Études Studio enters judicial restructuring and hunts for a new investor
The Paris menswear label's shareholders' equity has turned negative as it works towards a deal by the end of 2026.
Études Studio, the Paris menswear label operated as Yesterday SAS, was placed into judicial restructuring proceedings on 9 September. Court records set the company's date of cessation of payments at 4 August, a formal marker of the point at which it could no longer meet its debts as they fell due.
Cofounders Aurélien Arbet and Jérémie Egry said in a statement that the brand is using the period to reassess its business while continuing to trade. "While continuing to develop its digital activity and preparing the launch of new fall 2026 products, the brand is using this period to reassess and reshape its business," they said.
"As part of this new chapter, Études Studio is actively seeking a new investor to support its future development," the statement continued. The founders said their objective is to complete the restructuring process by the end of 2026 at the latest, and the court's observation period runs until 9 March.
How bad the losses have become
The company's accounts for the year to 31 March 2025 show a net loss of 2.19 million euros, up from 1.44 million euros the year before and just 241,000 euros in 2023. The losses have widened each year, and shareholders' equity has moved from positive to deeply negative over that stretch.
Shareholders' equity fell to negative 1.31 million euros in the 2025 financial year, from negative 660,000 euros the year before. At the same year end, Yesterday reported just 179,000 euros in cash against 2.34 million euros of financial debt, a gap that leaves little room to manoeuvre.
The deterioration has been building for years rather than arriving suddenly. Yesterday's shareholders' equity had already fallen below half of its share capital by 31 March 2024, a threshold under French company law that typically forces a board to disclose the position and plan a remedy.
The company responded with several capital increases, including early 2025 transactions in which some shares were settled by offsetting existing claims against the company rather than paid in fresh cash. That approach reduced liabilities on paper without bringing in new money to fund operations.
A brand rebuilt after a cofounder's exit
The label operated as a trio for more than a decade before cofounder José Lamali stepped away from the business in April last year. At that point the company rebranded from its earlier name to Études Studio and said it would refocus on wholesale as a core part of the business.
That refocus targeted expansion in Europe and Asia and entry into newer markets including the Philippines, India and the Middle East. Études Studio had a strong presence in New York between 2012 and 2018 but pulled back from the United States after the pandemic, though it kept shipping there.
Arbet said the brand has been affected by U.S. tariffs on its continuing shipments to the American market. That pressure has landed on top of the widening domestic losses, compounding the financial strain that ultimately pushed the company into court-supervised proceedings this month.
Études Studio brought on former A.P.C. executive Marie Amalou as digital director, and in September 2025 added Sébastien Mandel, a finance veteran of Dior and Hermès, to sharpen its online sales strategy. The pair were tasked with building a roadmap targeting fivefold revenue growth by 2030.
The restructuring also lands as a five-year creative partnership with French outdoor brand Aigle has ended. Études Studio was appointed Aigle's artistic director in 2020, and the collaboration concluded with the spring 2026 Aigle Experience by Études Studio collection shown earlier this year.
What continues while the case runs
Despite the proceedings, the founders say the label will keep operating and preparing new product. Études Studio held its spring 2027 show during Paris Men's Fashion Week in June, and the founders intend to maintain the brand's identity "at the intersection of fashion and art" throughout the process.
They also say they intend to keep pursuing plans for a new flagship store in Paris, a project that predates the restructuring. Continuing that expansion while under court supervision and searching for capital marks a notably confident stance for a business with negative equity.
The court's observation period is due to run until 9 March, giving Études Studio roughly six months to find an investor and present a viable plan before that phase closes. The founders' own target of finishing the process by the end of 2026 allows a further stretch beyond that date.
Sources
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Image: Études Studio