Boutique Le Marais opened in 1997 and has since become a fixture in Maastricht’s retail landscape. The shop offers fashion and accessories on 140 square meters. Tanja Telders-Breukers took over Le Marais in 2001 after working there as a sales representative for many years. Today, Le Marais is known as a boutique with personal service and a chic touch. Thanks to her many years of experience, Tanja Telders-Breukers knows the order season in her segment inside and out. With FashionUnited she shared her strategies, her opinion on fashion fairs and her views on the future.
Where do you get your inspiration for the new season?
I mainly look at the magazines. Nature, architecture and art also play an important role for me. And of course my customers. Every day I look at who’s coming in, what I’m seeing on the people. Then I often think: I’ll order that too! In the south of the Netherlands we often have beautifully dressed ladies visiting, especially now that the big art fair Tefaf is taking place in Maastricht. The fashion that customers see is very inspiring. Which brings us back to the element of art: people who love art and travel often give me that extra bit of inspiration. By the way, I also find a lot on Instagram.
Nature and architecture as a source of inspiration, does that mean you are less receptive to trends?
Of course I look at what the trends are, for example through color charts, but I also stick to certain values. The neutral tones are always there with us anyway, but especially for 2023 I see, for example, that the color dark brown is making a comeback. Last season I also bought a couple of bright colors at the last minute which have proved to be very successful and that was also based on a trend report. Yellow, violet, bright green, these really are the accent colors of 2023.
How do you go about the order season?
After more than 21 years of experience, my purchase is really based on my feeling. I usually start by making appointments with agencies. I plan to do this on the days off, Monday and Tuesday. Preferably in one day, around 4 or 5 o’clock so I have it all fresh in my head and have a good idea of what I saw and how it fits together. This way I can put together a nice combination of pieces from the different collections. Repeat orders also play a major role for us: at least twenty percent of our inventory is reordered. It’s not always possible, but there’s room for it with brands with a strong B2B service that I also have good relationships with, like Bellerose, Closed and No Man’s Land. The opening of the web shop has also contributed to this, as I now buy in larger quantities. But I don’t want to go so far that the whole of Maastricht ends up walking around in the same clothes. But fortunately, many of our customers are tourists, so that’s not too bad.
What role do fashion fairs play for you?
Individual visits to specific brands have priority for me. I used to visit the Tranoï fair in Paris, but because of the Corona crisis I haven’t done so for over three years now. It is now back on the agenda. At trade fairs, I often find the ‘icing on the cake’ of my collection: that certain extra that I’m still missing. These can be small accessories or interesting brands that I don’t know yet. I also think that Tranoï is a very nice fair that is good to visit. It is well organized and located in the middle of the city. And the streets of Paris are one big catwalk these days. I always enjoy and get a lot out of observing the street scene in the area.
The Modefabriek in Amsterdam is of course also on the agenda. I’ll definitely go and see what it’s like, but I don’t think I’ll find anything new there. I’ve always been drawn to Paris, which perhaps isn’t all that strange considering the name of the place. The city fits the business perfectly.
There have been many digital developments in recent years. Are there any digital shopping tools you use now that you didn’t use before?
I recently bought New Balance digital sneakers, but I’m not a fan of them. I like feeling things and seeing them live and that’s what I experienced here. I kept asking if you could zoom in further! It’s nice that we can sell a lot through digital, but many people, myself included, continue to prefer physical purchases.
I occasionally use the online platform Traede. Brands from all over the world present themselves digitally here. This is especially useful for discovering brands that aren’t sold that often in your area. I like this especially for accessories. For example, I bought some very nice socks from LA that are only sold in a few shops in the Benelux. You can also order immediately, which is very handy if you need something at the last minute. Last year, Traede opened an office in the Benelux, so you no longer have to deal with complicated tax regulations.
What are your expectations for the SS23 season?
Good question. Of course there are price increases, and so many things are changing so quickly in other areas as well. This is the first time I really ask myself: what’s going to happen? That’s why I’m particularly vigilant this season. For example, I don’t usually pay that much attention to prices, but now I look at them much more consciously. I’m mostly aware that everything is getting more expensive and I’m already wondering how to sell it myself. The real question is: How are people dealing with this new form of economic crisis? Or maybe better: How can they deal with it?
Fashion houses and retailers are wondering if the fashion calendar can continue in its current form. How do you think the ordering process can change after this season?
Of course it’s great that trade fairs offer a platform where you can see everything together. But when I look at the many trade fairs that take place these days, I sometimes wonder if this is really necessary. I’m very excited to see how this will develop in the future. For me, the contact with customers and agencies is also very inspiring. They give me an immediate insight into my own target group. I think this will become even more important. But of course this is not possible with every business. The buyers at De Bijenkorf, for example, are of course not in the store themselves. But it works for us.
I also think that more in-season delivery dates would be good to ensure that the collections can be sold and worn immediately. It is a great waste when items have been in the store for so long but are not yet on sale or ready to be used. For example, for the summer season it could look like this: knitwear in January, cotton blouses in February, cotton dresses in March and linen items in April. In this way, what’s in store matches the temperatures that come with the slow approach of summer. For example, Zenggi did that last season and I was very positively surprised. It worked well because the pieces are current and you always have something new in store, keeping your entire collection interesting.
This article was previously published on FashionUnited.nl. Translation and editing: Barbara Russ.