PARIS — A golden tin foil covering the facade of a space in the Marais and an invitation to passersby to rip it and peek inside are marking Des Phemmes’ first steps in Paris.

The Italian brand founded by Salvo Rizza is pivoting its attention to the French capital by setting up a temporary showroom at 10 Rue Charles-Francois Dupuis, as it looks to further expand internationally.

To be sure, the label — which made a name for itself with its ‘90s aesthetic of unfussy silhouettes heavy on sizzling embellishments and tie-dye — resonates more abroad than in the domestic market. In an appointment with WWD earlier this week, Rizza said that the U.S. alone accounts for almost 70 percent of total sales, which last year were flat at 2 million euros.

Yet the designer is not really after a drastic acceleration. “Everybody is running like crazy, especially in terms of presentations and shows. I want to do the opposite, and go slow,” he said. For one, he sat out the Milan Fashion Week frenzy, mindful that in a season of big debuts the attention span for a brand of Des Phemmes’ size would have likely been drastically reduced. So Rizza skipped the presentation format of the past in favor of a tight selection of one-on-one appointments, mostly with retailers.

“The good thing of being a small label is that you have the flexibility to change your strategy and do whatever you feel like doing,” said Rizza. “If you look around, there’s this urge to shock at all costs. It feels like the real reason why we do what we do has got lost… For me it’s about having a closer relationship with clients, it’s all about that human aspect.”

That’s why as of late he has been focusing on strengthening the bond with retail partners via capsule collections, events and special activations, as he did in the past with Moda Operandi, still one of the prime stockists of the brand. 

“The thing is that there’s a request for new and young brands abroad, they look for something different from what’s on the market, something more niche and less easy to find,” said Rizza, underscoring how such an inclination could benefit his brand.

Hence the activation in the Marais, where Rizza will run his brand’s first sales campaign in Paris from Friday to Oct. 6. The founder said that rather than opting for a multibrand showroom with antiseptic booths, he favored a location that he could customize. The concept of the facade is in sync with his aim to spark engagement and also doubles as an artistic intervention since it will change appearance as they days go by.

The idea additionally nods to the voyeuristic inspiration of the Des Phemmes spring 2026 collection, which Rizza is teasing here but decided to officially reveal in its entirety in a few months, embracing a see-now-buy-now timing for the communication.

For the new collection, he referenced French artist Sophie Calle, who in 1981 took a job as a chambermaid in a Venetian hotel and secretly photographed what guests left behind, creating a visual diary of unmade beds, scattered clothes and forgotten objects that revealed the different personalities of her anonymous muses.

This was translated into disheveled effects and plenty of pajama sets rendered in different ways, from traditional silk twill and crisp poplin to those cut from taffeta or rich in geometric embroidery. While a wallpaper photographed by Calle was turned into a key black-and-white print in the collection, with small bellflowers blossoming on shirts and pants, a flavor for Orientalism infiltrated Rizza’s designs, inspired by some of Calle’s snapshots.

A unisex shirt revisited the traditional Chinese qipao, while other silk dresses came also with crinkled effects, that were new for the brand. Staple embellishments like feathers, sequins and crystals galore were still profusely deployed to telegraph Rizza’s signature penchant for feminine, statement adornments. A motif with a geometric mirror embroidery covering a white dress made for an addition to the theme.

“The fun thing is that this brand was originally associated to tie-dye effects,” recalled Rizza. “But I’ve been constantly wondering how I can expand my language and create codes that can be recognizable on the long term and which are the categories we can potentiate.”

He first focused on dresses, also encouraged by increasing requests from celebrities. To wit, Rizza’s creations have been donned by the likes of Dua Lipa, Lupita Nyong’o, Eva Longoria, Gwen Stefani and Anne Hathaway, among others, in placements that have contributed to the brand’s rise in popularity in the U.S. 

Yet his heavily embellished numbers are finding competition from some of the more streamlined designs in the collection. “Can you believe this dress was the bestseller?” Rizza said as he showed a simple draped gown cut from chocolate-hued jersey. 

To be sure, more recently Rizza introduced jersey pieces as well as knitwear, leveraging the expertise of backer Olma and Mirta, which is best known for being a longtime business partner of Rick Owens. As reported, at the end of 2023 the Italian manufacturer acquired a 45 percent stake in Oasi Srl, the parent company of Des Phemmes. A 10-year licensing agreement was included in the deal, with Olmar and Mirta charged to support the brand both in terms of production and distribution.

The operation set in motion a change of pace for the brand, and Rizza additionally added to the assortment, introducing Des Phemmes’ first bag last season, after little tests in the form of sequined-embellished satin sachet bags last year.

At the same time, the designer continued to expand the narrative around the label with tie-ups with historic pastry shop Cova and supporting British artist Rachel Hobkirk by staging an exhibition in Milan and releasing the dedicated catalogue earlier this year.

“Her vision and exploration of femininity is very Des Phemmes. Plus for us it also represented a way to approach a new audience,” said Rizza about the show, which marked his first step in promoting contemporary art. 

“At the end, this was the mission Des Phemmes was created for: to become a hub for female talents, not just providing clothes. This is how everything becomes much more interesting and stimulating, compared to merely selling stuff,” he said.

Rizza’s feminine vision has been influenced by his professional beginnings at Giambattista Valli in Paris, which he joined after graduating in fashion design from Milan’s Istituto Marangoni in 2011. Starting as an intern in the design team, he climbed the ranks over the span of five years to eventually oversee ready-to-wear and haute couture collections. Then Rizza returned to Milan to freelance for brands including Agnona, Max Mara and Emilio Pucci, before launching his brand in 2019.