Old french label comes to town

The first boutique at the Place du Theatre Francais in Paris (1869).[Photo provided to China Daily]

"For me, I did not want 15 years experience. Young people have passion and a very fresh eye, and they are hungry to learn. Now, after two years of training, the girl can make simple bags herself," Nair tells China Daily in Beijing.

The Indian-born designer was in the Chinese capital recently to mark the opening of the brand's first store in the city.

When Moynat started off, she would make made-to-measure trunks and leather travel accessories.

She was later inspired by her muse, the ballerina Gabrielle Rejane, to design the first line of women's handbags, thus pioneering a modern approach to travel for women at the end of the 19th century.

For the next 100 years, the Moynat brand went through a series of ups and downs. It was once very popular among the Parisian elite for its quality, but closed shop in 1976.

It was revived in 2010 when the founder of European multinational luxury goods conglomerate LVMH, Bernard Arnault, decided to give it a second chance to "preserve French luxury heritage".

Arnault then picked Nair, who had worked for 10 years with Hermes under Martin Margiela and Jean Paul Gaultier as creative director, and named Guillaume Davin as CEO. Davin was the CEO of Louis Vuitton in Japan earlier.

After a year of preparation, the new Moynat store in Paris opened in December 2011, without any promotional events.