Industry Fashion and apparel Products Maternity clothing Headquarters London, United Kingdom Founded 2002 Type of business Privately held company | Area served International Website www.seraphine.com Founder Cecile Reinaud Number of locations 8 | |
 | ||
Profiles | ||
Séraphine is an international maternity fashion label and store. The company was founded by French-born designer Cecile Reinaud in 2002. Séraphine is based in London and has stores in Dubai, Hong Kong, the United Kingdom and United States. Its clothing is sold around the world through various boutiques and online.
Contents
The maternity label received worldwide attention when Kate Middleton was photographed in a Séraphine dress for the first official family portrait with Prince George. Séraphine has also been worn by celebrities such as Anne Hathaway, Olivia Wilde, Halle Berry, Angelina Jolie, Kate Winslet, Christina Aguilera, Gwen Stefani and Doutzen Kroes. In 2015, Séraphine received the Queen's Award for Enterprise, the United Kingdom's highest official accolade for businesses.
History
Séraphine was founded in 2002 by Cecile Reinaud. Originally from Paris, Reinaud studied business in France before moving to the UK to work for advertising agencies including JWT. Reinaud had the idea to start Séraphine after she was approached by multiple friends asking her to tailor their clothes during their pregnancies. Her first design for the label was a pair of maternity jeans with a special lining and flexible fit to accommodate pregnant women.
The first Séraphine store opened on Kensington Church Street in West London in 2002. In 2007, Séraphine opened its second store in Hampstead. The company launched a new, revamped website in December 2010.
Séraphine introduced its Luxe Collection in 2012, a line of maternity fashions for red-carpet events along with bridal gowns and outwear designed for women during and post-pregnancy. Séraphine opened another store in central London on Marylebone High Street in 2013, and in 2014, the company opened a store on Northcote Road in Clapham.
In November 2014, the company opened a 1,650 square foot store in New York City. It is their first flagship store in the United States and is located on West Broadway. In 2015, Seraphine relocated its London flagship store from Kensington Church Street in West London to Kensington High Street. That same year, the company opened a location in Leeds Victoria Quarter and another New York store on Madison Avenue.
In November 2015, Séraphine launched The Diana Collection, a line of baby clothing produced in collaboration with the Diana Award charity. The company opened a flagship store in Dubai's Festival City Mall in April 2016.
Overview
The Séraphine maternity line includes more than 200 styles of clothing for women during and after pregnancy. The designer collections feature wardrobe basics, denims, office attire, knitwear, outerwear, and evening gowns.
The company also operates internationally through online sales and stockists such as Pea in the Pod, Galeries Lafayette and John Lewis as well as more than 80 independent clothing boutiques across the United States and Canada.
In popular culture
Séraphine received international attention in 2013 after the Duchess of Cambridge, Kate Middleton, was photographed wearing the designer brand. The particular dress Kate Middleton was wearing, the Jolene Knot Front Dress, sold out within two hours. Middleton also wore Séraphine during her second pregnancy when she visited New York City in December 2014, as well as in the United Kingdom in early 2015.
Other celebrities have been seen wearing Séraphine maternity clothes such as Halle Berry, Angelina Jolie, Kate Hudson, Claudia Schiffer and Jessica Alba.
Collaboration
Séraphine has collaborated over the years with several philanthropic partners, running campaigns to raise money for charities supporting mothers and babies. From 2005 to 2006, the company ran a campaign in collaboration with UK pregnancy charity Tommy's, supported by actress Anna Friel and singer Jamelia, in which Séraphine donated 100 percent of the profits from the sales of its baby scan t-shirt. The campaign raised over £40,000 for Tommy's.
In 2014, Séraphine launched its 'Just For Love' campaign in collaboration with the Los Angeles based charity Baby2Baby. The campaign encouraged women to upload a picture to their online gallery and in exchange Séraphine donated $1 for every image uploaded. The campaign raised over $1000 for Baby2Baby.
In 2015, the company launched a charity t-shirt campaign, supported by singer Sophie Ellis-Bextor in aid of Tommy's. The campaign raised £50,000, and all proceeds went towards Tommy’s’ miscarriage research centre.
In fall 2015, Séraphine launched its first collection of baby clothes in a partnership with the Diana Award charity. The company donated 12% of profits from sales of Diana Collection baby clothes to the charity.
Recognition
Séraphine has been recognized through various awards and accolades over the last decade. The company received the 'Best Specialist E-Tailer' award from the fashion business magazine Drapers in 2011.
In 2012, the company received five awards at the Pregnancy & Baby Bloom Awards including ones for 'Best Evening Wear,' 'Best Nursing Top,' and 'Best Innovation.'
Drapers awarded Séraphine's e-commerce website in 2014 for being the 'Best Multi-channel Retailer.' Séraphine was recognized by The Sunday Times "Fast Track 100 Ones To Watch" from 2014. The company was awarded the Queen's Award for Enterprise in 2015 after seeing a 35 percent growth in 2014.