October 21, 2025 |
It’s a bank holiday in France on the day of 10’s interview with Isabelle Chouvet. Bastille Day, to be precise, which sees France host its annual military parades commemorating the start of the French Revolution in 1789. But instead of taking a well-earned day off during her escape from the city, Chouvet is sat in front of a Teams meeting in a shaded spot of her brother’s garden, 25 miles outside the capital city where celebrations are in full swing.
“In my life as an entrepreneur, every day is important and it’s even better [to do this] on a bank holiday because I’m more relaxed and have more time to be available for you!” she beams across the screen at 10, saying she only wishes we could have met in person.
As CEO of The Independents, aka the super-collective of 20 global creative agencies that includes Karla Otto, Bureau Betak and Lucien Pagès Communication, among others, it’s a sentiment that perfectly encapsulates Chouvet’s approach to business. Everything she has strived for and achieved over the last 25 years found its beginnings in her desire to facilitate human connection.
“I think I have always been like that,” she says as we settle into discussing just how the 54-year-old mother-of-three has masterminded one of the most influential communications groups in the world. “I’ve always been motivated by meeting new people and understanding different cultures. I was lucky enough to have a family and parents who made me travel a lot when I was little, but travel in the way that you live with families and get to understand a different culture.”
It’s these formative experiences that underpinned Chouvet’s early intuition and enduring success. The Independents may have been created in 2017, but its beginnings date back to 2000, when Chouvet co-founded the creative agency K2 in Tokyo with her husband, Olivier. By helping luxury brands land their global expansions with resounding authenticity, the pair carved out a niche with their on-the-ground understanding and insight into local cultural values. Fast forward 17 years and the Chouvets (along with business partner Alexandre Monteux) merged K2 with the famed Italian PR firm Karla Otto, consolidating their geographical expertise, and The Independents as we know it was born. In the eight years since, the group has grown to include 20 pioneers in their fields, such as Bureau Béatrice, Inca Productions, K2, Kennedy, Kitten Production, Prodject, Sunshine, The Qode and Terminal 9 Studios. Their gamut of expertise spans digital strategy, design and creative services, content creation, communication, brand activation and analytics, each chosen to complement the group as a whole.
Just a few recent projects include the SS26 catwalk shows of Celine, Louis Vuitton, Saint Laurent by Anthony Vaccarello and Willy Chavarria, the event production of the Women’s Pavilion Opening Ceremony at Expo 2025 Osaka, in collaboration with Cartier, an activation for Acne Paper’s 20th anniversary pop-up in Paris and the global strategy behind Skims’ first NYC flagship. Far from cutting each other’s grass, collaboration is at the core of The Independents’ success, an approach that is as healthy as it is “natural”, says Chouvet.
“As an entrepreneur, you realise that by being together, you’re stronger. It sounds simple but it’s true,” she says. “Because when you have the same values and align your interests, you realise that by exchanging best practices, discussing – what scares you, worries you and excites you – it brings so much to the table.”
Many of the agencies in the group already have experience working with each other so by bringing them all together, a 360-degree package is made complete. Keeping a tight grip on what this all looks like is not without its challenges, but with all of the agencies coming from the same stable, it ensures cohesive delivery on brand building and messaging.
“We know how long it takes to build a brand the right way in this industry. The Independents has been designed and organised in a way that allows us to plug into our clients’ existing structures. We have the agility in terms of geographic footprint, so whatever happens worldwide, we’ll always have the presence and local understanding to support the brand in activating in the right way. We have one agency who is shooting the campaign for a brand, another is producing its fashion show, another is doing their pop-up and events. This ensures consistency for the client, as a single misstep can damage a brand’s hard-earned reputation.”
Isabelle Chouvet, CEO and co-founder, The Independents
Chouvet makes a point of creating regular communal moments to bring everyone together, noting the importance of in-person interaction. “We try different things to see what brings the most to our [teams]. With creative people, you need to make sure to give them the right environment [so they can] be comfortable,” she says, pointing to regular synergy sessions on hot topics including innovation, AI and sustainability, where expert advice is shared across the group. There’s also been the rollout of The Independents’ House – global hubs have already opened in Shanghai and New York, with a third coming to Paris this autumn. The group even makes its industry insights open source. It published its first whitepaper, Luxury’s Great Reset, which shared expert advice on how brands should future-proof their approach.
“That’s my job,” says Chouvet with a smile. “It’s like I have an orchestra of specialists and I’m trying to get them to play the right music in the right way.” As with any perfect symphony, an orchestra’s conductor relies on intuition, something that Chouvet has had since day one. Before leaving Paris for Tokyo in 2000, she was working at the Mouvement des Enterprises de France (MEDEF), where she organised political and economic events including visits by Asian heads of state. It was there that she discovered her love for authentic connections and, crucially, “that Asia was really the place to be and that’s going to have huge development”, she says.
Fulfilling a long-held dream of working with her husband, the couple moved “with our two suitcases and our two kids [who were then six months and two],” she says with fondness, and founded K2 and a restaurant in Shibuya. “That was to show we can do things in Japan, even if we are new, that we had the connections and were able to handle things,” she says. “It helped us convince our clients that we were the right choice, would understand their brands’ needs and would also be able to push the boundaries of what they were already doing in Japan.”
While it’s now seen as essential to have local experts working in locations where a brand is present, 25 years ago it was trailblazing, and the Chouvets were the trailblazers. It wasn’t long before their client list grew – Chanel was their first – and the pair expanded into China. It was 2004 and the timing was perfect.
“That was like magic because by chance we arrived at the right time. This is when China became ready to open and welcome international brands. All the luxury brands were opening shops. That’s when we discovered being in Japan, China and Korea was a game-changer for our clients because they had someone who could understand Asia. We could deliver events in three different countries where, culturally, the difference is so big that it’s difficult for some of our clients who are based in Milan, Paris or New York to see.”
The importance placed on local expertise remains at the strategic core of The Independents and it’s paying off. The business has 1,200 employees, with offices in cities like Barcelona, Beijing, Dubai, Hong Kong, London, Los Angeles, Milan, New York, Seoul, Shanghai and Tokyo, and group revenue that reached £600 million last year.
“I love pushing the facts to show people they need to understand where they are. That understanding a different culture is how they’re going to succeed,” says Chouvet. “We are organised geographically with different expertise so we can answer the needs [of our clients]. We need to make sure that we adapt each project locally to what the client needs in order to resonate globally. They all have different agendas; my challenge is to make sure that we are agile as possible and can answer that each time.”
Not content with supporting their client base, a big part of The Independents’ raison d’etre is future-proofing its members. Alongside the introduction of L’incubateur – a newly launched platform aimed at nurturing the next generation of entrepreneurs and creative agencies – Chouvet’s team is constantly on the lookout for “missing pieces” of the puzzle that offer like-minded entrepreneurs the opportunity to be a long-term part of what they have built.
“This collective aims to make sure that all the agencies will continue to grow for the next 40 to 50 years. That’s why they like this kind of ecosystem because when you’re an entrepreneur, what do you do with your company? Either you sell it to a big group and then they’re going to absorb it. What’s going to happen with their companies now is driven by the group. We’re creating something different where our partners drive what the future is going to be.”
There are ground rules when building a super-brand. “For me, the respect of people, and the inclusivity, is non-negotiable.” As is keeping an eye on the horizon. “We’re always looking for the next step. We challenge ourselves, but help our clients to challenge themselves too. I think now of The Independents as being a bit like a label in the music industry where people feel happy and comfortable being in our ecosystem,” she smiles. “I hope it continues like that.” Sounds like the revolution is only just getting started.
Taken from 10 Magazine Issue 75 – BIRTHDAY, EVOLVE, TRANSFORMATION – out on newsstands now. Order your copy here.
INDEPENDENTS DAY
Photographer ADAMA JALLOH
Text SCARLETT CONLON
Hair PAUL DONOVAN using COLOR WOW
Make-up HELAYNA SHELTON
Production SONYA MAZURYK
Special thanks to JAEL-AALIYAH FOWAKES
