Charlotte Gainsbourg launches new denim label

A new collaboration by jeans brand Current/Elliot with Charlotte Gainsbourg introduces her trademark Anglo-French style to the American denim label, writes Rebecca Gonsalves

Charlotte Gainsbourg has long been a style icon

We may think of denim as being the ultimate in all-American materials, but in fact the workaday staple has its roots in France where the twill cotton cloth, or serge de Nîmes, originated. It’s fitting then that one of the most exciting new denim collections of late comes from a collaboration between American brand Current/Elliott and Anglo-French actress and singer Charlotte Gainsbourg.

Ever-insouciant, Gainsbourg has long been a style icon but is having even more of a fashion moment right now as she stars in the new campaigns for Louis Vuitton – which is now under the creative direction of her friend Nicolas Ghesquière. Gainsbourg’s fashion family tree is almost as impressive as her biological one – after all her mother is Jane Birkin, the model and singer for whom Hermès created the bag of the same name, which three decades later has never gone out of style.

For his part, Serge Azria, creative director of Current/Elliott, reinvigorated the denim market when he introduced boyfriend jeans in to a world of super skinny styles in 2008. Since then the brand has become well known for its blend of classic styles and quirky prints and eagerness to experiment. Azria and Gainsbourg share a love of all things vintage, which translates to a sense of timelessness in this collection.

“For me, denim has always been a fabric that can take on the personality of the person who wears it,” says Gainsbourg, explaining the use of raw denim. But there is more to this collection than just denim – red leather cut into micro-shorts and a single-breasted leather coat both need a hefty dollop of attitude to pull them off. More obviously wearable pieces abound too, with a mannish feel running through the collection, thanks to cotton shirts and structured blazers, yarn-dyed knits and tailored wool pieces.

Prices from £200, net-a-porter.com