Études is a Paris fashion label that is also an independent art-book publisher.

Études is a lesson in a second discipline as the identity. A French label from Paris, it is unusual in being two things at once: a minimalist, art-driven fashion house and an independent publisher of photography books. The clothes and the books share one sensibility, and that doubling is the point.

Its identity is the house that also publishes. Études Books — its independent imprint of photography monographs — sits alongside the ready-to-wear, so the brand reads as a creative studio rather than a label alone. Fashion, framed by publishing. A point of view you can read as well as wear.

(Honest notes, because accuracy matters more than a clean story. Études is a French brand based in Paris, conceived between Paris and New York and founded in 2012 by Aurélien Arbet and Jérémie Egry; a third partner, José Lamali, is frequently listed as a co-founder and departed in early 2025, and a new CEO, Brice Groulier, was appointed around 2026 — so it is no longer purely founder-run day to day. Its signature is elevated, minimalist, art-led menswear-leaning ready-to-wear bridging a Parisian sensibility and Brooklyn skate-and-street culture, plus the Études Books imprint; documented collaborations include the Brooklyn Museum, The New York Times and artist Lorraine O’Grady, and the trio held the artistic direction of Aigle from 2020. On production, the honest point: the mainline apparel is made in Portugal, with some wool goods in Italy — not France, despite the Paris address. On ownership, it is not a self-financed indie: it is investor-backed, with Fashion Capital Partners holding a board seat and further backing reported in 2025 — though it is not owned by a luxury conglomerate. Its wordmark and the artworks and photographs of its named collaborators are IP we describe but never reproduce, and there is no official brand hex — these tones are an unofficial interpretation. This is design commentary and does not promote any product.)

Études lives in a slate-and-stone palette. Click a swatch to copy the hex.

Études’ identity is cool, quiet and editorial — a slate, an ink, a stone, a graphite, and a paper. The palette leans slate and stone: the register of a printed page and a gallery wall rather than a logo. It signals a studio that treats a garment and a photobook as the same kind of object. The honest caveat: with no published brand hex, these values are an original, unofficial interpretation, not first-party colours.

The lesson is a slate-and-stone palette signals a publishing sensibility. Études’ world is a calm, considered, print-literate object. For designers, it is a reminder that a restrained, paper-and-ink palette can say “this is a studio with a point of view” more convincingly than any loud mark. Because a mid slate can fail as small text, keep type dark and let the colour live in the accents, palette and band. The takeaways: pick a second discipline; let one sensibility govern both; keep the palette quiet; and treat any single hex as unofficial.

The register is a clean grotesque — spare, editorial, art-led.

Études’ identity carries a spare, editorial, art-led spirit — a studio object, not a hype drop. A clean grotesque captures the mood: neutral, modern and quiet, the register of an exhibition catalogue and a well-set book. Set in a slate-and-stone palette, the clean grotesque feels considered and calm — exactly the personality Études carries across clothes and pages. It is understated rather than decorative, mirroring the white space of a monograph. (Études’ real garments, books, wordmark and collaborators’ artworks are things we describe but do not reproduce, and the exact typeface is not ours to use.) Because it is not ours to use, the honest description is “a clean-grotesque spirit,” shown here in a stand-in. The type behaves like the brand: spare, editorial and art-led.

Études stands for the house that also publishes.

Études is a lesson in making a second discipline the identity. A slate-and-stone palette, a clean grotesque and an art-book imprint make “a studio, not just a label” the whole brand — spare, editorial and considered. The publishing is the differentiator. The differentiator is total commitment to one sensibility across two outputs: a garment and a photobook, made by the same eye, so the brand reads as a point of view rather than a product line.

Put to work, the identity is a sensibility as design. A house building in this spirit would choose a genuine second practice — publishing, film, a gallery programme — and let a single visual language govern both, so a customer buys into a studio and its taste, not only a hoodie. The lesson Études teaches is that a real creative discipline beside the clothes, plus a quiet and disciplined design language, can build a brand an ordinary label cannot: the books give the clothes context, and the restraint gives both credibility. The second discipline is the personality, and the shared eye is the substance.

For designers and brand-builders, Études offers a clear takeaway: build a studio, not just a label. The lessons: add a real second practice; let one sensibility rule; keep the palette quiet; and be honest about the story. It is also a reminder to stay accurate: Études was founded in 2012 by Arbet and Egry, with José Lamali (often named a co-founder) departing in 2025 and a CEO appointed by 2026; its mainline apparel is made in Portugal rather than France; and it is investor-backed rather than a self-funded indie, though not conglomerate-owned — the palette here is an unofficial interpretation. Études made publishing part of the identity — proof that a second discipline can be the difference.

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