Daniel Pallas and Veronique Bousquet, the couple behind the Parisian fashion house that bears Daniel's name, have made a thing of le smoking—Yves Saint Laurent's 1966 masterstroke of dressing a woman in a man's tuxedo. Since launching in 2012, Pallas has focused exclusively on that bold, androgynous style. Although the line is relatively new, the Pallas name has a long history: In the early 1960s, Daniel's father opened an atelier specializing in men's suiting but switched to womenswear shortly thereafter, working side by side with his wife, a former petite main for private clients. Eventually, their son took over and brought his own wife on. "We worked with Céline and Balenciaga on their prototypes for coats and jackets, but no one wanted to produce with us because the work is too expensive," says Daniel. "So we started our collection."
Pallas's production is classified as "petite couture"—each garment is cut by hand, down to the finishes. The duo adds new touches every season—satin details, a tuxedo stripe—and the palette is mostly black, white and navy. For fall 2014, they're introducing camouflage jacquard suiting, a gazar trench and a floor-length black cape. Pants start around $1,310, jackets at $2,300. "We have customers who request a bulk deal, and ask if we can drop the price," says Daniel. "I always say, 'You're not ordering 50 jackets, you're ordering one jacket 50 times.'