K. JACQUES

K. Jacques, a brand run by three generations of the same family, is a shoemaker synonymous with the splendour and glamour of the French Riviera. Loved by fashion icons such as Karl Lagerfeld and Helmut Lang, K. Jacques has epitomised French fashion excellence since 1933, when two Armenian refugees, husband and wife Jacques and Elise Keklikian, opened their first footwear atelier in Rue Allard 33 in Saint Tropez. The two spouses worked in synergy, with Jacques providing the craftsmanship and Elise the creativity. The couple's first customers were family friends and neighbours. When the atelier began to attract leading exponents of the pop culture of the time, such as Brigitte Bardot, Jean Cocteau, Pablo Picasso and the writer Colette – all members of the jet-set that populated the streets of Saint Tropez every summer – Jacques decided to name the brand using the initial of his surname, thus creating K. Jacques.