BEING SCANDALIZED: French lingerie brand Maison Close is changing its name.
On the heels of its acquisition of its 94-year-old peer Scandale revealed in January, the 20-year-old Marseille-based company said Friday the change to that name for the overall company would be effective on July 22.
“This evolution marks the culmination of a major strategic step initiated by the acquisition,” the company said in a statement shared with WWD first. “Through this operation, Maison Close unites under one name nearly a century of French heritage and 20 years of contemporary development.”
But existing Maison Close consumers — and its 100 or so retail partners in Europe, the U.K. and the U.S. — should be reassured.
“Only the name is changing,” said the 20-year-old brand’s founder, president and creative director Nicolas Busnel. “Our DNA will stay intact: an elegant, sensorial, visual and affirmed style. For 20 years, my goal has been to offer women what the suit offers to men, a feeling of confidence and power.”
The name change brings “[the] freedom to go and search for additional references like Les Années Folles [as the 1920s are known in France], cinema, certain materials,” as evidenced in the Rococo collection launched after the acquisition, he added.
Scandale will also take pride of place in Paris on Rue Cambon, where the lingerie brand is planning to open its flagship in September.
Nicolas Busnel
Courtesy of Maison Close
Caroline Bour, who became chief executive officer of Maison Close in October, said the new address would play “a central role” in the development plans of the company, which is targeting 20 million euros in sales for 2026 and has the U.S. as its top market thanks to e-commerce.
“While e-commerce remains our key growth driver, I strongly believe in the virtuous cycle that a boutique can bring to our digital business,” she said. “The boutique will serve as a powerful brand-building platform, increasing visibility among local and international clientele, while developing our omnichannel capabilities.”
It will also serve to unfurl the expanded universe created by the merger of the two brands.
With the ambition of building “a complete wardrobe of intimacy” that extends beyond private moments, Bour said the brand could further develop the nascent ready-to-wear collection currently offered by Maison Close.
“The flagship will be an important laboratory for understanding how our clients engage with these broader lifestyle expressions of the brand,” the CEO said.
Despite the name change, the French lingerie brand is planning to mark 20 years of Maison Close with a show on Sept. 24 in Paris.
