In an industry that favours the ‘ego’, Parisian fashion house ba&sh shows the true force of the collective in its latest campaign launched in Europe and China.

Drawing inspiration from the origins of the brand, founded by two best friends Barbara Boccara & Sharon Krief, ba&sh celebrates its collaborative beginnings by championing the real female collectives of today.

“We have built our company like a family, welcoming different voices and opinions across all aspects of our business.” says co-founders Barbara and Sharon. “It’s the way we work together that is our greatest strength, and the reason why we are proud.”

Running the company since L Catterton took interest in ba&sh, Pierre-Arnaud Grenade finds that “The new platform, ‘Born Collective’ is much more than a tagline, it pays homage to the roots of ba&sh, its philosophy and even the clothes themselves”. Never one to promote the fast moving trends of the fashion industry, ba&sh designs collections that aggregate over time, mixing looks, genres and generations to compliment women of all different ages and backgrounds."

Anne-Laure Brunner, managing director at BETC, adds: "BETC has always been believing in the female collective. In that sense it felt extremely right to join forces with ba&sh, Bisou Bouche and Island Life." 

A celebration of inclusivity, female empowerment and personal style, the campaign launches with two real collectives - shining a light on the women in them and celebrating how they come together to become so much more than the sum of their parts.

Kicking off the AW21/22 campaign, we meet Paris based multidisciplinary group ‘Bisou Bouche’, a creative powerhouse that brings together artists, producers, stylists, activists, designers, and many more talented women to work on a huge range of projects and events.

Coming from the other side of the world we tell the story of ‘Island Life’, a collective based in Hainan, who are introducing Chinese women to the empowerment and sisterhood that the world of surfing can bring, no matter their skill level.

With both films directed by up and coming local female talent, Caroline Grimprel and Xiaoyi Zheng, the collective spirit of the campaign transcends the films and images, promoting women-championing-women on all different levels.

Like all collaborations, ‘born collective’ will grow and evolve over time, giving us many more opportunities to meet and promote great female collectives of our time.