Ozias, the French leather goods label adorned by Beyoncé

Ozias, a still-under-the-radar French brand, garnered massive media attention due to the style acumen, timely execution, and boldness of its founder, Marc Clément, known as Ozias.

On April 17, the American superstar Beyoncé, followed by 319 million on Instagram, posted a series of ten photos where she donned a very cowgirl-esque, all-denim look that nodded to her eighth studio album, ‘Cowboy Carter’, released on March 29. Among these images, liked by 1.5 million fans, the singer prominently featured a deconstructed baguette handbag embellished with the name ‘Jolene’—a track from her new album and a cover of country singer Dolly Parton’s song. The creator of this bag? Ozias.

“I’m a huge fan of Beyoncé as well as country music. So, when I heard she was preparing a country album, I had a hunch that Dolly Parton’s ‘Jolene’ would be included,” explained Marc Clément, who launched his brand in 2020 amid the Covid pandemic.

As soon as the tracklist for Beyoncé’s album leaked, Clément, who holds a certificate in leather goods and has worked at luxury houses like Louis Vuitton and Pinel et Pinel, set to work in his Paris apartment to craft the iconic bag.

“For two years, we’ve been in regular communication with one of Beyoncé’s stylists, whose contact we discovered after diligent research. We kept him updated about our brand and had previously sent him a bag,” shared Enrique Lemercier, who manages communications for Ozias.

Thus, the duo sent a photo of the Jolene bag to the stylist, who agreed to receive it. “We sent one to the stylist and one for Beyoncé. We contacted him to ensure he received it, and he confirmed, mentioning he was obsessed with the bag—and he wasn’t the only one,” Ozias excitedly recounted, discovering the published photos by the artist shortly after.

Now, the challenge for the brand is to translate this media success into commercial success. “Following the release of the photos, I spent days responding to emails and calls, many from the United States, inquiring about where to find the bag,” Lemercier said.

Priced at 650 euros, the Jolene bag is entirely handcrafted in Paris by Marc Clément himself. The artisan has also created a ‘Pop Culture’ collection, featuring bags inspired by artists like Travis Scott and American drag queen RuPaul. The next release will be a bag inspired by Kylie Jenner’s makeup brand, Kylie Skin—a mini-trunk designed to look as though foundation has spilled over it.

As for his basics collection, which includes bags shaped like mini-trunks priced at 550 euros, Marc Clément is now looking to outsource production to Italian workshops to fuel the brand’s growth. “Today, Ozias Paris is profitable,” stated the designer.

Looking ahead, the brand is poised to continue making headlines as it has designed a dollhouse-shaped bag that actress Jenna Ortega is expected to flaunt during press events for the upcoming film ‘Beetlejuice 2’, set for release this September.