Our series of sharing everyday stories from our global community UW. kingpins continues – and the next stop is Paris. By spotlighting the people living, working and doing good things in the vicinity of our stores and stockists, we reckon it’s all about Good People and Good Places.
A city famous for that certain je ne sais quoi, the streets of the French capital are awash with some seriously stylish types. There's a certain effortless nonchalance that (and let’s be honest here) is flippin hard to unravel – or copy. Our first Metro journey takes us to Catherine Yousfi, co-founder of Royal Cheese. A petite-chain (see what we did there?) of 3 Parisian stores, it was originally a weekend vintage clothing store at Puces de St Ouen Flea Market back in 1996. Fast forward to 2023 and you’ll now find a Royalcheese in Les Halles and a further two in the ever-trendy Le Marais.
Stocking a rock-steady mix of new and established brands from all around the world – including Universal Works, we dropped by to meet Catherine at their Turenne Store. She explained, “When I was in London studying Fashion Design & Marketing at University, part of the course was a year out in France – which naturally, I jumped at. It’s where I met my husband and opened the first shop together. We wanted to recreate the style and vibe of London by bringing labels we couldn't find in Paris at the time – especially for men. We started importing brands from the UK, US and Japan and renamed ourselves Royalcheese in 1998. People always ask us where the name comes from; it’s from a scene in Pulp Fiction!
An independent business, Catherine has a keen eye for what works. The stores are situated in localities where bikes are probably the most popular form of transport, which means, “We stock a lot of loose tapered pants, boxy overshirts and small sacoches (or handy little bag to us) because they are popular styles with the locals. But also, We love brands with a bit of history, but most importantly it’s the quality of the items, fabric and fit – as well as the relationship we can build with them in the long term.
I’m not on the shopfloor very often these days, but it's always a pleasure to see people who have been coming here for over 20 years with their family and friends. It means that what we offer isn’t just passing trends – but products that can be worn by all generations. Sometimes we have whole families who buy the same sweater!”
We asked Catherine to highlight Universal Works customers from her store's community. We’ve got a strong lineup in store including Sign Writer Duo Enseignes Brillo, the talented tattoo artist and co-founder of Bisous Bisous, and two Sisters who own and operate the popular Parisian restaurant, Double Dragon. Over the coming weeks we’ll be spotlighting each of these talented individuals on our journal and socials. Watch this space for more.
