Meet the Designer: Marie Obadia of OBADIA

For Marie Obadia, fashion and history have never been separate worlds.

The Paris-based designer studied fashion design and pattern making at IFM Paris before completing a Master’s degree in Art History. OBADIA emerged somewhere between the two — a label where historical references meet a distinctly contemporary wardrobe.

Dark, sensual and cinematic, perhaps. But never costume.

Dressing the character

OBADIA began with Marie’s desire to create an entire universe rather than simply a collection of clothes.

“I wanted to build a universe that felt entirely coherent, where the clothes, imagery and storytelling could all exist together.”

Cinema and literature are recurring starting points. Marie is particularly interested in characters — and in how clothing can quietly reveal something about them.

Power. Vulnerability. Sensuality. Mystery.

Historical dress provides another seemingly endless archive. A collar, the construction of a corset, an unusual proportion or a piece of draping might become the beginning of something entirely new.

“The idea is never to reproduce the past, but rather to take certain silhouettes, attitudes or details and translate them into something that feels relevant today.”

Rather than designing around one rigid theme, Marie collects images, books, scenes and references over time. Eventually, connections begin to emerge.

Dark, sensual, contemporary

Ask Marie to describe OBADIA in three words and the answer comes easily: dark, sensual, contemporary.

There is drama in the clothes, but they are designed for real life.

Marie wanted to occupy the space between the expressive and the wearable — creating pieces distinctive enough to change how someone feels, without dictating who that person should become.

“I like the idea that clothing can alter the way you carry yourself.”

An exaggerated sleeve, a structured coat or a low waist can subtly change posture and presence. Yet the final interpretation belongs to the wearer.

“I want people to make the pieces their own rather than feeling that there is only one way to wear them.”

The beginning: INCIPIT

The label’s first collection was appropriately titled INCIPIT — Latin for “it begins.”

For Marie, it remains particularly significant because it was the moment the different ideas surrounding OBADIA became a complete wardrobe for the first time.

Pieces such as the Manhunt Jacket and Empire Dress established a tension that continues to define the label: historical references without nostalgia, and strong silhouettes that still belong firmly to the present.

It was, quite literally, the beginning of the OBADIA language.

Rarity without the theatre of scarcity

Materials play an important role in determining what OBADIA can become.

The label works primarily with deadstock fabrics, using existing high-quality materials rather than commissioning new fabric for every collection.

Their limited availability naturally keeps production small.

There is rarity as a result, but Marie is clear that it isn't about manufacturing exclusivity for its own sake.

Most pieces are produced in small series, with the brand working closely with its manufacturers and developing garments through several stages before arriving at the final form.

It is a slower way of building a wardrobe — and a brand.

The next chapter

OBADIA is now moving beyond INCIPIT.

Marie is continuing to develop the codes introduced in the first collection while bringing new materials, references and silhouettes into its world.

There is also an unexpected new category taking shape: swimwear.

Translating OBADIA's dark, sensual identity into something as stripped-back as swimwear presents a different kind of design challenge — and an opportunity to see how far the label's visual language can travel.

Marie isn't interested in rushing the process.

“For me, the goal is to build the brand gradually and create a world that becomes richer and more recognisable with every collection.”

For a label that began with the idea of building an entire universe, that world is only just beginning.