DOUBLE DAUPHIN, WORK SOUL MATES

In addition to their respective jobs in the world of perfumery, Guillaume Bret and Pierre Zissler created their brand “Double Dauphin” in the middle of the last lockdown. A name with an obvious humor for a symphonic duo, passionate about fashion, accessories, and techno.

Dressed in black, Pierre is the first to arrive at my place. He has barely hung up his trench coat when Guillaume, all dressed in white and with bare arms, rings the doorbell. In harmony with their clothes, they are as polite as well-behaved children, saying thank you at the same time as they are offered a beer or a simple glass of water. On the coffee table between us sit their bags, one black and one white, strangely shaped like a gun holster. Pierre and Guillaume, a duo less quiet than it seems.

Spirit animal: dolphin

What does Double Dauphin mean? Their Instagram is mysterious. An energetic manifesto. A 3D monogram. Young women and men in a public swimming pool. And then headlights on a bag worn crossbody on a naked torso, a ring on a mysterious hand hanging on a car steering wheel. In front of me, Pierre and Guillaume are wearing t-shirts branded with this name “Double Dauphin” that sounds, according to their own admission, "like a joke. It has to remain playful, almost burlesque.” As they presented their first bag prototype to their friends, the name dolphin came up in a bit of a game. "The definition of the dolphin as a totem animal represents our state of mind. This epicurean side, the joy of living, sharing, harmony, a certain symbiosis ... " explains Pierre. A wink to a vintage kitsch that is not to their displeasure. If they are serious in the development of their first products of which the Holster bag is the main piece, they like to have fun as you can see from their slogan: "Made to Rave, Made to Last". Pierre: "We created a brand that celebrates togetherness at a time when getting together was no longer possible." These free party enthusiasts owe their friendship to their communion around techno music. Extraverted at parties, introverted on social networks, they are not far from a paradox.

"Double Dolphin requests"  

To go out, the boys wanted small evening bags. So, they design their ideal bag together on Photoshop. "We like very brutalist designs, straightforward, cut shapes that have a crazy modernity. We wanted a simple shape but with a singularity. After the plans, we tested on paper sheets the capacity of the bag for a phone, keys... " Their PDF ready, they "spammed" more than a hundred factories with their mail-in "Double Dauphin requests". The Holster will finally be made in Spain thanks to a man with the prophetic first name of...Jesus. Made of box calf, a very fine and resistant calf leather, the Holster exists in black or white. "Both in the brand story and in the products, we like to play on this idea of duality. For the moment we don't want to explore other colors, it's not our priority" says Guillaume. Pierre chose the material in memory of his time in the custom shoe business at John Lobb (Hermès group). Thought out in the smallest details, its strap adjusts so the bag can be worn in different ways. "It's our side of "cowboy of the night", says Pierre with amusement. Their monogram composed of two intertwined Ds - the brand's initials - is a "metaphor for links and connections, values on which the project was built.”

Diving into the Rave spirit

"The Holster is a tribute to the Pistos. These techno party goers who swing their arms in the air and imitate guns with their hands" says Pierre. "A mysterious and bewitching dance, inspired by voodoo, which was already danced at the very first techno raves." Carrying a Holster is at your own risk, Guillaume admits that the policemen always look at him a bit strangely. These nice gangsters travel in packs. Their friends are at the heart of their work, their nights and their first campaign shot in a municipal pool. They are surrounded by the director Andrei Proko, the photographer Mariana Matamoros, resident photographer at La Possession parties, and a group of 17 young people, most of whom they met at parties. Entirely self-financed, this shooting turned out to be grueling but up to their expectations. This campaign is thought as a brand story, with an aesthetic inspired by DyE's fantasy clip, to be discovered on their website under the name "aftermovie". An additional key to understanding the dolphins that symbolize these friends evolving in a group and inspiring each other.

"Work soul mate"

In 2017, Guillaume met Pierre at the Institut Français de la Mode in a Master's degree in Fashion and Luxury Management. Also a Penninghen graduate in art direction, Guillaume remembers a professor who prophesied to students that one day in their career they would find their "work soul mate." That ideal partner was named Pierre: "We became best friends in an obvious and very quick way. We started going out together all week, every weekend. As we got to know each other, we realized that our profiles were really complementary and we wanted to start a project together." They were waiting to be hired at the end of their final internship to launch their entrepreneurial project. Pierre emphasizes that "working on the side allows us to get a lot of inspiration, to meet creative and talented people." It's a way for them to continue learning in their respective fields, marketing for Pierre at Coty and artistic direction for Guillaume at Parfums Christian Dior. As for the distribution of tasks for Double Dauphin, Pierre emphasizes "there is a real synergy between us. We don't step on each other's toes." For the creation of products and their development, the two work together. Guillaume adds: "I will have an input on the aesthetic aspect, but Pierre, with his background as a mechanical engineer, will mentalize the volumes, the functionality of the buckle, the length of the strap, much better than me. He has an impressive understanding of volumes."

Fun, not stress

The launch of their website is a secret that is exchanged from party to party where we find their first products. Count 460 euros for the Hoster bag, 160 euros for the Ring with stylized dolphins, 160 euros for a hoodie and 70 euros for a t-shirt. For the t-shirt, the initial pattern is now reworked by Hakuyo Miya, a Japanese designer who does custom work in Belleville. The material is sourced in England, a very thick, solid, and warm 320 cotton twill, used in the past for rugby shirts to avoid being torn easily. This organic cotton, worked on English knitting machines, is then entrusted to a retouching and tailoring workshop run by 3 Turkish brothers. A workshop discovered "by chance while going to buy a kebab one Saturday morning" as Pierre tells us, located a few numbers from Guillaume's apartment in Bagnolet. 

"We are not fashion designers at heart and we do not want to be subjected to a calendar of collections. That's why we don't want many products and we prefer to define ourselves as an accessory brand. The most important thing for us: that Double Dauphin remains a source of fun, not stress." Guided by their instinct, they dream of soon developing a belt, a bracelet...and why not a Double Holster to be able to draw on both sides! Bang bang.