The Riviera Collection evokes the beauty and glamour of luxury holiday destination Saint Tropez.
This inspiration is reflected in the girls gorgeous floral prints and in the boys colour palette that recalls to mind the stunning shades of blue along the Côte d'Azur.
St Tropez is a favourite travel destination for some of the Fred Team and here our Creative Director Fi names her favourite things about this special place...
Shopping...
I lurvvve Battaglia. I always manage to spend too much money on vintage and European labels that are hard to find elsewhere.
Trinity for French clothing brands and jewellery... lovely girls!
The Tuesday and Saturday markets in Place des Lices are a must... good food, clothes, beads and lots of local produce... more vintage.
See the lovely gardens at Louis Vuitton... so French!
The food is the best...
Senequier for breakfast,
La Plage des Salins Restaurant for lunch,
Spoon at Byblos for dinner.....yum!
Stay at Le Yaca
#4006 Embroidered Kaftan
available in sizes 2x-14
And who can resist the iconic Tarte Tropézienne...
Tropézienne Tart
(taken from Mimi Thorisson’s recipe blog Manger)
• 300 g/ 2 & ½ cups plain flour, sifted
• 25/ 2 tbsp granulated sugar
• 120 g/ ½ cup unsalted butter, cubed and at room temperature
• 50 ml/ 3 & ½ tbsp lukewarm full-cream milk
• 12 g fresh yeast (levure boulangère)
• 2 tbsp orange blossom water
• A good handful of small sugar grains (to sprinkle on brioche)
• A dash of icing/confectioner’s sugar (to sprinkle on tart just before serving)
For the eggwash:
• 1 egg yolk
• 1 tsp water
For the crème patissière (vanilla custard cream):
• 1 vanilla bean, split lengthwise
• 400 ml/ 1 & ¾ cup full-cream milk
• 200 g/ 1 cup granulated sugar
• 2 eggs + 1 egg yolk
• 60 g/ ½ cup corn starch (maïzena)
• 160 g/ 2/3 cup unsalted butter
• 1 tbsp orange blossom water
• 180 ml/ ¾ cup whipping cream
For the brioche:
Dissolve the yeast in a small bowl the lukewarm milk. Set aside for 5-10 minutes or until it turns frothy. In a large bowl, mix sifted flour, salt, sugar, yeast and butter. Add eggs, orange blossom water and mix well with a big wooden spoon. Start kneading until you get a smooth ball-shaped dough, about 8-10 minutes. Cover bowl with a cloth and leave to rise in a warm room/environment for 2 hours.
Start kneading the dough on a non floured surface, just to get rid of a few trapped air bubbles, about 1-2 minutes. Line the brioche mould generously with butter and place the dough inside. Cover with a cloth and leave to rise again for 1 hour.
Preheat the oven to 180°C/ 350°F. With the help of a brush, glaze the surface of the brioche with the egg yolk. Sprinkle with sugar grains all over and bake brioche for 30 minutes. If the top starts to brown too much, place a sheet of parchment paper to protect. Set aside, unmould after 10 minutes and leave to cool on a pastry rack.
For the eggwash:
Mix both ingredients together in a small bowl.
For the crème patissière (vanilla custard cream):
In a saucepan, bring the milk to soft boil with the vanilla seeds and sugar. In another bowl, whisk the eggs with the corn starch. Pour the milk into the egg/corn starch bowl, whisk continuously. Return mixture to saucepan and stir on a low heat until the cream thickens (it should have a thick cream consistency). Set aside. Add half of the butter and stir until blended. Pour cream in a bowl, cover and set aside until completely cooled. When cooled, whisk until it becomes smooth, add the rest of the butter and continue to whisk until the cream becomes fluffy and light. Prepare the whipped cream and combine to the vanilla custard cream.
Carefully slice brioche in half horizontally. Smooth cream mixture over bottom layer, and place second layer on top. Make sure to refrigerate for 1 hour. Just before serving, sprinkle the cake with icing sugar.
We also listened to the Senequier Cafe compilation album for inspiration whilst designing the collection.
On heavy rotation on the design office speakers was....
'Don't Break This Heart of Mine' by Flabby
'Fantasy' by Earth, Wind & Fire
'I Will Survive (Sobrevivire)' by Pitingo
'Vorrei Che Fosse Amore' by Giacomo Bondi feat. Francesca D'Ausilio
We love the elegant, yet laidback vibe of the French Riviera.
The attitude there to life is very similar to that of Fredbare- enjoy every moment and have lots of fun!
Love, Fred x
