De Libran’s Rykiel Revolution

© Rex Features

SHE's developed a reputation as the girl with the golden touch, thanks to successful tenures under Marc Jacobs at Louis Vuitton and with Miuccia Prada at Prada - but Julie de Libran is almost ready to step out of the studio shadows and unveil her first collection for Sonia Rykiel.As expected, she is embracing change and history in equal measure.

"It's an institution in France, like my experience at Louis Vuitton," she said of Rykiel."I feel very confident about it - being a woman designing for women, which is what Sonia did in her time."

Spending months in the company archive, poring over Rykiel's "codes", she has identified garments and styles that may be ripe for a revamp - as well as some areas that are as yet untapped.Knitwear will remain core, but "denim is also important, leather, bathing suits, lingerie, fur. There are so many categories," she told WWD.Perfume will happen at a later date, and the Sonia By Sonia second line, childrenswear and homewares all also fall under her creative remit.

"It's Julie's first show, and we are very confident; it puts us in a position to accelerate Rykiel's first line," said Jean-Marc Loubier - president and chief executive officer of First Heritage Brands, which owns Rykiel, adding that he expects Rykiel orders for next season "to increase substantially".

De Libran's Rykiel debut will hit the catwalk on Monday - click here to sign up to see the pictures first.