Vancouver Fashion Week FW25 Interview with Designer Julie Mouly-Pommerol of Julie Ehme (France)

Julie Ehme will be showing their new collection on the runway at Vancouver Fashion Week SS25 on Fri., April 11th  at 7:00 P.M. Purchase tickets HERE!

Bio

Julie Mouly--Pommerol grew up in Clermont-Ferrand (France), where she gradually developed her creativity, influenced in particular by her father's passion for fashion and photography. Determined to become a fashion designer from an early age, she studied fashion design at the Institut Français de la Mode and then worked for several years in major fashion houses. 

In October 2024, she was a finalist at the International Festival of Fashion, Photography and Accessories of Hyères, where she had the opportunity to present a personal collection, entitled Métamorphose. In March 2025, Julie and her partner, Arnaud Bénézeth, a former business lawyer, decide to launch their own brand based in Paris and called “JULIE EHME”, in reference to Julie’s father's artist name. The brand’s first ready-to-wear collection derives directly from the Métamorphose collection.

Interview - 

How did you learn your skills?

I've always had a passion for fashion so at the age of 18, after my baccalauréat, I went to Paris to study fashion design at the Institut Français de la Mode. Then I worked in fashion houses for several years (Jean- Paul Gaultier, Saint-Laurent, IRO), each of which gave me the opportunity to learn new techniques and working methods. As for embroidery, I took an introductory course at the Lesage school in Paris and also evening classes offered by the Paris City Hall for 6 months. I love to innovate in my work, so when I have an idea but don't know how to do it myself, I usually try to learn to do it rather than asking to someone else.

Who are you as a designer? Aesthetic? Customer? Brand?

For as long as I can remember, I have wanted to be a fashion designer. I think that is partly due to my father, whose passion for fashion, photography and film had a big influence on me. I was a rather shy child and fashion allowed me to express myself and gain confidence. I would say that fashion was my language from a very young age.

With my partner, Arnaud Bénézeth, we share this idea that fashion is an art, and like any art, it has the power to convey ideas, to make people think, but also to amaze and emotionally move them. We can use our collections as a pretext to question ourselves and our relationship with the world. Having a label also allows us, through our garments and accessories, to establish a dialogue with individuals and to shares stories or thoughts. Creating a brand is also a human adventure and Arnaud and I are both very driven by meeting new people, learning new skills and going from one exciting project to another.

The aesthetic is very feminine, I attach great importance to the search for volume and the cut of the garment. To define the shape of a garment, I always start from the lines of the body and determine whether I want the body to be shown, concealed or protected.

Our collections are inclusive and I think lots of women can identify with our garments because of the stories that they tell.

What comes easiest for you as a designer? What is hardest?

The easiest for me is the creative phase, because it’s a time when I feel very free and confident in what I do.

The hardest part is all the rest, in particular everything in the field of finance, strategy, distribution and communication. These take a lot of time and often even more time than the creative part. That’s why having a partner like Arnaud, who is a former business lawyer, is a real benefit! We each have our own areas of expertise so we never get in each other's way. We consult on everything, we support each other but we know that we can rely on each other with confidence. JULIE EHME was born out of our complementarity.

Where do you find inspiration for new collections? How important is color to your design process?

My collections always start from a reflection about me or my relationship to myself as a woman or in relation to the world around me. For example, this first collection is called Métamorphose, which refers both to our inner selves and to the plant world. To express the need for each of us to assert ourselves despite societal norms and shackles, I designed this collection in which nature tries to escape from the garment and to take the upper hand, like a woman seeking to reveal herself. It is also a metaphor of my personal and career path, as this collection came at a time when I myself was undergoing a metamorphosis and it helped me to transform myself and gradually gain confidence and self-assertion. I had to make important professional and personal choices, and this collection has accompanied me on this journey.

The choice of colors and patterns is as important for me as that of the choice of material. I don't really have a favourite colour for the garments I designed and it really depends on the story I wish to tell.

Readers would love to know more about the collection you be showing at Vancouver Fashion Week.

The Métamorphose collection is a manifesto dedicated to Nature: alive, poetic, joyful and colorful, but also capable of being mysterious and intriguing. Nature prints, sculpts or escapes from the outlines of the garments, as if driven by a fierce desire to reclaim its rights over the materials that surround it, from fabric to metal to paper. Métamorphose bears witness to the intimate, sensual nature of the relationship between man and nature, as the latter inexorably attempts to reclaim its wild state, like a wake-up call to mankind. 

The Métamorphose collection is showcased at the Vancouver Fashion Week (VFW) in a new extended version including garments from JULIE EHME’s first ready-to-wear collection (deriving from the initial couture collection).

Do you have a favorite look in this collection?

I think my favorite piece is the first dress because it was the starting point of the collection. It was also the piece with which I was selected for the Hyères festival. It was made from two shirts worn by my paternal grandmother, who was a great inspiration to me as a woman.

I believe that clothing is a language and always tells something about us. Beyond the ecological aspect of this upcycling piece, what interests me is the idea that the garment has already lived a story. By remodeling it I'm telling a whole new story.

Where can readers purchase your designs?

All our ready-to-wear collection is available for preorder on our website www.julieehme.com as from April 1st, 2025. The preorder period will last until April 30, 2025. People can also follow us on Instagram and TikTok (@julie_ehme) where we will announce any new drops or preorder.

What's next for you as a designer and your brand?

As I said, creating a brand is a human adventure and it is very important for Arnaud and I to take our time and to enjoy each chapter of this story. The next step for us is the preorder of our FW25 collection, which derives directly from theMétamorphose collection showcased at the Vancouver Fashion Week collection and will be launched on our website on April 1st, 2025. Then our SS26 collection will also derive from other looks of the Métamorphose collection and should be launched around September 2025. We believe in slow fashion so we want to limit ourselves to two collections per year in order to remain sustainable. We already have a lot of ideas for new collections and exciting side projects that we will reveal in due course.

In closing is there anything else you'd like to share with readers?

Our goal is really to tell a story in each collection, we are involved in every step of the collection from the design of the clothes to the composition of the music through the scenario of the pubs.

In a world that is moving faster and faster, we create a suspended moment where we offer people a complete universe to take them with us into history. Fashion is not just an industry. A designer puts a lot of art in what they create. It is a mutual sharing. The designer creates a collection with a story and meaning and the customers takes it and tells their own story.


I often compare the collections to a book, the author tells a story inspired by their reflections and research, but when the reader reads the book, they are free to appropriate the story and visualize it as they wish. So welcome to the first chapter.

Links - 

• Website -www.julieehme.com
• Instagram - @julie_ehme
• TikTok - @julie_ehme