, children are playing on the cobblestones of the courtyard. On leaving school, near the Château-Landon metro station, their parents made a detour to the grounds of the oldest fire station in Paris. A sign of renewal? Probably ! Abandoned since 2005, and after two and a half years of work, the place now houses “the biggest accelerator of ecological and societal transition for the fashion and luxury sector in Europe”, in the words of its director, Maeva Bessis.
Raw materials showroom, shared workshop, photo studio…
Inaugurated in 2021, La Caserne is a project carried out jointly by the French industrial group Impala and the concept store L’Exception. About forty responsible fashion start-ups are in residence there for three years. Covering an area of 4,000 m2, the incubator provides them with premises at low rent, but also access to regular training by experts in the sector.
In addition, La Caserne gives them access to tools to facilitate their development. “We have created a responsible raw materials showroom with Nona Source, which recycles fabrics and leathers not used by the major brands of the LVMH group. We have also set up a shared 100 m2 workshop, a photo studio and a lab which allows test the durability of products, design 3D prototypes…”, explains Maeva Bessis. An ecosystem that should serve as a springboard for emerging brands.
The start-ups, selected on file by professionals and after the vote of the general public on Instagram, belong to the sectors of textiles, leather goods and fashion accessories. Among the young shoots in residence? Circle Sportswear and its 100% recyclable and versatile pieces, Awake and its watches made from recycled and biosourced materials, or Benjamin Benmoyal, who uses old audio and video magnetic tapes to create clothing. Every week, the place is taken over by companies for conferences, training days or evenings.
Because La Caserne wants to open its doors to brands in line with its values. “Major groups, such as Kering and LVMH, play the game and allow us to balance the economic model, underlines Maeva Bessis. And we make it a point of honor to collaborate with the associations and schools around to have a strong local anchorage. ” The vegetarian restaurant Ora and the techno club Carbone also participate in neighborhood life.
Positive impact incubators are developing in the world of luxury. Thus, Look Forward, owned by the Showroomprivé group, designed by David Dayan and Thierry Petit in 2015. Its mission? Supporting companies aspiring to evolve fashion towards a more virtuous model from their very beginnings. Each year, around twenty start-ups benefit from a free mentoring program and various resources on the group’s premises. And this, without participation. Another example: in Amsterdam, the Fashion for Good initiative is worth a detour. The program of this accelerator is spread over three months, with one objective: to accelerate innovations related to textiles and sustainable development.