The designer Elodie Joly creates real fashion jewellery sets, jewellery imagined as precious objects, which she creates herself completely by hand. A meticulous know-how which combines all the elegance and fantasies of this young designer, who now sells her brand L’Honorable all over the world. After having started her career as a textile designer for big fashion houses like Kenzo, for whom she designed prints and patterns, her passion for embroidery and jewellery pushed her to launch her own brand. Today her poetic creations, populated by wonderful animals and fantastic plants, continue to attract clients searching for originality and uniqueness.

What is your history with Premiere Classe ?

When I launched my brand at the end of 2016, I attended my first Premiere Classe trade-show, when I entered the Tuileries I realised that it was the perfect place to present my future collections. I have attended every edition since. Premiere Classe and the Tuileries are in-keeping with this small showcase of designers, an intimate event where you can discover high-end pieces with a real commitment to creativity, aesthetics and innovation. People aren’t put-off by the pricing as they respect the craftsmanship behind the pieces.


Why are Premiere Classe editions a must-see event in your calendar ?

Because I make sales here, and the primary function of the trade-show is above all to meet buyers. For my part, they are mainly foreign industry players from Asia, Japan, Korea and also the United States and England. These customers are not afraid of the large pieces, volumes and colour that make up my brand. I’ve noticed that they have a real eye for this kind of jewellery. They are looking for colour and difference, something unique, which corresponds well with the pieces I create. In France, there are two schools of thought, those who want to be top of the range without trying to understand what goes on behind the scenes and others who are looking for a real know-how, a beautiful handmade object for which they are prepared to pay the price, that they want to take care of. Over these four days, we meet a lot of people and discover a lot of things. Of course, most of the buyers and future customers are loyal and come back. Yet, others are more “one shot,” these are often concept-stores looking for innovation that I would certainly have to meet with again at future editions.



You present your jewellery like a collection of precious and personal objects, like a collector’s exhibition.

I create embroidery, every piece is unique, no one is the same. We work with small collections that I create myself. I also occasionally work with a haute-couture atelier in Mumbai where the craftsmanship is truly amazing, which helps me when I have a lot of orders. It takes 5-6 hours to create my smallest pieces, the bigger pieces can take more than 20 hours of embroidery and that’s not including gluing and laying the chain…



Is there a real dialogue between the brands and designers over the four days at Premiere Classe ?

There are real discussions and sharing with other designers and entrepreneurs, and also with “mumpreneurs.” We learn on the spot, in a way we discuss behind the scenes, we advise each other on all the issues that play out behind the scenes and for which we must find the best solutions: deadlines, logistics, delivery, stewardship, press management and even communication...




Have you established any collaborations at Premiere Classe ?

Yes I have met designers before during the trade-show and we have produced pieces together afterwards, it’s really great! There is a real mutual enrichment. During this edition, I also met with a future collaborator which should be finished in the next few months, but I can't tell you any more at this time.

What is the most significant encounter you have had at Premiere Classe ?

During our second Premiere Classe trade-show, 6 months after I launched my brand, the artistic director for Jamin Puech came to see me because he had a crush on l’Honorable. Yet, when I was an Art Déco student, I was fantasising about their embroidered, woven handmade bags. When he came to see me to propose working together to celebrate the 25-year anniversary of the brand, I was delighted! So, I designed a line of jewellery made from embroidered thread for them, which we signed under both of our names. This kind of encounter is unforgettable. At another edition, I met Alizée Costes who has become one of my muses, as well as the photographer I worked with for the photoshoot of this collection.



What do you see for the future of fashion ?

I deliberately don’t think about the future of fashion so as to keep the suspense alive. I would like it to be more involved in exchanging and sharing, and maybe have the mask slip a bit. Also, Instagram is a marvellous social media platform where people on the other side of the world can discover my collections, however I regret the “fake” image that it can facilitate. Authenticity and honesty have to be prioritised more.