Super chic French brand Sézane opens its first store in London, here's what to shop

What are the ingredients for great French dressing?

The style variety that is, not the salad. Is it down to the perfect silk shirt? A beautifully tailored jacket? Or perhaps it’s not what you wear, but how you wear it? One thing for certain is that it helps if you are French. C’est la vie, Francophiles.

But for those determined not to let their sub-chic lineage stand in their way, I bring excellent news because next week Sézane, the cult Parisian label that provides wardrobe bread and butter to the planet’s best-dressed inhabitants, is set to fling open the doors of its first shop here in the capital .

Having started life as France’s first online-only fashion brand, Sézane’s offline London home follows similarly chic boutiques in New York and, of course, Paris, where rails of clothes are housed alongside a mini basement cinema and a library next door.

But what’s surprising for a label that’s as French as a croque monsieur is that our fair capital had a hand in its making. “London is a big part of the Sézane story,” says founder Morgane Sézalory. “It all started 14 years ago when my sister moved to London leaving three bags of vintage pieces behind. I took out my camera and started an online adventure on eBay, without knowing it would be the beginning of my professional path.”

Since then and having graduated from flogging second-hand wares to designing her own, Sézalory’s collections are divided into two types: La Liste, a permanent line of never-be-without French staples (think high-waist jeans, lace blouses and white leather sneakers) alongside monthly small-batch drops of bags, shoes and threads with a certain je ne sais quoi that causes them to sell out, often within days.

Of course, Sézane’s success is not just down to covetable Gallic aesthetics. Notably because it’s not the first to bring quality French fashion exports to our shores — one need only count the number of Isabel Marant boots lining any Primrose Hill school gate to confirm that. But while the biggest brands often require even bigger budgets, Sézane is positioned in the sweet spot where high quality and limited exclusivity doesn’t equal eye-watering price tags. As a result, you can pick up a rebooted Breton top for £60 or a leather bag for £150, while jumpsuits and dresses hover around the £100 mark. As Sézalory puts it: “We offer clothes that women have always been looking for — true, affordable luxury.”

Sézalory predicts that a pair of leopard-print ankle boots (£185) will cause the biggest stir on UK soil. A floral printed shirt (£80) and a classic camel Crombie coat (£265) also make her top three. Sézalory’s sales intel also confirms that the Jack sneakers (low-top, leather, lovely) and the brand’s iconic denim Will jacket, along with “all our blouses” are big hits among the Brit pack.

Et voilà! Vive la France.