Meet the founder

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WHO’S BEHIND THE 1971 PROJECT?

My name is Christelle Loozen. I’ve been a product development consultant in the textile sector since 1997.

I’ve always had a passion for clothes and sewing. As a child, I would dress my sister’s dolls in my home-made designs – she remembers how chic they were to this very day!

When I was 12, I started at a sewing school in Verviers, a former textile town. The world was my oyster, but my mind was made up.

After turning 18, I dashed off to Paris to complete my training at renowned fashion school ESMOD. In my third year, I became even surer that my future was in men’s fashion. I ended up graduating top of my class and was awarded the jury prize.

Afterwards, I went on to offer my services to various companies, but the real lightbulb moment came when I met Pierre Kuborn, the boss of a Brussels-based company that produces jeans for the Belgian and European markets. I’ve been in denim ever since.

For almost 25 years, I made my way as a denim product manager for various industry players, but I grew tired of constantly chasing profit. As quality dropped further and further down the list of priorities, I struggled to find satisfaction and to feel aligned with what I was doing. I was then struck with the idea to create my own fashion line, to design clothing in line with my convictions that respects producers, materials and the environment. I drew inspiration from my childhood and teenage memories, my unconditional love of denim, and my rock/garage/retro influences. And while I was at it, I decided to make my products high-quality, original and exclusive.

Christelle.