ABOUT
SERGE CAJFINGER
This is a story about a dress
A little black dress that reflects the mythical couture of the 1950’s, the essence of Audrey Hepburn, and the taste of pure, contemporary refinement.
Settled in France in 1968, Lille to be precise, this fanatic of art, fashion, and architecture had no intention of waiting for success…he wanted to live his era to its fullest. At the young age of fifteen, Serge Cajfinger spent his days merchandising YSL’s shop windows and those of the neighbouring stores.
This dress is "the first"
that Serge Cajfinger imagined back in 1988, at the beginning of his label, PAULE KA. This name rings like a dance on rhythmic beats, inspired from the colours of Serge Cajfinger’s Brazilian childhood.
In 1974 he decided to open, with his mother and aunt Paule, a multi-label boutique called PAULE KA. This shop carried all the future fashion `greats’ such as Alaia, Montana, Mugler, and Kenzo. The influence of these Parisian labels and Serge’s relationship with various clients sharpened his knowledge of the female body and informed him of women’s wants and desires.
A style code rapidely emerges
The use of black and white, which through the seasons, evolves from monochromatic flashes to pastel tones.
In 1987, Serge Cajfinger left Lille to begin another adventure on his own. He established the PAULE KA label in Paris, in the Marais. A style code rapidly emerged: the use of black and white, which through the seasons, evolves from monochromatic flashes to pastel tones. The skirt suit, the bow, the organza, and the famous black dresses have remained the signature style of PAULE KA for the past twenty-five years.
Reflecting the glamour of a Hollywood movie screen
But always set against an iconic Parisian backdrop, PAULE KA’s style breaks through conventional ideas to play with contrasts, volume, symmetry, humour, and seduction.
The accessory collections are timeless. The signature basket, created in 1995, has been re-invented each season (it pays hommage to the lovely Audrey Hepburn who wore one with her mink coat). Together with the new “it-bag,” the ‘CABAS KA,’ with its famous silver and gold zipper, these accessories seduce their audience more and more each year.
Located since 2007 at 223 Rue St Honoré, this fashion house preserves its influential presence in the heart of French creation, and continues to anchor its identity abroad.
The French elegance beyond borders
To this day, PAULE KA is established in 54 countries and distributed throughout more than 400 points of sale, 56 of which are stand-alone stores dedicated exclusively to the brand.
At the beginning of 2012, the fashion house opened its eighth French boutique in Bordeaux and reinforced its presence in Spain with the opening of a boutique in Madrid (calle Claudio Coello). This new expansion, marked by the establishment of PAULE KA in the heart of the financial quarter of Frankfurt, Germany, has extended to the opening of the UK boutique in Mount Street. By end of this year, this European growth will continue on to Asia, where another boutique will open in Hong Kong (the city’s third), following the openings in China of three boutiques located in Hangzhou, Shenyang and Nanjing.
CAMPAIGN
SPRING-SUMMER 2013
The temperature drops, the perfume of bougainvillea rises in the garden, a woman appears. Her shoulder is bare, her figure defined, the dress is black. A breeze lifts across the ocean, the ostrich feathers, vaporous, quiver…Palm Beach awaits.
Lightness of air, the morning is crisp and time is running out, she puts in the call. Impeccable shirt, distinguished by a slight crispness, dry and smooth, of white poplin. The collar carefully buttoned, the cut-away sleeve…Palm Beach prepares itself.
Humming of insects, waves of heat, the sky hesitates, she waits. Under the embers, the refreshing sorbet of a pool-colored dress. The allure is wise, yet jostled by the ballerina slipper. Truly wise?...Palm Beach asks.
A briny wind, the palm leaves sway, dampness in the air; the storm is close, she hopes. A sensual combination of jersey and silk, draped skillfully, the dress offers itself to the wind, revealing the soft roundness of the bare neckline…Palm Beach restrains itself.
Fragrances of warm stone, bubbles that hum, frosted glass, she is ready. The supple drape of a duchesse satin coat, a spectacular print by artist Julien Colombier; the tranquil audacity of an assumed elegance, it asks only to be opened…Palm Beach succumbs.
Misty early hours, scents of damp grass, the final morning, she leaves. In a new shirtdress, delicious, ready for other climates, other desires, other lives…en rose.
Goodbye Palm Beach!
A few days in the life of a Paule Ka woman…
Orchestrated by Serge Cajfinger, photographed by Venetia Scott, incarnated by Hilary Rhoda.