Armandine

Armandine Follet was a French dressmaker working in London, with studios in both London and Paris at one point, similar to the cordwainer Melnotte. I came across two versions of her calling card in the British Museum collection, one of which noted that she dressed the late Duchess of York. Initially, I planned to develop the Madame Follet brand by encouraging the .ai to create modern facsimiles of dresses inspired by the Duchess. However, the idea evolved into a Regency streetwear sub-brand from the Madame Follet workshop. Armandine draws its design roots from French peasant dress and became the magazine’s most featured brand, thanks to the unique feel of the .ai-generated outfits and the androgynous appeal of the models.

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Note:
Today, on Conduit Street in London, the Madame Follet studio would have Balenciaga, Burberry, and Vivienne Westwood as her neighbours.

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Branding
At first, I considered using the original trade card as inspiration for the branding. However, it didn’t differentiate the images enough from other .ai-generated pieces, particularly Melnotte and Wood, which were more fully within the Regency design tradition than the 21st-century style I was aiming for. Instead, the logotype was created using 1960s American sign-writer block prints I sourced from eBay. Each block was hand-printed, then scanned for digital use.

References

All Things Regency - Beatrice Knights Dressmakers of Regency London Article including some lovely fashion plates from magazines of the day she has brilliantly recoloured.

British Museum - A short biography along with two trade cards.

Conduit Street - Google Maps Link to Conduit Street.