Être Cécile

You might not know the Être Cécile brand, but you’ve definitely see their t-shirts. Worn by Laura Brown and Cara Delevingne, they’ve been a cult favourite with models and bloggers since the label’s launch earlier this year. After Cara was spotted at Paris Fashion Week in a piece from their first collection, the hype has only been getting louder and louder.

It’s the brainchild of four fashion insiders (who have decided to stay anonymous) – which explains the label’s intuitive knack for effortless, urban style. Our fascination with sweatshirts and other sporty styles is going nowhere, but Être Cécile combines those athletic details with a verve that keeps them feeling fresh. Their website says that the dream was “to create a unique T-shirt collective inspired by French style and clean aesthetics,” and they’ve definitely kept to that, developing an instantly recognisable style that isn’t steered too obviously by seasonal fashion trends, and isn’t especially serious.

They’ve already had a string of bestsellers which went straight into the pages of Elle and Vogue, via a few hundred street style snaps. Like this ‘Presque Paris Bulldog’ long sleeve t-shirt, with its varsity stripes at the elbow a butter-wouldn’t-melt bulldog printed in black and white. The ‘Written and Directed’ tee has been just as big a hit among the style set, making an appearance on GaranceDore.fr and selling out everywhere.

If you’re tired of seeing Brian Lichtenberg’s parody sweatshirts everywhere, Être Cécile is the ultimate antidote – they share the same sporty feel, but put a completely new spin on it. Their ‘Mange Tout’ T-shirt is one of my current favourites, doubling up as a stylish ‘Man Get Out’ order, but they have a whole capsule collection of leopard print staples. And the ‘Bad Ass Paris’ tee is getting a lot of press at the moment too – just layer it over a fine knit black sweater for effortless, trans-seasonal style.

The Spring / Summer 2014 collection is set to make an impact just as big, with pieces that fit seamlessly alongside next season’s 90s revival. This isn’t the grunge 90s that we’ve been seeing so far, but a cleaner take on the decade with a dose of over-exposed logos. Think Alexander Wang’s ‘Parental Consent’ tees at New York Fashion Week last month, and then consider this your more accessible option.

These are just a few of my favourite looks from the SS14 lookbook (you can view it in full on the Glamour website)…Fashion’s most of-the-moment bulldog makes a reappearance, this time in glossy navy rather than matte black, and there’s a lot of cool, graphic stripes and pyramids combined with a quirky, splodged-out print.

The designers have gone in a slightly different direction with this cropped sweatshirt and pared-back logo print, but I love it. And it shows that they can do more than simple boxy shapes. But fans of the original Être Cécile designs will love this ‘Fresh Air’ t-shirt (there's also a sweater version in grey).

Right now My-Wardrobe has the best selection of Être Cécile, but you can also find it at Net-a-Porter or check out the brand on their own website.