Sonia Rykiel

The Poor Boy Sweater is the piece that started everything, and it remains the most rewarding way into the house. Rykiel created it in 1962 with high-cut armholes and a shrunken, body-clinging fit, and it landed on the cover of French Elle. If you want one Sonia Rykiel garment that tells the whole story, a slim striped knit is it.

Women's Wear Daily dubbed her the "Queen of Knits" in 1972, and the title stuck. Her knitwear designs and new techniques set her apart, and she was credited with putting seams on the outside of a garment, leaving hems unfinished, and printing slogans on her sweaters. Knitwear is the heart of the label for good reason.

Yes. The label was founded in 1968 when Rykiel opened her first boutique on the Left Bank in Paris, and by the early 1990s it had grown into a $75 million business spanning women's, men's, and children's wear, accessories, and perfume, sold by 250 retailers across 40 countries. It sits firmly in the French ready-to-wear luxury tradition.

She was nicknamed "Coco Rykiel" for bringing a similar trailblazing, independent spirit to French fashion. Like Chanel, Rykiel designed clothes she actually wanted to wear herself, favouring dark green, brown, navy, and black. The comparison speaks to her influence rather than any imitation.

Think slim, body-conscious knitwear, horizontal stripes, and an effortless Left Bank Parisian ease. Rykiel popularised the wearing of black and made the humble striped sweater a statement. Her own uniform of simple dark crêpe and a red bob with a heavy fringe was as recognisable as the clothes.

It is thoroughly Parisian. Sonia Flis was born in Neuilly-sur-Seine in 1930, the brand was founded in 1968 with a boutique on the Left Bank, and her aesthetic is rooted in that intellectual, artistic side of Paris. The label has always read as quintessentially French.

The designer herself founded it; her husband Sam helped create the Sonia Rykiel Company in 1965, and she opened the first store in 1968. The family is no longer involved. In 2016 Nathalie Rykiel sold the family's remaining stake, and after a 2019 liquidation the brand was bought by brothers Eric and Michael Dayan, with G-III Apparel Group acquiring it in 2021.

Both have their place. The vintage market is rich for the classic striped knits and Rykiel-era pieces, which carry the designer's original hand. New collections continue the codes under later ownership. If you want the most authentic expression of her vision, hunt the vintage and resale market for her own-era knitwear.

Treat fine knitwear gently: hand-wash or use a wool cycle in cool water, lay flat to dry rather than hanging so the shape holds, and fold for storage instead of putting it on a hanger. Rykiel's slim, body-clinging fits depend on the knit keeping its memory, so avoid heat and wringing.

Quite a lot. She was also a writer whose first book, Et Je La Voudrais Nue, appeared in 1979, and she wrote children's stories and magazine columns. She contributed to the interior decoration of the Hôtel de Crillon in 1985 and made a cameo in Robert Altman's 1994 film Prêt-à-Porter, whose lead character was based on her.