Jean Marc Gaucher: ‘Repetto is about grace and beauty’

A woman captures a moment of grace when she wears Repetto shoes.

Jean Marc Gaucher, owner of this shoe brand originally designed in Paris for ballerinas, looks like he is ready to dance as he says this.

“Repetto shoes are designed to make women look graceful and beautiful,” he adds. “Repetto is the only brand in the world designed for ballet dancers. Isn’t it nice when people say you walk like a dancer?”

“Do you want me to dance?” The amiable Frenchman laughs when we ask if he is wearing dancing shoes. “Yes, I am wearing Repetto shoes that is used by jazz dancers.”

Jean Marc Gaucher is not a dancer. But he has been moving all his life, from one job to another. He took his first steps towards independence at age 15 as a factory worker and traipsed on to become a farmer, pub waiter, accountant and manager for athletes in England.

He made a bigger leap in 1971 when he met the boss of Reebok and he took charge of selling Reebok shoes in France. As Reebok France CEO, he was named Manager of the Year  in the French luxury industry in 1994.

His biggest leap came in 1999 when he became owner of Repetto. The step from sports shoes to dancing shoes was like a walk in the park for Jean Marc who has obviously mastered the right steps towards success even as he says “I have no diploma.”

In town to share the latest news about Repetto during lunch with lifestyle press at Sala Bistro last week, Jean Marc announced that Repetto will be opening a school in shoemaking and bag making in January 2014 in France  in collaboration with Hermes.

In the summer of 2014, the brand will also launch Repetto perfume as the newest addition to its range of products which includes bags and  RTW clothing, aside from shoes.

Repetto opened its first shop in the Philippines in April last year, with  Suyen Corporation, the company that owns Bench and some 40 other brands, as its franchise holder. Why did he choose to partner with the Bench group ? “Because they’re the best,” Jean Marc quickly replies. “Many companies want to distribute Repetto worldwide, but it is not easy to find the right people to do business with.”

But it looks like he is not in a hurry to open more Repetto shops in other countries. Outside Europe and the Middle East,the brand is a big hit in Asian countries like Japan where there is a high respect for the French tradition of quality and chic, and Hong Kong where five out of 10 women own at least a pair of Repetto shoes. The brand is opening soon in China, with the USA as the next target.

“Why should I worry? I make more than I need. I am happy doing what I like to do,” he smiles. “Even if I work 12 hours a day.” Perfection is surely something he has an eye for, following Repetto’s 67-year-old tradition. Repetto began in 1947 when Rose Repetto, following the request of her son Roland Petit, created ballet shoes in a tiny workshop close to the National Opera of Paris. It quickly became the choice of the dance industry in Europe.

Repetto began making shoes for non-dancers in 1956 when Brigitte Bardot requested for flat ballerinas which then became called the “BB” shoes. These were made using the same technique for ballet shoes, le cousu retourne or “stitch and return”.

Each pair of Repetto shoes undergoes 15 steps before it lands in the shoebox. You don’t see any stitching on the outside of a Repetto shoe because everything is stitched on the reverse. Strict quality control is observed  by Repetto.

We saw this passion for perfection ourselves when we visited the Repetto factory in Dordogne last year with the Suyen executives together with Richard Gomez and Lucy Torres. It was Lucy, having been happy with Repetto shoes she had purchased years ago during a trip, who persuaded  Ben Chan to consider bringing the brand to Manila. In the factory, we saw how 10 percent of the shoes would be disregarded if they had even a very minor production flaw.

Fashion houses/designers like Carven, Rodarte, Karl Lagerfeld, Issey Miyake, Yohji Yamamoto and Comme des Garcons have had collaborations with Repetto.

Repetto has become a brand desired by many fashionable women, including legendary icons Audrey Hepburn and Jackie Kennedy Onassis. Celebrities like Angelina Jolie, Sarah Jessica Parker, Kate Moss, Reese Witherspoon and Jessica Alba love the brand. And so do power women like Hillary Clinton.

They aptly capture moments of grace.

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In the Philippines, Repetto has  a boutique at Greenbelt 3, Ayala Center, Makati. Two new Repetto boutiques will open this year at Shangri-La Plaza Mandaluyong and Power Plant Mall in Rockwell Center.

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