Established in July 2016, Juillet was created as the embodiment of the month of July and what it represented to its founders: sunshine, holidays, love, friendship and wonderment. To celebrate Juillet’s entry into Style Theory’s collection, we caught up virtually with Sonia Ayu Lestari, co-founder and designer of Juillet to chat about the story behind the brand, as well as some of Sonia’s favourite Juillet pieces you can rent from the Infinite Wardrobe.
What led you to create your own fashion label?
I have always wanted to create a ready-to-wear brand that could provide flexibility, personalisation, and speak for every woman’s body. With this, I could maximise its versatility and even help to hide women’s flaws — if they wanted to. While we have a ready-to-wear collection, we also offer an Atelier service where Juillet customers can add on a simple customisation to one of our pieces, for example, adding sleeves to a sleeveless design, or changing a pencil skirt dress to an A-line dress.
Describe Juillet in 3 words:
Elegant, Versatile, and Feminine.
What is the design process like for you? How do you hone in on an idea and inspiration?
I usually start by doing trend research, which includes silhouette, colours, and certain fabric detailing. Once I summarise my ideas for a collection, the Juillet design team will start our fabric sourcing and materialising all of these ideas into sketches, samples, and finally the finished collection!
When it comes to its designs, Juillet prides itself on using premium fabrics and technology alongside the craftsmanship of its designers and tailors. Could you share more about this?
Every type of fabric in Juillet’s collections has been directly sourced by my and my design team. Quality always comes first and we make sure that the fabric we choose is durable, comfortable, and beautiful. A lot of our designs are actually custom dyed by us. Each colour is unique, and we use a dyeing technology that minimises the possibility of colour runs and keeps each piece looking vibrant!
Which are your top three items on the Style Theory x Juillet collection that you think every member should rent at least once?
It would be the Rowe Lace Halter Neck Dress, the Brady Knotted Off-Shoulder Top and the Georgia High-Slit Pants. These 3 styles are so versatile — you could easily dress it up or dress it down, especially on Fridays!
Browse the Juillet collection, now available on the Infinite Wardrobe — download the app and start renting today, with apparel plans starting from S$79/month. Juillet collection is currently only available for our Singapore subscribers.
Love our Designer Spotlight series? Read more interviews with local and international designers here!
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