Petrusse

Petrusse calls itself a “composer of stoles”, and there’s a whole story behind that. To start with, the brand name is the nickname of its founder, Monique Pieter Reijnen, who was born in the Netherlands. An antique dealer and gallerist, Monique lived in France from the age of 14, and Petrusse is a feminized form of her father’s name.

In 1996, Monique traveled to India and discovered the world of hand weaving. Back in France, she began creating shawls and scarves with traditional Indian motifs shaped like drops or feathers. These patterns were popular in Europe in the 19th century, but Petrusse essentially brought them back into fashion in France. The brand also started inviting visionary artists to design pieces and launched collaborations with the Louvre, the Musée d’Orsay, and the Musée de l’Orangerie. In 2019, after selling her successful business, Monique returned to creative work, focusing on wallpaper design and opening the Jeanne & Sauvage art gallery in Dordogne.

The new owner of Petrusse became Florence Lafragette, a native of Bordeaux from a family of winemakers. She previously managed wine châteaux in Médoc, then led international communications for Helena Rubinstein and worked as director of the L’Oréal Foundation. What drew her to Petrusse was the chance to combine entrepreneurship with art. Florence became president and artistic director of the brand, preserving its spirit and continuing its tradition of working with artists.

The Petrusse range includes silk carré scarves, stoles, cashmere shawls, jewelry, and accessories. The Petrusse atelier is located in Château Mauriac near Bordeaux, built in 1860 by the grandfather of Nobel Prize–winning writer François Mauriac. In Bordeaux, there’s a boutique on Allées de Tourny near the Opéra National, and in Paris a boutique on Boulevard Raspail plus corners at Le Bon Marché and Printemps Haussmann.