Eye on fashion: E2

Designers Michele and Olivier Chatenet, are known for their ethnic-influenced fashion inspired by the ’30s to the ’70s. Their brand name is E2 and they have their own special method of customizing fashion taking tired clothes cutting and sewing them into a whole new outfit, sewing for example, emerald-green sequins into the pleats of an ordinary gray kilt.

Husband and wife, Michele and Olivier’ style is probably the most potent example of unique dressing in the new millennium. “We’ve done designer fashion that belonged to the last 10 years, the new challenge for the industry is to find clothes with a soul” says Olivier Chatenet.

Actress Gwyneth Paltrow, who first discovered the Paris design duo whose speciality is making over vintage clothes, loves E2 because she can be sure she won’t see the clothes she buys from them on anyone else, like the cashmere cardigan she selected, originally designed by Hermès in the 1960s and now customised with vintage buttons from a flea market.

Gwyneth took her friend Madonna to meet the couple at their atelier in 2001. Madonna left a kind note on the atelier’s visitors book that is shown below.

Thanks to our reader John Law for submitting the picture