STAY YOURSELF.
CHANGE THE STATUS QUO.

First came 'empire' — the answer to the question where do I come from? I'm French-born, daughter of parents born in France and in Algeria under the French colonial empire. Without the empire, my identity would likely be a lot less complex: 100% Algerian rather than 3rd culture kid. Clean borders and a clear sense of belonging instead of a constant pull to be neither here nor there: not French enough to claim it, not Algerian enough to reclaim it. Yet immensely proud. to be both.

Empyre is spelled with a 'y' in reference to the word 'pyre': it's a chance to set fire to everything that holds us back and start fresh. Unencumbered by what should be, excited to find out what might.

Scarlet is a word that feels like me. It's travelled from the Arabic word 'Skilit' — the red dye used to dye silks in antiquity — to Persian, Latin, French and English where it came to designate the red wool noble families wore to signify their power and wealth.

Together, SCARLET EMPYRE is the idea that we can't change the status quo by fitting in, so we might as well be ourselves. Own it. Always. And unapologetically.

Being a woman is hard enough, and being a child of immigrants or blue-collar workers is harder still. The injunctions we have to submit to are too much to count and they keep us grounded where our worth can’t be seen and our work can’t be valued.

In the workplace, we have a tacit responsibility to blend in and assimilate in order to be accepted. Every choice we make, from the way we speak  to the clothes we wear, is a calculated one. We want to seem professional but not “stuck up” (guindée), feminine but not sexy, stylish but not superficial, assertive but not aggressive. And we know that slapping on a power suit is not gonna be enough as long as we still feel like imposters on the inside. 

I'm not here to sell you on the magic powers of shoulder pads and breast pockets. I'm here to tell you that you already are worthy and powerful beyond measure.

Behind Scarlet Empyre there’s me, Soumia Maldji. A woman obsessed with justice — social, environmental, and everything in between.

I’ve spent years in the humanitarian world, then as a consultant, pushing private companies to do better: reduce their impact, take responsibility, stop telling stories and start actually changing. Fashion couldn’t be left out. Too polluting, too opaque, too often built on making people invisible — women, bodies, labor.

This is a brand for women who move forward, who doubt, who fight, but refuse to make themselves small. A brand that doesn’t hide from the world, but leaves a mark.