Laura Brown, Beanie FeldsteinBen Rosser/BFA.com
Inside a candlelit room in Lower Manhattan, leather satchel bags and silk scarves lined the walls and sprawling pink and green floral arrangements sat on each table. Sézane had taken over Flynn McGarry’s restaurant Gem Wine. The French fashion label hosted a dinner to celebrate its new capsule collection ‘French Enough,’ a collaboration with journalist and brand friend, Laura Brown.
The upcoming collection, a 25-piece capsule designed in collaboration with Brown, honors Sézane’s tenth year in business and foundation of long-held friendships. The collection’s genesis story is just that, a testament to genuine connections and playing the long game. Just before the pandemic, Sézane’s founder, Morgane Sezalory, messaged Brown on Instagram with the idea of working together. The two shared an appreciation for effortless fashion, and Brown, known for her playful ease, especially admired Parisian style.
“Soon after that, we had lunch together in Paris. We were just talking about what we were into,” Brown recounted in her dinner toast. “And I was talking about how I wish I was French girl chic. I can’t even tie a scarf.” For her, the collection’s name ‘French Enough’ alludes to the question she asked Morgane that day: Why can’t we just be French enough? “And here we are,” Brown added. “This has really been one of my greatest pleasures.”
Around the tables, friends of the brand—including Beanie Feldstein, Brooke Shields, Jamie Chung, Pat Cleveland, and Naomi Watts—wore Sèzane’s signature mohair cardigans, front–pocket trousers, skirt sets, and tailored blazers. Gem paired its unmatched wine selection with fluke crudo, grilled cabbage, roasted golden chicken, and finally, pavlova doused in passion fruit. Each dinner guest received their very own piece from the collection: a cherry red crewneck sweatshirt donning the words “French Enough” across the front in a retro typeface, a garment that is exactly what it says it is.
Launching on November 19th, nearly four years after that fateful Instagram DM between Morgane and Laura, the collection offers limited-edition pieces that seamlessly marry Morgane’s and Brown’s senses of style. California cool meets French fashion in the form of front-pocket trousers, vintage-inspired denim, and ’70s-inspired floral prints and plaids. While describing the collection to her guests, it’s clear that Brown herself—a fashion veteran who speaks with lightness and humor—might just be the epitome of what it means to be French enough.