ESMOD Paris and Printemps continue their educational partnership: a first look at the loafer of 2027

Following the jacket and the bag, Printemps turns its attention to footwear. For the third edition of the Printemps x ESMOD Prize, part of the department store's back-to-school campaign celebrating a new wardrobe essential, third-year students from ESMOD Paris's Fashion Design Bachelor's programme were invited to reinterpret an iconic piece of footwear: the loafer.

A soft, laceless shoe designed for all genders, the loafer is renowned for its comfort and streamlined construction.

Exploring new silhouettes, challenging conventional uses, combining unexpected materials and revisiting traditional techniques, the students approached the loafer as a starting point for creative reinterpretation. Through processes of transformation and customisation, these emerging designers bring a fresh visual and conceptual perspective to an enduring classic. Each piece reveals a distinctive design language, reflecting the creativity of a generation eager to question and reshape established codes.

Thirteen students were selected by a jury composed of members of the Printemps teams: Angelina Barseghyan, Marine Collet, Morgane Decomble, Reimi Inafuku, Felicija Kaciulyte, Camille Laveran, Charlotte Le Berre, Élie Michaille Rodet, Guillaume Novoa-Gueneau, Yuu Ochiai, Laura Pohl, Emeline Rigault and Amélia Rustuel.

The prototypes developed by the selected students are presented as part of “Ébauche”, one of the eleven sections of Pas à Pas, Printemps Haussmann’s cultural exhibition for the new season, curated by Sylvie Marot and Marlène Van de Casteele.

Presented from 9 September to 28 October 2026 beneath the historic dome of Printemps Haussmann, the exhibition explores footwear as an object of creativity, craftsmanship and culture. More than 200 pieces are brought together from fashion houses including Louis Vuitton, Thom Browne and Noritaka Tatehana, sportswear brands, heritage institutions including the Fondation Azzedine Alaïa, the Shoe or No Shoes Museum in Kruisem, Belgium, and the Musée des Métiers de la Chaussure in Sèvremoine, as well as private collections, the Printemps archives and ESMOD’s study collection.

Camille Laveran Wins the 2026 Printemps x ESMOD Prize

This year, the 2026 Printemps x ESMOD Prize has been awarded to Camille Laveran, a graduate of ESMOD Paris’s Fashion Design Bachelor’s programme, specialising in Accessories. Her creation, the Double Billie loafer, impressed the jury with the clarity of its silhouette, the precision of its execution and its technical mastery. With Double Billie, Camille Laveran reinterprets one of the great classics of the wardrobe: the loafer. Her approach is based on subtly transforming a familiar form.

“The idea is not to break with what already exists, but to alter it just enough to reveal a new way of seeing it,” explains the young designer.

An animal-inspired motif brings a tactile, expressive quality to the loafer, which can remain understated or become more assertive depending on the version. Today, her project is entering a new phase, with the Double Billie loafer being developed in collaboration with the teams behind Printemps’ own label, Saison 1865. This next step reflects Printemps and ESMOD’s shared ambition to support students beyond the initial creative process, giving them first-hand experience of the demands and realities of the fashion industry.

Camille Laveran succeeds Roméo Gandon-Cattier, recipient of the 2025 Printemps x ESMOD Prize. His project was praised by the jury for its thoughtful use of materials — combining patinated leather with vine shoots — as well as its technical precision and poetic dimension. His design has since taken on a life of its own: the Héritage bag, created as a tribute to his winegrower father, is now available as a limited edition across Printemps stores and on Printemps.com under the Saison 1865 label.

More broadly, this creative experience places students in conditions that closely reflect those of a professional design project: researching, designing, experimenting, prototyping, presenting and defending a concept before industry experts, and ultimately putting their work before the public. The objective is to encourage students to move beyond the academic environment and test their ideas against the realities of the industry — with one selected project progressing all the way from concept to the development of a product intended for commercial release.

Practical information

Pas à Pas. La chaussure sous ses angles.

9 September – 28 October 2026

Printemps Haussmann — Coupole Wybo 6th floor, Printemps de la Femme 58 boulevard Haussmann 75009 Paris, France

Free admission — 10 a.m. to 8 p.m.

Guided tours are available at weekends, subject to registration.