Laurèl plots expansion in Europe following PFW showcase

German-born womenswear brand Laurèl, which is part of the Shenzhen, China-based Ellassay Group, debuted a high-end atelier collection during Paris Fashion Week, as the brand looks to re-enter the European market following impressive growth in China.

Wang Dusen, general manager of Laurèl, told FashionUnited that the German brand’s official debut on the Paris Fashion Week schedule marked a “milestone moment,” and comes as the brand reports rapid breakthroughs both online and offline in recent years, since Ellassay acquired the design rights to the label in 2015.

From 2019 to 2024, Laurèl’s online sales achieved an average annual growth rate of over 130 percent, reveals the brand, driven by “strong growth” on Tmall and Douyin, the Chinese TikTok. In 2024 alone, online sales increased by 51.6 percent year-on-year, driving overall revenue growth of 19 percent and reaching 415 million renminbi in revenue.

Laurèl debuts atelier collection during Paris Fashion Week

Founded in Munich, Germany, in 1978, Laurèl has positioned itself as a premium womenswear brand designing wardrobe essentials to empower “global professional women,” placing a minimalistic and elegant aesthetic at the heart of its design philosophy, combining German craftsmanship with Chinese precision and a modern approach, offering utilitarian fashion fused with contemporary art.

Sitting between classic and formal, Laurèl is targeting the consumers of brands such as MaxMara and Theory, with its mainline ready-to-wear retailing for around 120 to 480 euros for tops to dresses from 300 to 880 euros, and outerwear ranging from 600 to 3750 euros. When it comes to its key product, blazers are its bestselling styles.

Karina Zhang, senior manager of brand marketing at Laurèl, said to FashionUnited: “We position Laurèl in between premium and luxury, empowering strong modern women with business, formal styles, drawing inspiration from Bauhaus art, while keeping a strong German DNA throughout our designs.

“Our loyal customers in China right now are super elite businesswomen; they want more from their wardrobe. They’re not satisfied with ready-to-wear; they are looking for more, and that’s why we feel now is the right time to take our first steps into haute couture with our Atelier Collection.

“Atelier is an elevation for the brand, building on the success of our VIP section in China, where it was well received.”

German brand Laurèl re-enters European market

The Atelier line, unveiled at the historical Monnaie de Paris, draws inspiration from the brand’s five decades of heritage to offer a refined and timeless expression of the brand’s vision, with feminine tailoring at the heart of the offering.

The collection also represents a “stylistic evolution” for the brand with minimalist styles inspired by the Bauhaus ethos of “form follows function,” with tailored jackets, longline suits, and silk dresses, featuring precision-cut shoulders, delicate fringing and fluid waist form silhouettes, in soft mint and chocolate brown colour palette layered over neutral gold and black-white tones.

On why it was important for the brand to showcase in Paris, Dusen said: “Paris is the capital of fashion and the birthplace of haute couture and provides a unique contemporary art atmosphere that resonates naturally with Laurèl’s Bauhaus-inspired brand DNA.

“Presenting the Laurèl Atelier collection for the first time during Paris Fashion Week not only allows the brand’s aesthetic language to be expressed within the most authoritative and influential context, but also underscores Laurèl’s ambition to strengthen brand equity, communicate forward-looking design, and deliver cultural depth.”

The catwalk showcase also unveiled Laurèl’s latest collaboration, a Wakuku mascot character attached as a bag charm on the brand’s accessories, which was brought to life in partnership with creative IP platform Letsvan, offering a playful pop of creativity to the brand’s structured tailoring.

Laurèl to expand its international reach with Paris flagship

Laurèl is looking to use its PFW debut and its steady growth in China to propel the womenswear brand internationally, with the label stating its immediate focus is on developing the brand recognition and reach across Europe, targeting France and Germany through wholesale, as well as its own retail outlets, with a debut store likely in Paris within the next 12 months.

“We have a huge ambition to re-enter the European markets, and with our product being premium, we feel that physical retail is important for the brand,” explained Zhang. “We’ve been looking to open our first flagship store in Paris, searching for the last couple of months for the right location, to hopefully open a store next year.”

In China, Laurèl has also been expanding its retail footprint steadily, growing from 52 stores in 2019 to 92 stores by the end of June 2025. Zhang added that the blueprint for the store design in Europe will follow that of the ones in China, where the retail space emphasises “simplicity and softness” of the product with a sleek contemporary gallery-like space.

Laurèl debuts at PFW, supported by the Shenzhen municipal government

Laurèl unveiled its latest expansion category during PFW as part of a cultural showcase supported by the Shenzhen municipal government, designed to provide fashion brands from the Chinese region an international platform. Laurèl featured alongside two other Shenzhen-based labels, Nexy.co, designed under the artistic direction of Irish designer Sharon Wauchob and Yiner, which targets the modern urban woman.

Fashion is seen as a core pillar of Shenzhen’s Futian District, with the region rapidly emerging as a key district within China’s fashion industry. Figures supplied by Laurèl state that in 2024, Futian’s GDP reached 594.882 billion renminbi, with fashion positioned alongside finance and innovation and technology as its three strategic pillar industries for the region. Futian’s fashion ecosystem accounted for 15 percent of the district’s GDP by 2024.

Dusen added: “As a German premium womenswear brand that has been deeply rooted in China for many years, Laurèl’s support of Futian Government’s international fashion week initiative demonstrates its commitment to jointly driving the internationalisation of China’s fashion industry.

“Through this collaboration, Laurèl also seeks to deepen its ties with the Shenzhen municipal government, laying a stronger foundation for its future expansion in the domestic market.”