Fear of God recruits Catherine Jacquet as director of operations
Fear of God takes on a French accent. Last September, the Californian menswear brand, a blend of tailoring and streetwear inspirations, popular with American music and basketball stars, recruited the former General Manager of Jacquemus, Rabanne and Lemaire, Bastien Daguzan. He brings his expertise with the aim of reinforcing founder Jerry Lorenzo's creative vision and structuring the brand for the long term.
To achieve this, the CEO called on an expert in the premium and luxury sectors: Catherine Jacquet. General manager of Maison Michel, a milliner part of the Chanel galaxy, between 2014 and 2018, general manager of the high-end Parisian brand Lemaire from 2019 to 2022 and having advised numerous premium brands and designers on their structuring, the executive has been supporting the brand since the beginning of the year and has been appointed Director of Operations.
Fear of God, founded in 2013, currently relies on a main line in which beautiful sleeved pieces combine with ample suits in Italian fabrics and rub shoulders with denim and knitwear, with a more casual spirit. The brand also offers a second line, christened "Essentials," composed of more accessible basics with T-shirts and hoodies, mostly plain. In fact, it was around a collaboration between the NBA and this line initiated in 2018 that the label, which is said to generate sales of between 150 and 200 million euros, was present in Paris during the last Men's Fashion Week.
The brand has also signed an agreement with Adidas for the development of a technical line, with sneaker launches starting in 2021. With a presence in over a hundred retailers, the brand has also grown in department store networks, notably with corners at Nordstrom and Selfridges.
The brand, whose primary markets are the United States and Great Britain, is increasingly taking care of its image. It has asserted its premium positioning with Zegna. And it plays on the fluidity of its wardrobe, dressing more and more women in its campaigns with its pieces exploited for oversize silhouettes.
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France 24
an hour ago
- France 24
Paris Vivatech fair to spotlight transition 'from AI as science fiction to applied AI'
Drawing high-powered tech CEOs and a presidential visit, Paris 's Vivatech trade fair opening on Wednesday will spotlight hoped-for economic benefits from AI. The top attraction on the opening day of this year's four-day show will be Nvidia chief executive Jensen Huang, looking to make a mark in Europe for the company that builds the most computing hardware for artificial intelligence. French President Emmanuel Macron, a regular at Vivatech, will also attend the event at the southern Paris convention centre, the Élysée Palace said, with a walking tour and chats with "French Tech" startups on the agenda. Tech watchers expect more products than ever embedding AI into everyday life to be shown off in the exhibition halls. "What's changed from previous years is that we've moved from AI as science fiction to applied AI," Vivatech managing director Francois Bitouzet told AFP. He trailed around 30 sectors with concrete AI-powered products on show, from luxury to insurance, health, energy, cars, logistics and more. Around 14,000 startups and more than 3,000 investors are expected to travel to Paris from around the world, while organisers forecast total visitor numbers to at least equal last year's 165,000 people. Nvidia headlining Nvidia's Huang – likely sporting his trademark leather jacket – has top billing with an opening presentation slated to last more than an hour. Bitouzet said it was a "source of pride" to bring aboard semiconductor heavyweight Nvidia, whose high-powered GPUs (graphics processing units) are widely used to power the latest generative AI models. "It proves that the European market in general and the French market in particular are attractive and that today (Nvidia) has ambitions for this market," the Vivatech boss added. EY's European tech, media and telecoms chief Cedric Foray predicted that "there will definitely be announcements targeted at Europe" from Nvidia. The US firm has seen export restrictions slapped on its top-performing chips by both the Joe Biden and Donald Trump administrations, with US politicians leery of ceding their country's lead in generative AI. Huang has warned that China is nevertheless making swift strides to catch up. There was little sign of impact from export restrictions on Nvidia's chip sales in its May earnings release. But the company has warned the braking effect may be larger in the current quarter. Tech sovereignty US politics preoccupies many European tech leaders and policymakers too. Concerns range from Trump's mercurial tariff policy to the continent's ability to stand on its own without US giants – and the massive gap in funding for AI development between the two sides of the Atlantic. "Sovereignty, which wasn't as important in the conversation just a year or two years ago, has become an absolutely strategic priority," Bitouzet said. Macron is expected to again emphasise "European technological sovereignty", the Élysée said. Such remarks from the president would build on his hyping of French and European openness to AI at a Paris global summit in February. Top French firms at Vivatech – where around half the exhibitors are local companies – will include Mistral AI, a French competitor to much-bigger OpenAI. Mistral's founder Arthur Mensch is set to discuss AI with Macron and Huang at a roundtable at the end of the first day of the event.
Local France
2 hours ago
- Local France
OPINION: Give up the search for loopholes - French bureaucracy always wins
To egregiously butcher William Goldman's classic line - 'There are no French admin loopholes, Highness, anyone who says differently is selling something'. France's complex admin means that foreign residents and future arrivals are often left looking for shortcuts, easy options and loopholes - an entirely understandable reaction when you consider the bureaucratic pain that France enjoys inflicting on its inhabitants. It's also a famously high tax country, which means that plenty of people are on the lookout for, shall we say, more forgiving tax arrangements. This one is perhaps less understandable - especially if it comes in the next breath after raptures of delight over France's excellent public services - but it's always going to be human nature to try. The thing is - there really are very few genuine loopholes when it comes to French residency and taxes, especially when it comes to non-EU nationals who come within the visa/residency card system. Advertisement Sure, you might think you've found a loophole - but these almost always end up causing you more problems down the line, especially if your goal is to make France your home. When it comes to people who just want to be here for a couple of years there is a little more wriggle room - but for those who intend to stay in France and will therefore eventually be seeking long-term residency and perhaps even citizenship, trying to exploit a loophole is almost always going to cause you further administrative pain in the future. In my experience the people who genuinely set out to cheat the French system are few and far between - a much more common scenario is people who have simply been given bad advice about a shortcut or loophole that they could take advantage of. At The Local we often get emails from readers who are experiencing problems with French systems - and the people stuck in the worst tangles are almost always those who have at one point been given bad advice. Here are some examples; The 80-year-old lady who had been breezily assured that there was no need for her to do a tax declaration in France, and is now living in fear of fines from the tax office for having failed to make the required annual déclaration des revenus . The British second-home owner who had been advised to get a post-Brexit carte de séjour as a way to 'cheat' the 90 day rule and now finds themselves required to make a French tax declaration and re-register their cars. The American tech worker who had been advised to get the 'more straightforward' visitor visa and then simply swap it for a working visa once they arrived and now finds themselves unable to work for months on end while the request to switch statuses is considered, rejected and appealed. Because France is a popular destination to move to, attracting all groups from retirees to young families, students to workers, a whole industry has grown up around giving advice on navigating the French immigration and tax system. Advertisement There's an entire sector of 'relocation experts', 'hand-holders' or 'concierge services' which specialise in helping foreigners to move to France. Many of these services are great and offer sound advice and insight based on experience with French systems. The good ones should also explain future ramifications of your decisions. However, some give wildly differing advice and it's not always easy to know who is right and who to trust. There's no doubt some of these services can be very helpful when it comes to finding a place to live and setting up services like utilities - I used one when I first moved and they were worth every centime in helping to navigate the notoriously tricky Paris rental market. However, if emails from readers are anything to go by, there also seems to be an increasing trend of these services offering legal advice on issues such as residency, visas and tax status. Advertisement While many are very knowledgeable and diligent with their guidance, the reality is this sector is completely unregulated - meaning that you have absolutely no comeback if you are given incorrect advice. More importantly, you will be then one then left struggling to deal with your irregular residency or tax status while the hand-holder has banked the cheque and moved on. Take this one email we received from an American reader who wanted to warn others of the "pain and damage" one expat visa adviser caused them. He said: "We contacted a well-known expat who is regarded as an expert in visa related issues in France. "We paid them €5,000 to organise a passport talent visa. At first, all was fine, but they soon stopped responding to our emails. To make matters worse, they barely did any work for us. "It turned out that there are dozens of fellow expats in the same position." Advertisement So what can people do? The standard advice is to talk to a lawyer for anything related to residency, and an accountant for tax advice. But even here there are caveats - first you need to ensure that your expert is qualified and registered in both France and your home country, and that they specialise in advising expats/immigrants. Second is that you need to speak to both - a lawyer will undoubtedly give you good advice about visas, but will that leave you with tax problems? The lawyer might not flag that up, because its not their area of expertise, but that doesn't mean there won't be problems. And vice versa, your accountant's advice might be perfectly sound when it comes to tax but it might screw up your residency. It's also well worth speaking to several experts, especially if your personal situation is complicated or you're trying to do something slightly out of the usual run of things. When it comes to tricky issues like remote work while on a visitor visa , different lawyers will tell you different things. It's tempting to go with the one who tells you what you want to hear, but it's a better idea in the long run to get several viewpoints on a situation. Even though you do have more recourse if you get bad advice from a lawyer or accountant , it's ultimately you who will have to deal with any ensuing problems with French admin. If you find yourself in breach of the rules, saying 'my lawyer said it would be OK' is unfortunately no defence at all. Remember also that getting your French visa is only the first step - ask questions about what happens next; will you be able to renew it or obtain your carte de séjour easily? Will you be able to get long-term residency one day? What will your plans mean for your tax status? Will your chosen path make it difficult for you to get French citizenship one day? The French residency card and tax systems are designed to be used by individuals; beware of anyone suggesting that you will need a lawyer or accountant for every renewal/annual tax declaration - they're either just trawling for business or they're setting up a residency or tax status so complicated that you'll be forced to pay for professional advice for every dealing with French admin. And above all, remember the old saying - "if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is". If there truly were a quick and easy shortcut to long-term French residency with no taxes, then everyone would be using it - we're not handing over a third of our monthly income and spending hours in a queue at the préfecture because we find this a fun hobby. It's because we have learned the greater truths - French admin always wins; there are no loopholes; liberté, égalité, bureaucratié . You can find more information on all things residency and tax related in our Moving to France section. Feel free to share your experiences in the comments section below
Local France
2 hours ago
- Local France
French Tesla customers sue over brand's ‘extreme right' shift
They feel they suffered 'direct and concrete' damage from the way Teslas are now associated with 'Elon Musk's actions', the GKA law firm said. They are demanding the Paris commercial court order their lease contracts be terminated and legal costs reimbursed, it said in a statement, signed by lawyers Patrick Klugman and Ivan Terel. Tesla sales in the European Union have almost halved since the beginning of the year, a slump attributed to Musk's political activities. Those activities include him – until last week – standing firmly with US President Donald Trump, and overseeing efforts to cut down US departments and agencies. He has also lent public support to Germany's far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party, was criticised for making a repeated gesture interpreted by many historians to be a Nazi salute. 'Because of Elon Musk's actions... Tesla branded vehicles have become strong political symbols and now appear to be veritable extreme-right 'totems', to the dismay of those who acquired them with the sole aim of possessing an innovative and ecological vehicle,' GKA said in a statement. The perception of the Teslas they leased 'prevents them from fully enjoying their car', it said. Most of the leases run for four years, with an option at the end to buy the vehicle. Advertisement Tesla cars in Europe and elsewhere have been targeted by vandals, with some drivers reporting they have been insulted for using what is sometimes called on social media a ' swasti-car' . Some owners have taken to putting stickers on their Teslas reading 'I bought this before Elon went crazy'. 'The situation is both unexpected and impossible for French Tesla owners,' Klugman told AFP. 'Musk's political positions have interrupted enjoyment' of the vehicles, and 'we believe that Mr Musk owes these buyers the peaceful possession of the thing sold', he said. Contacted by AFP for comment, Tesla did not immediately respond.
