How Designer Marie Marot Built a Button-Down Empire

Wine and delicious food—there’s nothing more French than indulging in life’s simple pleasures. It was over one such Parisian meal that Marie Marot embarked on a quest to realize a simple pleasure of her own: Creating the perfect button-down shirt. 

While breaking bread with a shirtmaker whose own father and great-grandfather had also been in the business, Marot picked his brain about craftsmanship and tailoring. Obsessed with shirting since her teens, Marot, who had built her career in film marketing, wanted to understand what it would take to turn her passion into a full-time profession.

She was invited to his factory, where he cut a custom shirt just for her. It was timeless, sky-blue poplin, with a single pocket. He became Marot’s first manufacturer when she launched her namesake label, Marie Marot, in 2017, and the values they discussed at their first meeting—thoughtful production, and a strong foundation around one core product—still inform the way she works today. 

As we meet over Zoom, Marot is in her Paris office, dressed in a muted blue button-down of her own design, a safari-inspired silhouette with two chest pockets and epaulets on the shoulders. The shirt’s buttons are fastened snugly up her neck, her hair is pulled back, and she’s fresh-faced, with just a few chunky silver rings on her fingers. The word effortless gets thrown around often in discourse around “French girl style,” but Marot’s version of effortlessness is decidedly polished. “I like to be dressed,” she says. “I’m always in a shirt, never a T-shirt. I never wear sneakers.”

In a way, Marot’s infatuation with button-downs—which she first started plucking from the closets of her mother, father, and brother as a teen—suits her well, not just as a behind-the-scenes founder, but also as the face of her eponymous brand. “I know this product,” she says of her shirts, which are available on the Marie Marot website and through an ongoing collaboration with J.Crew. “This is my thing.” She’s meticulous when designing, sourcing new fabrics or fixating on the minutiae of seams and cuffs, but is also her own best advertisement—elegant yet tomboyish, sexy yet unfussy.

When Brooks Brothers introduced the button-down collar in 1900, it became the de facto uniform of officemen and preppy collegiates. Over the years, its place in fashion culture has relaxed a bit: While still a staple of corporate commuters, it is equally likely to serve as a swimsuit coverup on vacation, or to be thrown on with denim cutoffs for a casual weekend outing. “This is the only piece of clothing in your wardrobe like that,” says Marot.

On Instagram, Marot often models her brand’s latest styles, slipped naturally into the confines of her real life while out and about on the streets of Paris, or on vacation in theRiviera. There’s something powerful in a woman who has co-opted pieces originally designed for men—a slick suit, a button-down, even a tie. And there’s an unabashed sensuality to Marot’s take on the button-down, fitted to a woman’s silhouette, often unbuttoned down the chest, with a flash of lace bra peeking through. 

Beyond her own styling, Marot has also built a fan club, or “shirt club,” as she refers to the group of women who sport her signature designs. It’s a veritable who’s who of fashion-able women, ranging from Gucci Westman to Jenna Lyons and Sarah Harris. Her shirts have also found their way into the closets of polished politicians (Kamala Harris wore a blue Marie Marot button-down in 2024) and celebrities (Meghan Markle was spotted in her collab with J.Crew last fall.) Still, Marot has a soft spot for seeing those in her life wearing her creations, especially her original source of inspiration, her mother. “She has perfect taste,” says Marot. “She’s always found a good shirt, in a good fabric.”

At a time when the fashion industry’s expectation is to pump out something new and different season after season, it’s refreshing to see a brand take a more staid approach creating something timeless for women of all ages to feel both comfortable and well dressed. “It’s about refining, not reinventing,” she quips. But simplicity demands perfection—keeping a product line so pared-down doesn’t leave any room for mistakes. Marot may swap in a new color or fabric, or make small tweaks to her signature silhouettes, but ultimately, she knows what customers want from her. “I want to be a simple brand,” she explains. “When you need a good shirt, think of Marie Marot.” The brand’s best-selling style draws inspiration from a classic Winchester shirt, with contrasting cuffs and collar.

Her singular focus has managed to catch the attention of another stylish woman who has mastered the art of being both the brains and face of a creative operation: Olympia Gayot, womenswear director of J.Crew. In another fittingly Parisian origin story, Marot first received an Instagram DM about a potential partnership while enjoying a glass of rosé with her brother; the two brands have successfully collaborated three times since (with more to come), merging J.Crew’s signature preppiness with Marot’s polish. “We’ve got the same DNA,” Marot says. “They are doing something timeless, basic, but in the same way, very modern."

Ultimately, Marot says that, despite the time and care that goes into making her product, she doesn’t see herself as a luxury label. “I want to create something honest that you can wear every day,” she explains. But her utilitarian take on the shirt offers women its own form of luxury—the luxury of trust. “The quality is good; the price range is good.” Prices sit under $200, and each classic silhouette is not only intended to stand the test of time, but is also meant to look just as chic after a decade of wear as when you first bring it home. Marot explains it best: “As you evolve, or your style changes, the pieces change with you.”