PARIS — Alexandra Golovanoff is celebrating the 10th anniversary of her fashion label with her first campaign, starring another quintessential Parisienne: Philippine Leroy-Beaulieu.
Known for her cashmere sweaters in a rainbow of colors, Golovanoff has cast the “Emily in Paris” star opposite Sahteene Sednaoui, the model daughter of Laetitia Casta and Stéphane Sednaoui, underscoring the transgenerational appeal of her ready-to-wear line as it targets international expansion.
The two women were photographed by Jody Rogac for the campaign, art directed by Marie-Amélie Sauvé, which broke on Tuesday on the brand’s digital channels.
A TV presenter turned designer with 127,000 followers on Instagram, Golovanoff frequently models her designs and has drafted family and friends, including designers Alexandre Mattiussi and Julie de Libran, to star in her look books.
As she gears up for her debut on the official Paris Fashion Week calendar on Sept. 29 with the presentation of her spring 2027 collection and the launch of a collaboration with Hôtel Costes, Golovanoff is ready to broaden her circle.
“We have customers who have been with us for 10 years. Some of them own 70 sweaters. They buy several each season and hold on to them,” she said.
“So the inner circle — the people who know me — are already on board and they get it. Now it’s time for the brand to be represented by other people and to take it to the next level,” she added.
As “Emily in Paris” prepares to air its sixth and final season, Golovanoff wanted to show a different side of Leroy-Beaulieu, who plays Sylvie Grateau — the stylish, sharp-tongued boss of a fictional luxury marketing firm — in the Netflix series.
“I wanted to show how cool she is in real life — someone much more authentically Parisian than the clichéd American vision of a Parisian woman,” she said.
“Because when you see her in person, she wears absolutely no makeup. She’s so natural — she just has this energy that makes you want to be just like her. And that’s exactly what you look for in an ambassador, isn’t it?” she added.
Sahteene Sednaoui
Jody Rogac/Courtesy of Alexandra Golovanoff
Sednaoui has a similarly unaffected vibe, despite growing up in fashion and previously modeling for brands including Miu Miu and A.P.C.
“She’s at the opposite career stage from Philippine. She’s 23, she’s training as an actor, so she’s really a beginner,” Golovanoff explained.
“She possesses a youthful purity that’s rare these days, I find. Young people today seem wise beyond their years. She has an innocence and a freshness that deeply move and inspire me,” she added.
Golovanoff hopes the campaign will raise the visibility of the brand, which is distributed in 40 points of sale worldwide.
The U.S. ranks as its second-biggest market, where key partners include Printemps in New York City, Jeffrey in Atlanta, Dear Paris in Houston and Serenella in Palm Beach.
“That’s where we’re focusing our efforts,” Golovanoff said. “But there are lots of other markets still to tap, like Germany, for instance.”
She selects her partners with care, favoring multibrand boutiques with a loyal customer base in order to limit overproduction, especially as her products are never discounted.
“We do the opposite of everyone else: instead of setting minimum purchase requirements, we set maximums. Boutiques have a spending cap with us, based on what we consider an ideal product mix and what they can reasonably sell,” she explained.
For her 10th anniversary collection, Golovanoff is reviving 10 of the brand’s key colorways, including the signature green of her debut knitwear line in 2016, which consisted of just two styles named Mila and Virgile, after her children.
Since then, she’s expanded into swimwear, denim, tailoring, leather and handbags and branched out into interior design. For next spring, she will introduce her first tailored coat and dress pants, and she plans to revisit her handbag collaboration with Pierre Hardy with three new styles, set to hit shelves this fall.
The five-piece collaboration with Costes felt natural, since the hotel is just a few steps from her store on Rue du Mont Thabor near Place Vendôme. Golovanoff has designed items including a luxe sweatsuit, a chocolate leather baseball cap and a version of her bestselling buttoned cardigan with patches depicting the hotel’s facade.
“I think it’s the most beautiful hotel in Paris. The quality of the finishes is simply incredible,” she enthused.
Joining the Paris Fashion Week calendar has helped Golovanoff shed the impostor syndrome that plagued her in the early days, when she juggled designing with presenting her popular fashion show “La mode, la mode, la mode.”
“It’s a recognition of the work we’ve done and it gives me credibility,” she said. “For someone like me, it’s very important. It encourages me and tells me: ‘OK, now keep going, make your mark and hold presentations — and not just once in a while. Now you have to do it: you’re on the official schedule.’”
