💭 David De Rothschild for ODDA Magazine
Nature has always been David de Rothschild’s happy place. Ever since he was a child the outside world called to him, and in the end he made helping Mother Nature his life’s calling. For decades de Rothschild has traveled the globe as an adventurer and environmentalist. Today he consults with many luxury brands on how to make their business more sustainable. That is what led him to be an ambassador for Gucci’s “Off The Grid” sustainable capsule collection as well as the impetus behind something he likes to call “Cause Corp,” a new environment-centric approach to commerce.
This article first appeared in the ODDA Magazine 19th Issue “You, Me, and Everyone We Know”.
DAVID DE ROTHSCHILD
Nature has always been David de Rothschild’s happy place. Ever since he was a child the outside world called to him, and in the end he made helping Mother Nature his life’s calling. For decades de Rothschild has traveled the globe as an adventurer and environmentalist. Today he consults with many luxury brands on how to make their business more sustainable. That is what led him to be an ambassador for Gucci’s “Off The Grid” sustainable capsule collection as well as the impetus behind something he likes to call “Cause Corp,” a new environment-centric approach to commerce.
JESSICA MICHAULT. Going all the way back, what was your first connection to nature or your fascination with the outside world and the environment?
DAVID DE ROTHSCHILD. I think the first real memories were growing up on the farm outside of London. I just always felt way more comfortable outside than inside. It has always been my natural place of comfort. I would be running around as a kid, going around and exploring, coming in covered in grass stains and cuts, bringing in sticks that were imaginary things like wands or an intergalactic gun that could shoot invaders. I was very close with my brother so we would go off to make camps and throw stones at each other. We did all things that young boys do, given the opportunity in a privileged upbringing to have that space and freedom to go and do that. That stays in your spirit. It is not something I take for granted because the natural world is becoming increasingly more difficult or more divided. We talk about the divisions in society. We talk about access to resources, education, health, and jobs. It is interesting to me that one of the things that are really devoid of that conversation is the access to nature. It is such a divided reality.
J.M. Do you think sustainability will go on the back burner as luxury brands try and recoup the losses caused by the pandemic, or do you think it is going to be even more of a driving force moving forward?
D.R. I do not think it is necessarily one or the other. Nature sent us to our rooms to reflect. If this is not a telltale sign of how we have mistreated the natural environment or pushed ourselves to the brink of the resilience of nature, I don’t know what is. If you read the reports, they have said for years that there will categorically be a rise of pandemics and viruses due to an infringement on the natural world. From monocropping to removing biodiversity, it is happening verbatim. What is sad is that clearly the overwhelming narrative is the economy, jobs, and self-interest. In some way, what makes us different from other species is our power to predict the future. Our prefrontal cortex gives us the power of foresight because it is always going to be driven by profit and the shareholders. If you have a publicly listed company with influence inside the company that is trying to maximize profits at all costs, then there is an antagonistic and prediction, which is apparently different from all other animals. They are not thinking ahead as we do. We have this power of foresight and we’ve predicted a lot of the things that have happened but the irony is that we have not enacted upon any of them. We have been sent to our rooms and we see this reflection of ourselves. What has been really disheartening to me is how quickly this has all turned into a conspiracy theory. This is not just a virus in isolation. This is our relation- ship with diversity, humans, global security, education, and health; it is very complex. What we do is we default to something that is linear and simple. That is why in some ways, nature and its complexity intimidates us. It is very hard to get someone’s attention for that long and really dive into how to unravel this weathered life. What happens is we get overwhelmed and we retreat. Self-interest comes back in and nothing is more self-interesting than survival. As much as there is empathy towards the natural world, the environmental conversation does get pushed down. I think environmentalism is going to get pushed, which is where corporations step in. This is where corporations have to look at the longer-term game.
J.M. You have talked about in the past something called “Cause Corp.” Can you unpack that for me?
D.R. I started The Lost Explorer [company] originally as an experiment to look at the relationship between commerce and conservation if they could co-exist. I knew the normal steps of a sustainable brand, but I started to re-evaluate the economics of what really is the intention of a company. Then it is going to be very hard to perceive how they could be a holistically sustainable enterprise relationship. The biggest step is realizing when enough is enough. When can a company be rewarded not just for how big it is or how much profit it can make, but by how much impact it can have and how much positivity it can put back into the world? The construct of a company used to come from the idea of a community. What role does the company play now? How can we use the model of economics and a corporation to change the methodologies of not just putting money back into the shareholders but putting money back into society? For example, if Patagonia is all about the planet, let’s say their bag division makes 30 million dollars a year. You could donate all of those funds to become a “Cause Corporation” where 100 percent of the proceeds go back into protecting parks. They get a huge tax write-off so they are happy about that. They are using the same tools as a corporation in regards to saving money. At the same time, they are still selling bags and doing everything they want to do, but every time you buy a bag, 100 percent of the proceeds after expenses goes back to nature. So now every year, you are creating $30 million dollars for the park services. We are trying to figure out a way to help people transition and how to set up the right methodology.
J.M. During this pandemic, it seems that the mindset is changing in terms of consumption; buy less, buy better, and support organizations or smaller brands. What do you think about this?
D.R. I hope this is true. Maybe brands start to say that if you cannot afford this jacket we will give you 50 percent off if you volunteer. So the way brands interact with consumers could change in the future. There doesn’t always need to be a monetary exchange to have things. Hopefully we will see a lot of really positive things come out of this. We will see a lot of innovation and people changing the way they view the world.
J.M. Talk to us about your collaboration with Gucci. What made you decide you were going to put your face on the brand’s “Off The Grid”sustainable capsule collection that is part of the company’s Circular Lines production project?
D.R. I went to a talk last year at Gucci’s headquarters, I threw out this idea that if you are going to use animals in advertising, why not donate money back to the animal or cause. I threw this out at the end of this talk and the CEO of Gucci, Marco Bazzari, comes up to us and says “thank you, that is a great idea! I want to talk to you about doing all these things.” I sat down with him and he took me through the whole company; what their vision is for sustainability and what they are doing. I sat there and was like “wow.” For a massive company, I am truly impressed. Can they do more? Yes. Can I do more? Yes. We can all do more. As a company, when you start to look at the levers they are pulling, and the influence and depth they have, I realized it was really exciting. They are not only helping to pull those levers, but they are also not afraid to have conversations that might be uncomfortable for them. They know when they are making mistakes. They put their hands up and ask for help. How do you remove certain materiality across your supply chain? How do you change diversity across your group? How do you look at the future of what a company like yours could do and how it acts? A lot of companies say that “it is too far ahead” but I was so impressed with their commitment to say that they do not know, but they are going to start on that journey and it will take them somewhere. It sounds very simple but it does not happen. I have seen it in so many companies. It is way better than doing nothing. They have started to figure out the voices and programs. It is across everything, not just the environment. There is a momentum here about doing things right. They are not afraid of doing things wrong, to do things right. They were willing to listen. Listening is such a big skill, and when a corporation listens, acts upon that advice and starts to do things differently, it is truly inspiring. I feel like I have to keep pinching myself because the line of communication and the team is really short. That is so rare. If I want to send a message to the CMO about some ideas, it is never “we’ll get to that.” They actually do look into that. Maybe I am drinking the Gucci Kool-Aid but I love it.
J.M. When I had my first daughter, my whole worldview shifted. You just had your first child. When that happened, did you have any realizations, epiphanies or perhaps became even more dedicated to sustainability and environmental actions than before?
D.R. It adds a sense of urgency. It is probably the most stupendous thing you can do when you know what lies ahead, [have a child] but it is one of the most important motivators for me now. There is hopefully a world where she can see a Rhino in the wild, or a world where she does not have to wear a face mask everyday, not just because of the virus, but because the air is actually breathable. Humanity has the amazing potential to rally and do incredible things. We have this unrivaled curiosity that is limitless which can produce some of the most beautiful things. We are so incredible and that is just the frustration. If we could for one second think about how much money is spent on defense, 1.7 trillion is spent on war. Then you take the amount of money that subsidizes the fossil fuel industry, the very industry that is killing us and our ability to live on this planet. By the way, eight of the largest plastic companies are also owned by oil and gas companies, 20 percent of oil is going into plastic, it is more than transport. That is why we are not getting rid of plastic. It is connected to a very powerful industry. The IMF predicts that $3.4 trillion dollars every year is going in subsidies in the oil and gas industry. If we pause for one second on shooting bombs at each other and put that money along with the oil and gas money into transition away from those products, you are talking about nearly $5 trillion dollars a year. You could start to actually do some really meaningful work towards just eliminating the carbon footprint from aviation and transport. You could move it to completely green mobility.
J.M. For me hope lies in the idea that new technology and nature will have a symbiotic relationship. Maybe tech is the only way we can turn this all around if we only have 10 years left like some believe. What are your thoughts on that?
D.R. I think it is going to be tech but at the same time none of that technology will matter if we cannot legislate, activate, and eradicate old systems. We have got to get rid of them and say it is okay, do not penalize if a company does not make a huge return to the stock market because it is transitioning to something positive. Allow them to do that. Allow them to make those choices that will be better for the longer term and make it more sustainable. Allow that technology to be put into the marketplace because it works. But we have to stop subsidizing the competition to that technology that people can still use. As we seal these massive statements such as “by 2030, we will be carbon neutral.” That is 10 years. Does it really take 10 years to be carbon neutral? I mean, Gucci did it in a year. It is very easy to make statements but it is much harder to act upon those statements today. It is a bit like we were kids. You have all summer to do homework, but you do it the very last week before you get back to school and it is a nightmare, you leave it to the last minute. If there was a meteorite that was going to smack onto the planet on a certain date, we would all work around the clock to figure out how to stop it. It is hard to get people motivated by something that is so far away. We only work under pressure. I think that is going to be the tug and pull between the old world and the transition to the new world. But there is a group of very aware kids who are coming through, who are developing new projects and ideas. Things are changing and they will change quickly. But our planet is changing and it is changing much quicker than anyone ever predicted. So we have to meet at both ends to sort of activate things. I am trying to be truly optimistic but I get really sad because it is all there; every solution to the problems we face already exist.
Image from GQ.
💭 Iris Van Herpen for FHCM
Famous fashion journalist and critic Jessica Michault interviews Iris Van Herpen on her FW21 Haute Couture presentation and the challenges she had to face to develop it in pandemic times. Jessica and Iris have a fascinating exchange over Iris’s conceptual and experimental take on Couture, and her incorporation of cutting-edge technology to traditional craftsmanship.
This article first appeared in the Federation de la Haute Couture et de la Mode website.
IRIS VAN HERPEN
Famous fashion journalist and critic Jessica Michault interviews Iris Van Herpen on her FW21 Haute Couture presentation and the challenges she had to face to develop it in pandemic times. Jessica and Iris have a fascinating exchange over Iris’s conceptual and experimental take on Couture, and her incorporation of cutting-edge technology to traditional craftsmanship.
To watch the full video, head over to the FHCM article here.
Image from TheWashington Post.
💭 Olivier Theyskens for FHCM
Famous fashion journalist and critic Jessica Michault interviews Olivier Theyskens on his FW21 Haute Couture presentation and the challenges he had to face to develop it in pandemic times.
This article first appeared in the Federation de la Haute Couture et de la Mode website.
OLIVIER THEYSKENS
💭 JordanLuca for ODDA Magazine
London Fashion Week and The British Fashion Council is embarking on its first-ever gender neutral fashion week that, starting June 12th, will merge womenswear and menswear into one venue and timeframe. That venue is a digital-only platform that was created to keep the country’s fashion week alive while still protecting the fashion loving community as it continues to deal with the social distancing directives designed to keep everyone safe during the current environment.
This article first appeared in the ODDA Magazine website.
JORDANLUCA
London Fashion Week and The British Fashion Council is embarking on its first-ever gender neutral fashion week that, starting June 12th, will merge womenswear and menswear into one venue and timeframe. That venue is a digital-only platform that was created to keep the country’s fashion week alive while still protecting the fashion loving community as it continues to deal with the social distancing directives designed to keep everyone safe during the current environment.
ODDA reached out to Jordan Bowen and Luca Marchetto, the designers behind JordanLuca, an up and coming menswear brand that will be showing during this event to learn more about their plans to connect virtually with their ever-growing fan base. But also to dive more deeply into the slow burn origins story of both the label and the duo, who first met 10 years ago in a club in East London but only launched their brand in 2017.
“JordanLuca is irreverent. We are quite irreverent in what we do, and how we work together, and how we treat design and how we treat garments and ideas,” explained Bowen about the label’s aesthetic.
“I think fashion is not only going gender-neutral, which is fundamental, and digital. But as well, sustainable. And sustainability should be another keyword that has to be taken into consideration moving forward. We can’t go back to the way before,” pronounced Marchetto about the brand’s intentional stance to make sustainable sartorial choices such as incorporated upcycled and recycled fabrics and yarns into their designs.
The duo does have an interesting approach to menswear. One that mixes the hands-on more industrial and production sided skills of Marchetto, who worked alongside Vivienne Westwood for 7 years, with Bowen’s eye for detail that comes with his training as a milliner alongside another living legend, Stephen Jones. The result of their combined talents is an interesting subversive hybrid approach to fashion. One that blurs together Italian tailoring, sophisticated yet state of the art fabrics and a more rebellious determination to make high design concepts grounded in practicality. Clothing that both pushes the envelope and is unquestionably refined in its raw approach.
The recent global lockdown helped to sharpen the designer duo’s choices when it came to planning out the future of their company. It has them asking fundamental questions about wholesale and e-commerce. Not to mention the seasonality of their designs and how the fashion system is currently run. With clothing arriving in stores at times of the year that are out of sync with what their customers are needing. This is one reason why the label will be going with a see-now-buy-now capsule drop in September. One filled with pieces designed specifically for that season.
JordanLuca is a very intriguing fashion offering. It is modern and daring, and yet it has a solid creative foundation. The designers spent years getting to know each other before starting their label. It is hard to underestimate how important that “honeymoon” creative period will be for this brand as it continues to grow internationally. By testing the waters with bitesize creative collaborations before launching their line the duo now has a creative shorthand and ease of communication that any fashion start-up would be enviable of. And there is something to be said for having a partner to help carry the weight of a brand, to be one another’s support system when the fashion spotlight begins to burn like a thousand suns. Which is certainly a strong possibility for JordanLuca in the near future.
To see the latest JordanLuca collection go to http://www.londonfashionweek.co.uk
Photographer PAUL PERELKA
Fashion Editor ANNE LAURITZEN
Models AMADOU and SHADEN @Select
Make-up/Hair Artist MARTA WOZNIAK
Set Design MARCEL NIETO-GLOWACKI
Interviewed by ULYA ALIGULOVA
Words by JESSICA MICHAULT
Special thanks BRITISH FASHION COUNCIL & AGENCY ELEVEN
💭 The Floral Dress for The Outnet
At first blush, the floral dress might not be thought of as a wardrobe icon in the same way as, say, a blazer, a crisp white shirt or a little black dress. But dismissing the floral dress would be a mistake. It has just as important a role as any of those other icons in our closets and has an evergreen staying power.
This article first appeared on The Outnet.
THE FLORAL DRESS
VOGUE Japan January 2019.
At first blush, the floral dress might not be thought of as a wardrobe icon in the same way as, say, a blazer, a crisp white shirt or a little black dress. But dismissing the floral dress would be a mistake. It has just as important a role as any of those other icons in our closets and has an evergreen staying power. Floral dresses have been a fashion hallmark for centuries, long before any of those other pieces came along. In fact, ever since the tastemakers of ancient Rome began accessorizing their togas with fresh blooms, fashion and the power of the flower have been interlinked. Once the silk producers of medieval Asia worked out how to weave patterns like the exotic peony into their fabrics, the floral trend blossomed everywhere it was imported.
There are some women, I was once one of them, who have a fear of wearing florals. “I’ll look too girly!” or, “prints and I just don’t get along,” are some of the phrases I have heard come out of the mouths of colleagues who forgo florals. How wrong they are. They offer a uniquely beguiling mix of nature and femininity that can emulate every mood – from prim to pretty to deeply dramatic. If you’ve got a tough message to deliver, they can soften the impact. Michelle Obama’s love of large-scale florals was a masterclass in using their power to signal her own strength. Or think of Reese Witherspoon, attending hotshot Hollywood meetings clothed not in power separates but in sweet, flowery tea dresses. In 1954’s Sabrina, Audrey Hepburn outshines a ballroom full of guests in conventional evening attire, by way of a floor-sweeping, white Givenchy gown – embellished with navy flowers. When Hepburn accepted her Best Actress Oscar for Roman Holiday the same year, the cinched, white floral Givenchy dress she wore is the style peak in combining glamour and girlishness to devastating effect.
Florals can convey any mood, depending on the pattern you pick. For historical romance, a delicate botanical inspired by the Liberty print is hard to beat. William Morris, icon of the early 20th century Arts and Crafts movement, made Indian chintz-inspired designs all the rage. Find the modern iteration in dresses from the likes of Zimmermann and Emilia Wickstead. If you want to exude a sweet, Little Women-ish innocence, there are ruffled prairie dresses scattered in small sprigs from brands like GANNI and Les Rêveries. There’s something about the irony of retro upholstery florals that designers love to subvert. In his work at Balenciaga and Vetements, Demna Gvsalia inspired a street-style mania for the kind of prints you might have found on granny’s curtains, but draped and spliced in new ways. Of course, some houses have made florals their calling card – whether it’s Mary Katrantzou’s dizzying digital designs, Dolce & Gabbana’s bold baroque blooms or Preen’s endless innovation with shirring and asymmetry that gives their floral frocks a cool twist. Then there’s the bold exuberance of 1960s and 1970s designs – think of Mary Quant’s signature monochrome daisy and the stylized poppies and tulips of Celia Birtwell, whose prints combined with husband Ossie Clark’s clothing designs are now some of the most collectible vintage pieces. Find the same graphic mood in brands like Diane von Furstenberg and Emilio Pucci. Your choice speaks volumes about who you are and how you want to be viewed by the world.
The floral dress has endless styling potential. Mix it with flat sandals, loose locks and long earrings and it’s the perfect sunny weather ensemble. Layer under a fitted blazer, add a pair of creepers and a high ponytail and poof! A modern update on the ‘90s grunge-floral aesthetic.
The day I met my future husband, I was wearing a blue, empire-waist chintz dress, covered in sweet little pink blooms. I remember (even before his green eyes alighted on me in the University cafeteria for the first time) feeling especially beautiful and self-assured. I’d finally taken the plunge and embraced my feminine side. Up until that fortuitous day, you have to understand, I was a 24/7 trouser and suit-wearing kind of woman. But putting on that dress was a sartorial awakening for me. I discovered that, as pretty as flowery frocks might be, they can also wield some serious power. They’re unapologetic in their use of some of the world’s most beautiful creations to adorn women in ways that elevate them, connect them to Mother Nature and quite simply, make them look and feel beautiful. That’s something we all need…
💭 Tilda Swinton for VOGUE Japan
“Fun”. That was how the Oscar winning actress Tilda Swinton described working on her latest film, Suspiria.
This article first appeared in the VOGUE JAPAN January 2019 Issue No. 233.
TILDA SWINTON
VOGUE Japan January 2019.
“Fun”. That was how the Oscar winning actress Tilda Swinton described working on her latest film, Suspiria. Now this is not really the first word most people would think of in relation to a very dark supernatural horror film, that takes place at a world-renowned dance academy and deals with witches, the occult and the immortal soul. But Swinton has never, ever, been someone to see the world, her work or the roles she takes on in a traditional way.
She said that “comradeship and fun” helped her to deal with the day to day filming in an unheated and abandoned hotel on the top of an Italian mountain in the dead of winter. That these two things were “the best talisman combo possible” to protect the actress from the dark subject matter of the script.
She went on to say that she was initially drawn to the role of Madame Blanc because of how the character’s commitment to her art came above all else. [She is] “the artist amongst the witches, deeply compromised by the deal she had made with the supernatural for the sake of the survival of her art, is a compelling one for me,” explained Swinton. “I thought a lot about Mary Wigman, the pioneer of New Expressionist Dance, who kept her company afloat throughout the occupation of Germany by the Third Reich and was psychologically delicate and troubled. And I also thought about the character of Lermontov - played by the great Anton Walbrook in Powell and Pressburger’s The Red Shoes - who exerts himself to persuade the red-haired dancer, Vicky Page, to choose art above life. I also borrowed certain aspects of her look from the extraordinary Pina Bausch, whose ever-present cigarette seemed appropriate in this fable about breath.” added the actress about how she prepared for the demanding role.
Swinton is a woman that holds a very particular place in most people’s consciousness. She has acted in almost 80 films so far in her career and her characters, in movies as diverse as The Grand Budapest Hotel, Doctor Strange, Orlando, We Need to Talk About Kevin and Okja, make her an actress that is hard to pin down. In fact, that seems to be the one common thread in the roles she takes on. She disappears into each part, often via transformative costumes and make up (and in a few cases some impressive dental prosthetics) becoming a true storytelling vessel.
Peter Lindbergh Cover Story for VOGUE Japan, Tilda Swinton Paris 2018.
“Sometimes, a person’s mouth is the principal focus of a portrait: their words, their attachment to the truth or their version of it, needs a little heightening... so it was with Minister Mason and the dreadful Mirando twins in the films I have made with Bong Joon Ho - Snowpiercer and Okja,” explained Swinton. “But, in general, it is always fun to put together a unique disguise for a performance, with an enjoyment in detail and a spirit of playfulness. For me, filmmaking, as life, is always part rock and roll, part kindergarten playtime, with a big dash of family vacation adventure holding it all together,” she added.
If this has been her goal, then she has more than succeeded. For some of the most common adjectives to describe Swinton include; eccentric, chameleon, unique, muse, statuesque, iconic and gifted. One attribute however, that is perhaps less well known is what a stalwart friend she can be. And it is a friendship that brought her to Suspiria in the first place.
For this film she once again teamed up with director Luca Guadagnino, who has been one of her closest friends for nearly 25 years. And apparently over those years, while they worked on such memorable movies like I Am Love and A Bigger Splash, they often discussed doing a remake (or as Swinton likes to call it “a cover”) of Suspiria together. “Working with my friends is one of the greatest blessings in my life: it means a deep trust, a playful atmosphere and a sense of freedom to explore territories and subjects that take real comradeship to approach,” said Swinton.
She felt that Guadagnino could bring unique and new perspective to the story. “Luca is an extremely cinematic filmmaker,” she said. “His passion for a kind of ‘sensational’ cinema - meaning a cinema of the senses, one that sets up a particular and unique atmosphere into which we might be absorbed and by which we might find ourselves affected and transformed - is developing all the time. I love our lifelong work very dearly.”
Besides getting to once again team up with Guadagnino, Swinton was drawn to the subject matter for other reasons as well. Both the focus on the world of dance, and the opportunity to work with a cast of over 40 women on this film had its appeal. Each of these aspects are rarities in the film world today and the actress relished the beautiful atmosphere on the set and how the dedication, focus, stamina and skill of the dancers assembled by Damien Jalet for the film played the vital role of giving the narrative a rigor and texture.
Many of the women who started alongside Swinton, including Dakota Johnson, Mia Goth, Chloe Grace Moretz, Jessica Harper and Alek Wek, joined her at the film’s world premiere at the Venice Film Festival in September, where it got an eight-minute standing ovation after the screening. For the big event Swinton sported a high necked scarlet red column dress from one of her favorite designers, Haider Ackerman.
Just like with the directors she works with, Swinton is also a faithful fashion friend. Returning over and over again to designers she has built long lasting relationships with, like Ackerman, Alber Elbaz, John Galliano for Martin Margiela, Bertrand Guyon for Schiaparelli and Karl Lagerfeld for Chanel. “I am, naturally, someone who is pretty shy about being the center of attention and if I can stand up in a creation by someone I love, with whom I have developed the look, I feel less alone in that brightly-lit moment and I have the company of my accomplice by my side and their hand in mine,” she explained.
Peter Lindbergh Cover Story for VOGUE Japan, Tilda Swinton Paris 2018.
Coincidentally it was another film screening that Swinton also attended at the Venice Film Festival, the remastered version of the iconic film Last Year at Marienbad (which was supported financially by Chanel) that inspired the photo shoot that accompanies this article. Recounted Swinton, “Peter Greenway deployed his legendary response to shadow and magic in movement to create a story closer to a set of film stills than a traditional fashion study. There are unspoken depths to each image, as if each represents a scene, an individual drama. It was a dream to shoot and we were aiming for a dreamy essence: a very sweet memory.”
Mission accomplished.
💭 Iris Van Herpen for VOGUE Arabia
The Dutch designer has an insatiable appetite for knowledge, leading her to pave the way for never-before-seen haute couture.
Originally printed in the October 2019 issue of Vogue Arabia.
How Iris Van Herpen is Paving the Way for Never-Before-Seen Haute Couture
The Dutch designer has an insatiable appetite for knowledge, leading her to pave the way for never-before-seen haute couture.
Iris Van Herpen FW19 Couture Collection. Photographed by The Bardos for Vogue Arabia; Collage by Shay Colley
If haute couture is a factory of dreams, Iris van Herpen is one of its master weavers. This soft-spoken, slender, and unassuming woman with long strawberry blonde hair has, for more than a decade, consistently transformed jaded fashion front row regulars into wide-eyed children staring with wonder at her otherworldly creations. “It is like wearing a piece of art. What she creates is so special. Each piece is an exceptional surprise,” says veteran Hollywood stylist Leslie Fremar, who recently dressed actor Eva Green for a red-carpet premiere in Los Angeles in one of Van Herpen’s designs. “Eva fell in love with Iris’s dress as soon as she saw it. She appreciated the art and craftsmanship that went into it. I’ve never received such positive feedback for a dress that I’ve styled.” It takes a certain kind of woman to wear one of Van Herpen’s designs. Women like Björk, Solange Knowles, Tilda Swinton, Gwendoline Christie, Cara Delevingne, Cate Blanchett, and Lady Gaga. They have the character it takes to not lose themselves in the artistry and the technical prowess to pull off such imaginative and unusual garments.
Since Van Herpen started her company in 2007, the Dutch designer has found that exploring the juxtaposition between the beauty of Mother Nature and the beauty born from man-made innovations to be her happy place. 3D printing has become one of her signature avenues of sartorial expression, as has the incorporation of unconventional materials. She also bends state-of-the-art techniques and technological advancements to her creative will to bring into being sculptural garments that always seem to have a sense of movement at their heart.
“In my world, I don’t see a distinction between nature and technology. They influence each other and they are obviously intertwined in our lives, even in our bodies nowadays. I think they are pure expressions of the dichotomy of our lives,” says Van Herpen from her Amsterdam studio that overlooks one of the city’s many canals. “The pieces I make live in-between the worlds of art and fashion; I am very flexible about how people perceive them, as both are the truth.”
Designer Iris van Herpen with models showcasing her FW19 couture collection. Photographed by The Bardos for Vogue Arabia
Iris Van Herpen FW19 Couture Collection. Photographed by The Bardos for Vogue Arabia; Collage by Shay Colley
Van Herpen was raised by her ballet teacher mother and a father who worked as an advisor to a governmental water agency in a quiet village outside of Amsterdam. With no television or computer screens to stifle her imagination, her formative years were filled with painting, playing the violin, and a serious love of ballet, which she studied until she was 16. She would go on to study fashion design at the renowned art academy ArtEZ and intern for Alexander McQueen and Claudy Jongstra, before deciding to head out on her own.
Ask the designer, who likes to sky-dive to give her mind a creative clean slate, what superpower she wishes she had and the answer reveals much about her. “Time travel,” she states matter-of-factly. “There are so many people from the past I would love to meet. If I could go back and visit with only one, it would be Leonardo da Vinci. What I love about him is his unlimited curiosity about every layer of life and how he wasn’t scared to move from one discipline into another. He never limited himself by defining himself.”
The same can be said about Van Herpen. She is passionate about exploring different artistic and scientific disciplines. She often works with masters in other fields, such as Bart Hess, Daniel Widrig, Tara Dougans, and Joost Vandebrug to create her designs. Sometimes this collaboration is more directly, like when she worked with the American kinetic sculptor Anthony Howe on her most recent haute couture collection, Hypnosis – the ideal title for a show filled with undulating geometrically designed ensembles.
The pieces felt structured while portraying a sense of fluidity, with sharp black piping denoting the fabric edges and rivulets of dégradé colors cascading down dresses. For the 10-year anniversary of her brand, Van Herpen collaborated with the performance musicians Between Music for her Aeriform couture show, with the artists performing live underwater during her presentation.
Iris Van Herpen FW19 Couture Collection. Photographed by The Bardos for Vogue Arabia
Iris Van Herpen FW19 Couture Collection. Photographed by The Bardos for Vogue Arabia; Collage by Shay Colley
These creative partnerships can also be felt more subtly in her work. Trips to the scientific research center CERN in Geneva will spark an interest in using magnets and their effect on fabrics. Currently, she is fascinated by the work being done at TU Delft University, where researchers have found a way to transform wastewater into a pearlescent shell material. “I almost can’t believe what they are able to do,” Van Herpen says with audible excitement in her voice. “It’s like 21st-century alchemy.” She also recently worked with Neutelings Riedijk Architects to create the new Naturalis Biodiversity Center in Leiden, which opened in August. For this collaboration, she was inspired by fossils in the center’s archives to create more than a kilometer of three-dimensional designs, hand-sanded into concrete, to mimic the idea of beauty through erosion over time. Her contribution was woven, like sedimentary layers of rock, into the overall structure of the building. According to architect Michiel Riedijk, they reached out to Van Herpen because they were drawn by the research she has undertaken into natural organic references. “We are fascinated by the ways she turns this inspiration into research and innovation as a novel expression in contemporary collections. This matches the ambitions we had in mind for the design of the new Naturalis.”
Iris Van Herpen FW19 Couture Collection. Photographed by The Bardos for Vogue Arabia
This collaboration has only sparked in Van Herpen an even more fervent desire to explore the world around her. And one place that is at the top of her bucket list is to revisit the UAE. Her curiosity about the Middle East was first piqued via the work of her fellow countryman MC Escher. The mathematical beauty found in his tessellation patterns lead Van Herpen to discover the geometric beauty in Islamic artwork and architecture. “It is mind-blowing, the mathematical perfection of it. The architecture is stunning and so fundamentally different from anything else on this planet. I really want to go there and do a deep dive into that,” she says. The mind begins to spin at the thought of what a talent like Van Herpen could conjure up in her atelier if she ever turned her full attention to the mathematical precision of Middle Eastern artwork. It could end up being some of her most engrossing and original designs yet. Fusing fashion’s future with the world’s past in a way that would be, without a doubt, both breathtaking and bold.
Originally published in the October 2019 issue of Vogue Arabia
Manuel Arnaut: Editor in Chief
Caterina Minthe: Features Director
💭 Wafaa Abbar and Noura Binzagr for VOGUE Arabia
Much has been written in Western press about the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s male-dominated society and the status of women’s rights. Meanwhile, one mother-daughter team has been working diligently to bring about real change from within.
Originally printed in the September 2018 issue of Vogue Arabia.
This Mother-Daughter Duo is Proof That Women in Saudi Don’t Just Work – They Lead
Much has been written in Western press about the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s male-dominated society and the status of women’s rights. Meanwhile, one mother-daughter team has been working diligently to bring about real change from within.
Wafaa Abbar and Noura Binzagr. Photographed by Rawan Althomali
Wafaa Abbar is the president of the country’s leading luxury retailer, Rubaiyat Group. Her daughter, Noura Binzagr, is its ladies division manager. Together, they contribute to impressive advancements for women in Saudi. They have done this on a number of fronts: through the curated choice of luxury designer products (from the likes of Gucci and Prada) sold in their stores, to the local fashion initiatives that they support. Now, they are heralding the opening of a new ladies store spanning over 2000 square meters in Olaya, Riyadh. Industry pioneers, the two women are regional and international examples of what women with vision and drive can accomplish.
“I think it’s only fair that the likes of Noura and I speak out so that all women sitting at home – or who are working but hiding it and don’t want to be seen – reveal themselves to the public. There is no shame in that. It’s a power,” says Abbar about her choice to do interviews with the press. Abbar, a woman who always has a smile on her lips and a joyful twinkle in her eyes, has had the drive to make her mark on the world since she was a child. The youngest of six children, she remembers looking up to her older brothers and wanting to be like them. “I have the spirit of competition inside me; to be number one,” she admits. That drive translated into a work ethic that saw her become one of the first Saudi women to start a retail business in the Kingdom. She is also the main shareholder of the company, which she helped to co-found in Jeddah in 1980. In 2014, under her guidance, Rubaiyat opened the city’s first luxury fashion department store.
Meanwhile, Binzagr is a diminutive beauty with a head for business, a love of fashion, and a clear-eyed understanding of the challenges women face in her home country. “I think it’s because we feel we have to work so hard to prove ourselves that Saudi women in the work force end up being very accomplished. I see it at work: most of the Saudis in our company that excel are women,” she says.
Both Abbar and Binzagr relish the challenge of finding luxury goods that will sell in their unique market. Often they work hand-in-hand with designers to help them create products that are in keeping with the label’s esthetic but that also incorporate the particular needs of Saudi customers. “Saudi is a tricky market. It’s very sheltered in the sense that it is one of the only markets in terms of retail that caters only to locals. In Europe the offering is different than what we have because we buy a very tailored edit. I’ve heard customers say things like, ‘We’ve been to Europe and we didn’t see these products.’ This is why we’re here. We buy for you because we know what the market needs,” explains Binzagr.
Portrait of Wafaa Abbar. Photographed by Rawan Althomali
Portrait of Noura Binzagr. Photographed by Rawan Althomali
Now, the launch of the three-floor ladies store, promises even more selection for its dedicated customers along with a café and mini spa. “This is a dream that we’ve been wanting to realize for many years,” comments Abbar. The mezzanine will offer footwear from brands including Aquazzura, Malone Souliers, Sergio Rossi, but also Golden Goose and Nike while the store’s ground floor will propose handbags and accessories by brands like Gucci, Dolce & Gabbana, and Saint Laurent alongside labels Phillip Lim, MSGM, Helmut Lang, and Alexander Wang. Upstairs, eveningwear from Jenny Packham and Naeem Khan will satisfy special occasion indulgences. Décor on the walls will feature a curation of large-scale works from the Kingdom’s art foundation l’Art Pur, established in 1999 by Her Highness Princess Adwa Yazid bin Abdallah Al Saud.
What the market also craves is the promotion of its own homegrown talents. To that end, Abbar has been instrumental in highlighting regional designers on both a macro and micro level. In 2016, Rubaiyat Group backed the first ever Jeddah Vogue Fashion Experience. This saw a number of leading fashion designers, tastemakers, and journalists fly to the Kingdom to judge a group of up-and-coming local designers. The winners of that competition were then flown to Europe to present their creations during Milan Fashion Week. Furthermore, since the Rubaiyat luxury department store opened four years ago, during Ramadan, Abbar creates a dedicated area for emerging designer products. Over the 30-day period, a different designer is given the entire space to display their creations for two days. Often, a selection of abayas or kaftans is presented exclusively for the store.
The Dolce & Gabbana department at Rubaiyat Department Store, Jeddah
With the launch of the new store, Abbar aims to satisfy a growing need, “Our customers in Riyadh have been wanting a bigger Rubaiyat store in their city for a while now. We’ve always wanted to satisfy our cosmopolitan customer and now it’s finally the time.” She adds that along with providing a bigger space, they will “take everything to the next level,” from the interior to the merchandise and customer service. “We hope it will be as exciting for them as it is for us and that it was well worth the wait.”
Photography: Rawan Althomali
💭 Elle Fanning for VOGUE Japan
“Come on over and take a look Pamela,” said photographers Mert and Marcus as they shot Ella Fanning for the cover of this issue. The moniker wasn’t a slip of the tongue, it made sense, because the woman in the photos was not the girl that we have all come to find delightful in films like Maleficent, Super 8 or We Bought a Zoo.
This article first appeared in the VOGUE JAPAN November 2018 Issue No. 231.
ELLE FANNING
VOGUE Japan November 2018.
“Come on over and take a look Pamela,” said photographers Mert and Marcus as they shot Ella Fanning for the cover of this issue. The moniker wasn’t a slip of the tongue, it made sense, because the woman in the photos was not the girl that we have all come to find delightful in films like Maleficent, Super 8 or We Bought a Zoo. Instead the blond bombshell looking back at us, dressed in the latest resort collection from Miu Miu, had the same sexy playfulness of a young Pamela Anderson, Brigitte Bardot or even Claudia Schiffer. The images showed Fanning to be in that fleeting sweet spot in a woman’s life; where innocence swirls with fully formed femininity for a powerfully potent cocktail.
Fanning, who is 20 and has been acting for 17 years, has already started to explore this new power. Recently taking on roles in films with very adult subject matter such as The Neon Demon, The Begulied, Galveston and Mary Shelly - a film about the life of the author of Frankenstein, which included Fanning’s first on screen love scene. But even that celluloid milestone didn’t seem to faze Fanning, “It’s like a rite of passage I guess. As you get older, it’s like it’s going to eventually happen. I never really thought that much about it because it was so technical getting that scene right,” she said.
The actress’s comfort level with such a scene probably has to do a lot with the way she approaches acting. She has always been surrounded by her close knit family on set. While her older sister Dakota Fanning (an accomplished actress in her own right) has been there to help point her little sister in the right direction, even if their acting styles are completely different. “People say that we work differently,” explained Fanning who said she would love to act with her sister one day and that the two of them are actively looking for a project to share. “I don’t really know her process. But for me, I am someone who really lives in my head. I am always reading and thinking a ton. Also I don’t really learn my lines until like the night before a scene. I kind of like to keep them feeling fresh in my mind,” she added.
Maybe it’s this freshness, or the aforementioned sweet spot that Fanning currently finds herself in that makes her the perfect ambassador for Miu Miu. She has already shot advertising campaigns for the brand and she opened the Fall/Winter 2018 runway show in Paris. “Oh, that definitely made me nervous,” Fanning admitted. “I’ve had dreams before, vivid dreams of walking a runway. It’s also something I used to do when I was a kid, and I would make everyone sit in the house and watch me just walk in different outfits and stuff. So I was very excited about that show and Mrs. Prada made me feel really comfortable, like a proper model backstage.”
Fanning is a fan of Miu Miu in real life too. She has been spotted wearing the brand’s distinctive mix of happy go lucky prints, brightly colored separates and rhinestone embellished outfits numerous times over the years. She has always loved fashion that helps her stand out and likes to pick out outfits for her friends. “I remember we would have Free Dress Fridays at school. We had to wear uniforms, and on Fridays you could wear whatever you wanted. I would wear very strange things sometimes,” she said adding that she would top off her eye catching school outfits by wearing platform shoes so that her 5’8 frame looked even taller.
VOGUE Japan November 2018.
Standing tall on screen is something Fanning is also learning to do thanks to the interesting career choices she is making. In a field where there are very few female directors, Fanning’s filmography is filled with some of the best in the business, like Sophia Coppola, Mélanie Laurent and Haifaa Al-Mansour. “I’ve been lucky. You know, I didn’t just choose to work with them, they also chose to work with me too. And one of the first movies where people started recognizing me for me was Somewhere directed by Sofia. She gave me such a big opportunity and I remember being on her film set, run by her, the respect that she has… Her sets are very unique and special and if I ever direct something one day, I would want to emulate the environment that she creates,” said Fanning.
VOGUE Japan November 2018.
While directing might still be a distant dream for the actress, there is one other skill set she seems even more eager to explore. Fanning just became the face of Tiffany jewelry. Her first commercial campaign for the brand, which is a modern day take on the famed opening scene from the film Breakfast at Tiffany, shows the actress in a Tiffany blue hoody and diamond tiara and features her voice softly singing the iconic song Moon River, that is the bedrock of the film’s soundtrack.
“When we were shooting the video I was singing the song, humming it off camera and then Francis Lawrence, the director, came up and was like ‘Hey I have an idea, why don’t you just sing the song?’ because he has had experience with Jennifer Lawrence on Hunger Games where she sang the song and it became a crazy hit,” recounted Fanning. “I think that if I wasn’t an actress, I’d be a pop star, like I love singing, I sing all around the house!”.
Fans of Fanning will get to enjoy more of her melodic voice in the upcoming film Teen Spirit, which she just completed with rumored boyfriend, actor Max Minghella. He also wrote and directed the movie, which is about a shy teenager who dreams of being a pop star to escape her broken family. “I sing five songs on that. I guess this is the year of me singing. It’s going to be a surprise to some people but my family, and my close friends are happy that I finally get to share my singing with people,” said Fanning.
Looking at Fanning as she sat on a bridge overlooking pond feeding ducks in a bucolic country home, getting the last shots of the day for this issue’s cover spread its easy to imagine her breaking into a love song. Instead, the only musicality to be had is the sound of her laughter as she warmly says good-bye to everyone on the crew before pulling on a cream colored slip dress and flats. Pamela is gone and Fanning is simply a young girl, once again.
💭 Lily-Rose Depp for VOGUE Japan
Lily Rose Depp is a young woman who has spent her life moving between worlds. Daughter of the iconic French singer Vanessa Paradis and Hollywood movie star Johnny Depp, she has adopted the best aspects of both cultures into her character.
This article first appeared in the VOGUE JAPAN January 2018 Issue No. 221.
LILY-ROSE DEPP
VOGUE Japan January 2018.
Lily Rose Depp is a young woman who has spent her life moving between worlds. Daughter of the iconic French singer Vanessa Paradis and Hollywood movie star Johnny Depp, she has adopted the best aspects of both cultures into her character. She is at once a chic and cool Parisian and a goofy LA valley girl. She is a world class beauty who, at the tender age of 18, still seems unaware of the effect she can have on those around her. And, as she continues to discover who she is, Depp reveals in being able to disappear into a character and become someone else.
She has also followed in the footsteps of both her parents. Garnering warm reviews for her acting work in The Dancer and has landed lead roles costarring with Oscar winners like Nathalie Portman in Planetarium. At the same time, she has become the face of the Chanel No. 5 L’eau perfume, walked in a number of Chanel show (including as the bride for the spring 2017 couture collection) and modeled for the house’s advertising campaigns, just like her mother before her.
We meet up in a hip Paris bistro to talk about her budding carrier, how she and Karl Lagerfeld like to exchange photos of their fluffy white cats Mittens (hers) and Choupette (his) and her plans to finally move out and being the next chapter of her life.
Do you feel like you are a girl of two worlds?
Yeah. Absolutely. When I’m here, I feel totally French and immersed here. But when I am in the US, I feel totally like a valley girl. I was raised there. I think if I had to pick one. I would rather raise kids here. There is a level of fakeness in LA you don’t have here. I don’t know… here if a person is rude to you, at least you know it’s real.
Did you always want to be an actress?
When I was little I want to be like a dancer and painter and a spy and model and president and an actress. It was always random. But I love acting. It gives me permission to get out of my own head for a second. That’s what I like about it.
You actually left school at 16 to pursue your acting career full time, isn’t that right?
Yeah. To be honest, I think it’s old-fashioned to believe you have to go to college…I just think that people don’t know that college isn’t mandatory. I love reading and writing. I just knew what I wanted to do and I didn’t want to waste any more time. The schooling system… I just think it’s not made for everybody. But that doesn’t mean I have stopped learning, I continue to read and self-educate myself. Actually my favorite writer is the Japanese author Haruki Murakumi.
Peter Lindbergh, VOGUE Japan Cover Story, Lily-Rose Depp, Paris 2017.
Let’s talk about the house of Chanel. It really has been a part of your life since the very beginning.
I am not going to say that my first word was Chanel, but….. (smiles) I remember my mom and my grandmother wore Chanel. So the smell is maybe the first thing I remember. My mom worked for Chanel when she was my age. I remember seeing all those bags. The clothes, shoes, all that stuff. There is actually a picture of me in my diapers where I am wearing a pair of her Chanel pumps.
So what was your first Chanel piece?
I’ll never forget my first Chanel piece and I still have it. It’s this little pink quilted bag. And you know what, it’s still so relevant now. It’s so timeless.
You have walked in a few Chanel shows now. There was the Casino show that you did with your mom, there you were the bride in the spring/summer 2017 couture show, you also walked in the Ritz collection, a show you repeated in Japan. Of all of those turns on the catwalk do you have a favorite?
They were all so different. Every Chanel show has a different vibe. But if I had to pick, I would say a bride. I never thought about it in a realistic sense, for me it would have been so ridiculous, so out of reach. When they asked me, literally I thought it was a joke. I was so excited and so honored. It is still surreal for me. It was insane. Even walking. I am not a model. I don’t fit the height requirement. Walking in any Chanel show is already an amazing experience, but being like a bride and walking out by yourself is so surreal. It was so so exciting. I felt like a princess.
That must be so surreal for you mom as well. Your mother was the famous Chanel advertisement for the Chanel N5 perfume where she is a bird in the cage and now you are representing the brand. What does that feel like?
It feels amazing. It is a huge honor that Chanel wants to keep working with me. I feel so grateful that they see something in me that could help tell the story of the brand. I look up to my mom so much. She’s the person I look up to the most. Being able to follow her footsteps with Chanel and continuing what she did in a way, it’s amazing.
Peter Lindbergh, VOGUE Japan Cover Story, Lily-Rose Depp, Paris 2017.
So is Karl Lagerfeld, like Uncle Karl to you…a part of the family?
I met Karl when I was 8. I’ve known him for a long time. He is somebody that I admire first of all. He is such a hard-worker. Since I started working with Chanel I have come to know better. In fact, my first shoot ever was with Karl when I was 15 with the eyewear campaign. He is somebody that I really look up to, that I honestly care about. He is really clear about what he wants, he has ideas in his head but he always wants to make sure you feel comfortable. It’s something that you won’t find everywhere. That’s really special about Karl. And now we send each other photos of our cats.
What was it like coming to Japan to walk in the Chanel show?
I’ve been to Japan only once before. When I was fourteen, it was a different world. I felt like such an embarrassing tourist, I was walking in the streets taking pictures of everything. Everything about Japan is so cool and different. Style is different. People have such distinct style and the way they express themselves through their clothing is amazing. There is an energy in the people there that reflects the energy of the city. Chanel represents classic French beauty and it was interesting to see how the Japanese reacts and interpret classic Chanel.
What’s the next big project you are working on?
I am trying to buy a new house in Los Angeles.
Is there a certain area in LA you like?
I don’t know where yet but I am going to build it myself. Because I am too particular. And it’s actually way cheaper to build a house. It’s gonna take more time but it’s gonna cost me less. That’s my next step as an adult.
💭 Alber Elbaz for Exhibition Magazine
Fashion can be an unforgiving place. Where once you are out – you are out. Especially when the departure is sudden and unexpected. This was the situation that Alber Elbaz found himself in at Lanvin almost three years ago. From one day to the next, he was ousted from a company he transformed from a sleeping beauty into an international powerhouse with unique and identifiable codes
This article first appeared in the Exhibition Magazine, Blushing Issue.
ALBER ELBAZ
Fashion can be an unforgiving place. Where once you are out – you are out. Especially when the departure is sudden and unexpected. This was the situation that Alber Elbaz found himself in at Lanvin almost three years ago. From one day to the next, he was ousted from a company he transformed from a sleeping beauty into an international powerhouse with unique and identifiable codes, on the whim of its erratic owner. That sort of public exiting brings with it so many mixed emotions. Shock, anger, sadness and, in Elbaz’s case, a strong sense of love. The outpouring of love and support he received in the aftermath of his departure, both from the Lanvin staff (who wrote an open letter to the owner to voice their disagreement with the decision) and the industry as a whole, was an incredibly moving moment in the designer’s career. The aftermath of which he still feels today. It was the unique mix of emotions that this catalytic event created in Elbaz’s life that made him the perfect person to talk about this issue’s theme. Blushing is a naturally occurring physical reaction to so many of those feelings. But, as always when you talk with Elbaz, he surprises you by seeing a particular subject or problem in a new and unexpected light. His ability to interpret human emotions in an original way is one of the reasons he remains one of fashion’s most talented and respected designers.
Alber, so you know the theme of this issue is blushing. What does that word conjure up in you ?
I think people do not blush anymore. People almost have no shame, that’s the idea. The last one that I remember blushing was Lady Diana. She was always blushing ! I think there is something so beautiful, so innocent and so modest about people who blush.
What makes you blush ?
I blush naturally. I am always blushing; you can see it. Every time I put my hand in front of my face you know I am blushing underneath. I am timid. I think people wouldn’t think about me as being timid, but they always say that clowns are the saddest people. They used to say that Charlie Chaplin used to cry a lot at night when nobody was watching, but he makes people laugh during the day. So, I found a way to cry during the day, when it is raining. You walk and nobody knows if it is because of the rain or if you have tears on your eyes.
The thing I like about blushing is that you can’t control it. It is a physical thing that happens for a lot of different reasons…
A lot of the time, you blush when someone confronts you with the truth. This may be an interesting story; we are living in a time of transparency. Recently, I was thinking of this idea of big brothers, Facebook and social media and the fact that we are living in a transparent world. There are no walls anymore. The truth is the story, so you cannot fake it anymore. There is so much truth around. So then blushing, if it is all about being confronted with the truth, an interesting thing to talk about given the timing.
It’s hard to really come up with the exact right word in French that is the equivalent of blushing…
Like it is “rougir,” you know when you get red. Blush for me is also linked to make-up. Today the world is visual and all about images, and in a way make-up is the new dress. You didn’t need anything between you and your jeans before. Now, you don’t even need jeans, you just have to have make-up because it is all about selfies. There is something between blush and blushing, bullshit and blush, it sounds the same. There are a lot of words that are coming together but for me, blush is coming from being timid and also a confrontation of the truth in that moment. You know, the moment when someone does something and the tears come out, which is a physical thing. It is the physical, not emotional. Once I heard that tears are the moment when the irrational becomes the rational. I think it is the same with blushing because it is physical.
Do you remember the last time you blushed ?
I am living with Alex [Koo] for so long, and sometimes I have tendency to exaggerate scenarios because I see them from different colors or angles, and he is the one who corrects me and states the facts. You know, how do you call it in the New York Times ? He is my fact-check. I am a bit of a drama queen, so every little pimple becomes a melodrama. So I imagine the last time I blushed was when he corrected me on something.
What about the other side of blushing ? What do you think about the sexy side of blushing ?
The sexy side of blushing is when we talk about young teenagers that you see in all the English movies. They are all blushing, and there is such a beauty to the innocence. It is beautiful ! It touches my heart. There is something so emotional about it. They are always embarrassed, everything embarrasses them. They live with a natural “rougeur,” with no cosmetics. No L’Oreal or MAC can give you that tone of blushing. Red blushing is fabulous, and it stays for a long time.
Does Alex blush ?
No, he doesn’t, and good for him !
The other side of blushing that comes up for me is this idea of being embarrassed.
I don’t relate to that. Blushing comes from the confrontation of the truth. It is like the black box of an airplane. We don’t find the secrets, but you find the truth in the black box. Blushing is a little bit like a red box.
Where are you now in your life ? You have stepped away from fashion for two and half years now. Are you still passion about that ?
I was not for a certain time. I really did not want to do fashion anymore. It took me some time to love it again. Now, I am in love. Whether I love it or not, this is a time to think differently, so it is not only about working on a new dress but to work also on the system. I am not hesitating to come back because this is the only thing I know how to do. But I am more careful about how I want to do it and who I want to do it with. What will bring me joy ? I am a freak for tradition and innovation. I like innovative thinking. I love thinking ! We are living in a time of smart people, smartphones. Everything is so much about intelligence. It is not like we don’t have it, but you have to introduce it in a different way. Even Chanel always used to say, “It’s not about a new jacket; it’s about a good jacket.” So what is the differences between new and good ? Is everything good, new ? We are more in the new than the good ? We are more in the surface than the subsurface ? There are so many questions to answer. And going back to this idea of blushing… I am blushing when I am going to see my friends’ show, when everybody is asking where I am. I am blushing when I going for a taxi and the driver asks me, “Are you already working somewhere ?” I am blushing ! But don’t worry, red is my color. For me, at least, I didn’t want to start without having something with a meaning. I wanted to bring back the joy, the dream and the desire. I am not a t-shirt guy; I am not a street club guy. Maybe we are lacking some dreams in the world. Maybe we need a dream to elevate us a little bit and take us somewhere else.
Let’s talk about your dream. Have you gotten clarity ? You’ve been asking yourself a lot of questions over the last couple of years. So, what do you want ?
I am not there yet, but I am close. I never know. I am always next to it, I am never in it. I never say, “Ok, this is what I want to do.” The moment you say to yourself this is what it is, this is the day, that is the place, that’s the address and this is what I am going to do, you start getting into the world of formulas and codes. One of the beautiful things in fashion is that you never have to use these formulas because the beauty is the innovation. The beauty is to think outside of the box, the red box. But in order to think in a different way, ask yourself why not. You should start asking why. Why and why not. Ask yourself what you can do next that is actually different. I have always been more of a person that is into evolution than revolution. Revolution, there are hundreds of words to describe it. But evolution, it is much more difficult to describe because it is gradual. Revolution is an explosion.
I remember, I think at one of your last shows for Lanvin, you had all these really loud dresses and you were saying it is because of this Instagram world, and if you are going to get attention online, it has to be these kinds of dresses.
Actually, it was my last show. “Fashion,” as someone told me once, and I will always quote her, “fashion is like food, it has to be fresh.” If you have it a day before or later, it doesn’t work. It is sour. At that time, I wanted to show that I knew that it was the beginning of a new era in fashion. I had my intuition about how in fashion, screaming and whispering can work together. The first part of the show was whispering, but we are not only whispering, we are also very loud. The world has become much louder. But today maybe the best provocation is to be quiet. There was so much I had to say during these past two years, what exactly happened to me, but I choose to be quiet. Usually I am pretty chatty. It was a hard decision.
Is it because of the lawyers…
I could talk about anything and everything, but I didn’t feel it was the right time to do so. It took much more energy for me to be quiet than to be loud. It takes more energy to stay quiet. To say no is a very hard thing. I said no to myself and chose to shut-up, for now. I have more friends now than ever; I have more people that I know they love me more than I ever believed. I feel blessed ! And more than anything, maybe I blush because I am feeling loved by so many people.
La mode peut être un monde impardonnable. Un monde dans lequel une fois que vous en êtes exclu, c’est à vie. Surtout quand ce départ est soudain et inattendu. C’est justement la situation dans laquelle Alber Elbaz s’est trouvé chez Lanvin il y a presque trois ans. Du jour au lendemain, il a été évincé d’une société qu’il a aidé à passer du statut de belle endormie à celui de surpuissance internationale aux codes esthétiques uniques et identifiables, à cause d’une décision impulsive prise par son propriétaire au comportement erratique. Ce type de remerciement très public entraîne son lot d’émotions partagées. Choc, colère, tristesse, et, dans le cas d’Alber, un profond sentiment d’amour. Le torrent d’amour et de soutien qu’il a reçu suite à son départ, à la fois de la part du personnel chez Lanvin (qui a d’ailleurs rédigé une lettre ouverte afin d’exprimer son désaccord) et de l’industrie toute entière, représente une moment incroyablement émouvant au sein de la carrière du créateur. Il en ressent encore les effets aujourd’hui. C’est justement ce mélange unique d’émotions qui a découlé de cet événement cataclysmique qui a fait d’Elbaz la personne idéale pour le thème de ce numéro. Le fait de rougir est une réaction physique naturelle qui est souvent le résultat des sentiments prédedemment évoqués. Or, comme souvent lorsqu’on discute avec Elbaz, il vous surprend en percevant un sujet ou un problème particulier de façon complètement nouvelle et inattendue. Sa capacité à interpréter les émotions de façon unique est la raison pour laquelle il reste un des créateurs les plus talentueux et respectés de la mode.
Alber, vous savez que le thème de ce numéro est Rougir. Qu’est-ce que ce mot vous évoque ?
Je pense que les gens ne rougissent plus. J’ai l’impression que les gens n’ont presque plus honte. La dernière personne que je me rapelle avoir vu rougir est Lady Diana. Elle rougissait tout le temps ! Il y a quelque chose de si beau, si innocent et si modeste chez les gens qui rougissent.
Qu’est ce qui vous fait rougir ?
Je rougis naturellement. Je rougis tout le temps, vous pouvez le constater. Chaque fois que je mets ma main devant mon visage, vous savez qu’en-dessous je suis en train de rougir. Je suis timide. Je pense que les gens ne me voient pas naturellement comme quelqu’un de timide mais on dit toujours que les clowns sont en réalité les personnes les plus tristes. Apparemment Charlie Chaplin passait ses nuits à pleurer, à l’abri des regards, alors qu’il faisait rire les gens le jour. Alors j’ai trouvé un moyen de pleurer la journée : quand il pleut. Vous marchez dans la rue et personne ne peut dire si c’est à cause de la pluie ou si vous avez les yeux plein de larmes.
Ce que j’aime dans le fait de rougir, c’est que c’est incontrôlable. C’est une réaction physique qui a lieu pour plein de raisons différentes…
On rougit souvent quand on est confronté à la vérité. Cette histoire pourrait vous intéresser. Nous vivons dans une époque de transparence. Récemment, je pensais au concept de “big brothers”, Facebook et les réseaux sociaux, ainsi qu’au fait que nous vivons dans un monde complètement transparent. Il n’y a plus de barrières. La vérité est la vraie histoire, impossible de la falsifier. La vérité est partout. Ainsi, si rougir c’est le fait d’être confronté à la réalité, alors c’est tout à fait un sujet d’actualité.
C’est difficile de trouver l’équivalent exact du terme “blushing” en français…
Ce serait simplement “rougir”, le fait de devenir rouge. Pour moi, le mot “blush” est aussi lié au maquillage. Aujourd’hui, le monde est avant tout visuel, tout est rapporté aux images, et d’une certaine façon le maquillage est devenu une nouvelle façon de s’habiller. Avant, il ne vous fallait rien de plus que votre jean. Désormais, il n’y a même plus besoin de jean : il vous suffit de vous maquiller, car tout ce qui compte ce sont les selfies. Il y a quelque chose de similaire entre “blush” et “blushing”, “blush” et “bullshit”, ça sonne pareil. Il y a beaucoup de mots qui me viennent mais pour moi, quand on rougit c’est parce qu’on est timide, et aussi confronté à la vérité du moment vécu. Vous savez, ce moment où quelqu’un fait quelque chose et se met soudainement à pleurer – c’est physique, une réaction physique et non émotionnelle. Un jour, on m’a dit que les larmes représentaient le moment où l’irrationnel devient rationnel. Je pense que c’est la même chose pour l’acte de rougir, car c’est avant tout physique.
Vous souvenez-vous de la dernière fois où vous avez rougi ?
Cela fait longtemps que je vis avec Alex [Koo], et parfois j’ai tendance à exagérer certains scénarios car je les perçois d’un angle ou d’une teinte différents. Lui me corrige et raconte les faits tels qu’ils se sont déroulés. Vous savez – comment ils appellent ça dans le New York Times ? Il fait du fact-checking. Je suis un peu une drama queen, alors chaque petit bouton devient tout un mélodrame. Donc j’imagine que la dernière fois que j’ai rougi doit être quand il m’a corrigé à propos de quelque chose.
Qu’en est-il de l’autre côté de l’acte de rougir ? Que pensez-vous de son côté sexy ?
Le côté sexy du fait de rougir, c’est tout ces jeunes adolescents que l’on voit dans les films anglais. Ils rougissent tous, et il y a une vraie beauté dans tant d’innocence. C’est magnifique ! Cela me touche au coeur. Il y a quelque chose de vraiment émouvant. Ils sont toujours gênés, tout les gêne. Ils vivent dans une “rougeur” naturelle, sans produits de beauté. Ni L’Oréal ni MAC ne peuvent vous donner cette teinte de rouge. Le rougissement profond est fabuleux, et dure un bon bout de temps.
Alex rougit-il ?
Non, et tant mieux pour lui !
Une autre facette du fait de rougir découle pour moi du sentiment de honte.
Pour moi, cela n’a pas de rapport. On rougit car on est confronté à la vérité. C’est comme la boîte noire dans les avions. On ne dévoile pas les secrets, mais on découvre la vérité dans cette boîte noire. Le fait de rougir est un peu comme une boîte rouge.
Où en êtes-vous dans votre vie ? Cela fait deux ans et demi que vous avez pris vos distances avec la mode. Cela vous passionne t-il toujours autant ?
Cela n’a pas été le cas pendant un bon bout de temps. Je ne voulais vraiment plus faire de la mode. Il m’a fallu du temps pour me remettre à aimer ça. Désormais, je suis amoureux. Mais que je l’aime ou non, c’est avant tout le moment de penser la mode différemment : il ne s’agit plus seulement de réfléchir à une nouvelle robe, mais aussi de réfléchir à tout le système. Je n’hésite pas à revenir car c’est la seule chose que je sais faire. Mais je fais plus attention à la façon dont je veux faire les choses et avec qui je veux les faire. Qu’est-ce qui me rendra heureux ? Je suis dingue de tradition mais aussi d’innovation. J’aime réfléchir de façon innovante. J’aime réfléchir ! Nous vivons dans une époque où les gens sont intelligents, équipés de smartphones. Tout tourne autour de l’intelligence. Ce n’est pas comme si on n’en avait pas, mais il faut présenter cette intelligence d’une façon différente. Même Chanel disait toujours: “il ne s’agit pas de réaliser une nouvelle veste, mais une veste de qualité.” Quelle est la différence entre la nouveauté et la qualité ? La nouveauté est-elle toujours positive ? Sommes-nous plus dans la nouveauté que dans la qualité ? Sommes-nous plus concernés par la forme que le fond ? Il y a tellement de questions en attente de réponse. Et pour revenir à l’idée de rougir… Je rougis quand je vais voir le défilé d’un ami et que tout le monde demande où je suis désormais. Je rougis quand je prends un taxi et que le chauffeur me demande, “vous avez déjà retrouvé du travail ?”. Je rougis ! Mais ne vous en faites pas, le rouge me va bien. Au moins pour moi-même, je ne voulais pas recommencer sans avoir quelque chose qui ait du sens. Je voulais retrouver la joie, le rêve et le désir. Je ne suis pas un mec à t-shirts, pas un mec de la rue. Peut-être que ce monde manque de rêves. Peut-être qu’il faut que l’on rêve pour nous élever un peu, et nous emmener ailleurs.
Parlons de votre rêve. S’est-il clarifié ? Vous êtes-vous posé beaucoup de questions ces dernières années. Alors, que voulez-vous ?
Je n’y suis pas encore, mais je m’en rapproche. Je ne sais jamais. Souvent j’y suis presque, mais je ne suis jamais complètement dedans. Je ne me dis jamais, “ok, voilà ce que je veux faire.” Le jour où vous vous dites “voilà ce que c’est, voilà le jour, l’endroit, l’adresse, voilà ce que je vais faire”, vous rentrez dans un monde de codes et de formules. Une des plus belles choses dans la mode c’est qu’on n’a jamais eu besoin d’utiliser ces formules car la beauté est dans l’innovation. La beauté se trouve hors des sentiers battus – hors de la boîte rouge ! Mais afin de réfléchir différemment, il faut vous demander : pourquoi pas ? Il faut se demander pourquoi. Pourquoi et pourquoi pas. Demandez-vous quelle est la prochaine chose que vous pouvez vraiment faire de façon différente. J’ai toujours été une personne qui était plus branchée évolution que révolution. Il y a des centaines de mots pour décrire la révolution. Mais l’évolution est beaucoup plus difficile à définir car elle est plus graduelle, alors que la révolution est une explosion.
Je me souviens de ce qui devait être un de vos derniers défilés chez Lanvin. Vous aviez toutes ces robes incroyables, et vous disiez que c’était à cause de la culture Instagram. Et que si vous vouliez attirer l’intention d’Internet, il fallait proposer ce genre de robes.
En fait, c’était mon dernier défilé. Quelqu’un m’a dit cette phrase une fois, et je la cite tout le temps : “la mode est comme la nourriture : il faut que ce soit frais.” Si vous la consommez un jour avant ou un jour après, cela ne marche pas, ça a un goût aigre. À ce moment-là, je voulais montrer que je savais que c’était le début d’une nouvelle ère de la mode. Il me semblait que j’avais compris comment les murmures et les cris de la mode pouvaient travailler ensemble. La première partie du défilé n’était que murmures, mais nous ne faisons pas que murmurer, nous sommes aussi très bruyants. Or, peut-être qu’aujourd’hui la plus grande provocation est de rester silencieux. Il y a tellement de choses que je voulais dire ces deux dernières années, sur ce qui m’est vraiment arrivé, mais j’ai choisi d’être silencieux. Généralement je suis plutôt bavard. C’était une décision difficile.
Est-ce que c’est aussi à cause des avocats ?
Je peux parler de tout et n’importe quoi, mais j’avais l’impression que ce n’était pas le moment de le faire. Garder le silence m’a demandé beaucoup plus d’énergie que si j’avais choisi de faire du bruit. Cela coûte plus d’énergie de rester silencieux. Dire non est une chose très difficile à faire. Je me suis dit non à moi-même et ai choisi de me taire, pour l’instant. Aujourd’hui, j’ai plus d’amis que jamais. Jamais je n’aurais cru qu’il y avait autant de gens qui m’aiment de façon certaine. Je me sens comblé ! Plus que toute autre chose, peut-être que je rougis car je me sens aimé par autant de personnes.
💭 Mary Kantratzou for Exhibition Magazine
Mary Kantratzou is a fashion designer who has built a highly successful independent business by transforming everyday items in the world around us into vibrant prints that have been at the foundation of her collage-style clothing. Trompe l’oeil garments that have reimagined images of everything from perfume bottles, banknotes and paint by numbers kits to postage stamps, insects and topiary. Her outfits are sartorial feats of daring, designed to stand out from the crowd. When a woman slips on one of her outfits she is instantly metamorphized into someone to be reckoned with, because who else would take on a Kantratzou creation?
This article first appeared in the Exhibition Magazine, Avatar Issue.
MARY KANTRATZOU
“I want women who wear my clothes to know that it’s designed for women to stand out. They wear them because they want to be bold. And I think that is liberating for women, they want to feel like the best version of themselves.”
Mary Kantratzou is a fashion designer who has built a highly successful independent business by transforming everyday items in the world around us into vibrant prints that have been at the foundation of her collage-style clothing. Trompe l’oeil garments that have reimagined images of everything from perfume bottles, banknotes and paint by numbers kits to postage stamps, insects and topiary. Her outfits are sartorial feats of daring, designed to stand out from the crowd. When a woman slips on one of her outfits she is instantly metamorphized into someone to be reckoned with, because who else would take on a Kantratzou creation?
That sort of no holds barred approach to fashion has proven highly successful for the designer, who just celebrated the 10-year anniversary of her brand. A fact supported by the arrival of a new backer, the high profile Chinese heiress and investor Wendy Yu and the launch of a well-received capsule collection of colorful undergarments with Victoria’s Secret. And to celebrate the major milestone in the history of her company Katrantzou has also teamed up with MatchesFashion to create a mini reissue collection of 10 of her most iconic pieces from the past.
All of which is to say that Katrantzou is at a crucial point in her career. She has created well established codes, formed strong relationships with buyers and built a dedicated clientele, that including stylish heavy hitters like Cate Blanchett, Keira Knightley, Taylor Swift and Kerry Washington.
Here we take stock with the designer as she examines her past, explores how her own personal relationship to print and color transform her mindset and discuss what the future might look like for her attention getting company.
The theme for this issue is Avatar, which makes you an ideal person to interview for the magazine. The way you mix prints and unexpected motifs really can transform the women who wear them. Is that at the heart of what you like to do? To transform them? Or is it more to elevate them?
It’s one of the things you want to do. I think prints and colors can be a means of expression and communication. It’s so direct and so visual that it has an effect and I think it’s also a mood lifter, color in particular. But also I think when you combine print and color it should open up your mood. S0 it’s interesting in that way, and I think it has the power to transform not only the woman and how she feels, but also her mood.
That is so true. Wearing one of your pieces is a real choice. You’re choosing to you noticed.
Yes. I want women who wear my clothes to know that it’s designed for women to stand out but I think the woman who wear my clothes are women who are confident. They wear them because they want to be bold and they want to express themselves. And I think that is liberating for women, she wants to be herself and she wants to feel like the best version of herself.
You have now past that crucial ten year mark of since you founded your company. So when we talk about transformation and the future of fashion can you talk a little bit about how you’ve transformed over this last decade? I remember going to your first presentation and it was your mom showing me your collection. So how do you feel about how you’ve transformed as a designer and as a businesswoman?
I think you do have better understanding of who you are at ten years on because you take the time to reflect. When you’re starting out you’re tapping into, and experimenting with different elements – you’re trying to find your brand. Since I started my brand was always very visual and it’s still an image brand. But I think as you evolve your DNA your interests evolve, your conceptions. You evolve different silhouettes and different techniques and also you get to really understand the woman you are designing for. I’m more aware now about what my brand represents, whereas before I was more spontaneous and made more instinctive choices. Now I am more strategic about what I want to create around my brand.
And during your time as a designer have you seen the way women buy and wear clothing evolve? What are the shifts that you’ve seen that you really are surprised about or find fascinating?
I guess it’s a much more open world. Even in the last ten years there’s a much broader dialogue and I don’t know if it’s because we’re more connected to everyone through social media or if I’ve traveled a lot more. But obviously that opens your mind and I think it allows you to shape shift a little bit because of what inspiration you have around you. And that’s something to be celebrated. You know, women should be able to dress for the different role they play every day and feel free to kind of take on different characteristics of who they are, and express that to fashion. I think that’s a great thing and I think there’s much more independent style now. Probably because there’s so many options and maybe women are also in a period where they feel more confident. When I started I felt there were so many things stacked against me. One being the fact that I’m a woman. But now I feel actually that’s something to be celebrated and protected. I am really proud of the fact that I am an independent woman owning my own business and being an entrepreneur.
“I wore more and more black over the years, to the point that it became a uniform. It’s because my work involves making so many decisions about color daily that you almost need a palete cleanser.”
As you should be! Another thing I find so unique about your brand is your ability to see inanimate objects in new ways. The manner in which you juxtapose different patterns and the way you place them together to create your designs shows that you see the world in a very unique way. Do you think comes from the fact that your mother was an interior designer?
I think you know growing up around design there will always be some sort of association to design. I have always had, you know, an appreciation of that. We celebrated our ten years with a collection that was based on the idea of a collection about collectibles, because looking back I think one thread that connect my collections…from perfume bottles or a postage stamp or other objects like that – is that they’re collectibles. So I think it’s a balance between an appreciation of the material and the beauty found in design and how to contextual to a certain extent tension or balance or synergy between different ideas and different concepts. The methodology is that I think I work in a similar way to how a collage artist works, where you juxtapose a lot of different elements and your perspective changes in relationship to what you choose to juxtapose and how you render that.
So I know it’s been reported a million times that you only wear black when you work. But I understand that when you are on vacation you wear anything but black. So to a certain extent you become an Avatar of yourself when you go on holiday.
For me I think progressively I wore more and more black over the years, to the point that it became a uniform and after kind of analyzing the why… it’s because my work involves making so many decisions about color daily that you almost need a palate cleanser. So I think it’s because you’re in work mode and maybe it’s partly not having to make a decision at all. And partly because you want to clear your head and not see any more color. But when you’re on holiday I think it kind of you want to feel that you’re on holiday and they think psychologically about not wearing black because it’s kind of like uniform of work. Wearing color and prints on holiday, it allows me to feel that I’m taking time off. I feel, you know, kind of freer. It’s a different Mary who is on holiday.
It’s definitely a different Mary! Do you find, because you say you know color is uplifting, that wearing those pieces transform you? That they change your mood or attitudes?
Of course I do! The psychology of color has nothing to do with the theme of a collection. Some women are drawn to my work just for the color. And because it’s a positive sign and because it’s a happy brand in a way. So that alone in itself can be a really appealing for some women. I think the power of color goes far beyond fashion, has to do with everything around you.
Speaking about change, you recently collaborated with Victoria’s Secret on a capsule collection. Designing undergarments isn’t exactly in your creative wheelhouse, so what was that process like for you?
I think every collaboration that we’ve done is different because of the nature of the product we are working on together. It’s always coming from a different arena than what I do. But that is what makes these sort of partnerships so interesting. They allow me to push, and extend myself in a new way. And immediately I thought that this would be an interesting project because there is a very intimate relationship between a woman and what she wears under her clothing. Also it is something that I wouldn’t have been able to do on my own. It’s such a technical product, and being able to rely a lot on their technical expertise taught me a lot. And also it’s wonderful to be able to speak to a much wider audience.
You have a new backer. I imagine that the influx of funds from Wendy Yu is also going to help you reach a wider audience How does that change things for you?
I think it hasn’t changed the way we work but what it has done is it allows me to look at my business and see where I want to be in five or 10 years’ time. Having the support of Wendy is really going to help us build brand awareness in China. Also it’s wonderful to have an ally that believes in you and is as an ambassador of your brand, someone who is like minded and can help you achieve your goals through their network and through having somebody to bounce ideas off of. And I think that’s very important at this point in the business that we are able to plan ahead and not just make decisions based on the opportunities that come to me. But it’s more about really deciding what I want to do and how I want to grow it.
So breaking into the Asian market is a focus for your company in the coming years. Which is smart, considering that there is an historic love of bright colors in that region of the world. Can you talk a little bit about your process, the dissonance of the different pieces you put together, how does that process work for you?'
I think when I first started I was a lot more protective of, you know, of each season’s idea. I would stick to the idea we decided on and follow it through and I was a lot more controlling of that process. Now I think it’s less important to me where a collection starts. It’s more important to see how that idea is executed and allowing it to evolve over time. So I guess what’s changed is that the collection could start with one strong theme, it can start with a mood. And then that will lead us to something and only when we find something concrete, that makes sense, do we really begin to define it. It’s somehow become a more democratic process.
“I think now I understand my strengths and I understand also what gives me joy and I think that should be celebrated.”
Now that you have a new investor and a bit more room to breathe, creatively speaking, what do you want to do with this brand?
It hasn’t really changed. It’s just that you’re more aware of what your brand is about and what inspires you. What makes you happy. Who your customer is. So it does allow you to see the bigger picture. I think when you start you are so focused on each collection and how to produce it. Who are the best supplier. Who are you going to hire as your team. Are you going to motivate and manage them. And so you are so bogged down with everything that you can’t see the larger picture. I think now I understand my strengths and I understand also what gives me joy and I think that should be celebrated. I now know what makes me happy in the design process. I’m inspired by all the amazing people I have met during my career; that’s one of the things I am most grateful for. It also has allowed me to focus more on certain elements that I enjoy doing, and growing those because I think that’s the balance that you can have when you’re an independent brand.
“Je veux que les femmes qui portent mes vêtements sachent qu’ils sont créés pour qu’elles se démarquent. Elles portent ces vêtements parce qu’elles veulent être audacieuses. Et c’est libérateur pour les femmes, elles veulent être la meilleure version d’elles-mêmes.”
Mary Katrantzou est une créatrice de mode qui a construit une marque indépendante à succès en transformant des objets de tous les jours en imprimés vifs, la base de son style “ collage”. Ses créations en trompe-l’œil ont réinventé des objets : des bouteilles de parfum, des billets de banque, des peintures par numéro, mais aussi des timbres poste, des insectes et de l’art topiaire. Ses tenues sont des merveilles d’audace, dessinées pour se démarquer de la foule. Quand une femme enfile l’une de ses créations, elle est instantanément métamorphosée en quelqu’un qui compte : qui sinon ferait le choix d’un vêtement Katrantzou ?
Cette conception très libre de la mode fonctionne très bien pour la créatrice qui vient de fêter les 10 ans de sa marque. Pour preuve, l’arrivée d’une nouvelle bailleuse de fonds, l’héritière et investrice en vue Wendy Yu, et le lancement acclamé d’une collection capsule de sous-vêtements colorés avec Victoria’s Secret. Pour célébrer cette date marquante dans l’histoire de sa marque, Katrantzou s’est aussi associée à MatchesFashion pour créer une mini collection pour laquelle elle a réédité 10 pièces iconiques.
Katrantzou se trouve décidément à un point crucial de sa carrière. Elle a inventé des codes devenus des références, elle a créé des relations solides avec les acheteurs et s’est construit une clientèle dévouée qui compte des poids lourds de la mode comme Cate Blanchett, Keira Knightley, Taylor Swift et Kerry Washington.
La créatrice revient avec nous sur son passé. Elle explore comment son rapport personnel à l’imprimé et à la couleur change son état d’esprit, et envisage l’avenir de sa marque en pleine ascension.
Le thème de ce numéro est Avatar, ce qui fait de vous la personne idéale à interviewer pour le magazine. La façon dont vous mélangez les imprimés et les motifs inattendus peut vraiment transformer les femmes qui portent vos créations. Est-ce au cœur de ce que vous aimez faire ? Transformer les femmes ? Ou bien s’agit-il plutôt de les magnifier ?
C’est l’un des buts à atteindre. Je pense que les imprimés et les couleurs peuvent être un moyen de s’exprimer et de communiquer. C’est si direct, si visuel que cela a un effet. La couleur surtout peut donner de l’énergie. Mais en associant imprimé et couleur, on améliore aussi son humeur. Je suis convaincue que cela a le pouvoir de transformer non seulement la femme et comment elle se sent, mais aussi son humeur.
C’est vrai, porter l’une de vos pièces est un choix assumé. On prend la décision d’être remarquée.
Oui, je veux que les femmes qui portent mes vêtements sachent qu’ils sont créés pour qu’elles se démarquent. Je pense que les femmes qui portent mes vêtements sont sûres d’elles. Et c’est libérateur pour les femmes, elles veulent être la meilleure version d’elles-mêmes.
Vous avez passé le cap des dix ans depuis la création de votre marque. Comment s’est-elle transformée pendant la décennie ? Je me souviens être allée à votre première présentation où votre propre mère m’avait montré la collection. Quel œil portez-vous sur votre transformation en tant que créatrice et femme d’affaires ?
Après dix ans, on prend le temps de réfléchir et on comprend mieux qui l’on est. Quand on commence, on expérimente et on puise dans différents éléments parce qu’on se cherche. Ma marque a toujours été très visuelle et elle le reste aujourd’hui. Mais quand on grandit, notre ADN évolue, tout comme nos intérêts et notre vision des choses. On touche à différentes silhouettes et techniques et on comprend mieux la femme pour qui on crée les vêtements. Aujourd’hui, je me rends mieux compte de ce que représente ma marque, alors qu’au départ j’étais plus spontanée, je faisais des choix plus instinctifs. Maintenant, je suis plus stratégique quant à ce que je veux créer autour de ma marque.
Depuis que vous êtes créatrice de mode, avez-vous vu évoluer la manière dont les femmes achètent et portent les vêtements ? Quels changements vous ont surprise ou fascinée ?
Je dirais que c’est un monde beaucoup plus ouvert. Même ces dix dernières années, il s’est établi un dialogue plus large. Je ne sais pas si c’est parce qu’on est plus connectés aux autres par les réseaux sociaux, ou parce que j’ai beaucoup plus voyagé. Mais évidemment, ça ouvre l’esprit et toute cette inspiration permet de changer ses perceptions. Et c’est génial. Les femmes devraient pouvoir s’habiller pour les différents rôles qu’elles jouent chaque jour et se sentir libres d’assumer certaines caractéristiques de leur identité, et exprimer cela à travers la mode.
Pour moi, c’est positif. Il y a tellement plus de styles indépendants aujourd’hui. Probablement parce qu’il y a beaucoup de choix et que, peut-être, les femmes traversent une période où elles se sentent plus sûres d’elles-mêmes. Quand j’ai commencé, je sentais une montagne d’obstacles devant moi, l’un d’entre eux étant que je suis une femme. Mais à présent, ça me semble être quelque chose à célébrer et à protéger. Je suis vraiment fière d’être une femme indépendante à la tête de sa propre marque, et d’être un entrepreneur.
“Au fil du temps, j’ai porté de plus en plus de noir, cela a fini par devenir mon uniforme. Dans mon travail, je dois prendre tellement de décisions sur les couleurs tous les jours que j’ai eu besoin d’une couleur neutre.”
Vous avez bien raison! Une autre spécificité de votre marque est de réinventer les objets inanimés. La façon dont vous juxtaposez des motifs différents et dont vous les assemblez pour créer vos designs montrent que vous avez une vision du monde très particulière. Cela vient-il du fait que votre mère ait été architecte d’intérieur?
Grandir dans le monde du design fait qu’il y aura toujours des références au design. J’ai toujours apprécié ce domaine. Pour nos dix ans, on a créé une collection à partir d’objets de collection. Le fil qui connecte toutes mes collections, des bouteilles de parfum aux timbres, ou d’autres objets de ce type, est qu’elles tournent autour d’objets collector.
C’est un équilibre entre une appréciation du matériau et de la beauté de sa forme, et une manière de contextualiser une tension, un équilibre, une synergie entre des idées et des concepts différents. Ma méthodologie est proche de celle d’un artiste qui fait des collages : juxtaposer beaucoup d’éléments différents pour que ma perspective change selon ce que je choisis de juxtaposer.
Je sais qu’on a pu lire un million de fois que tu ne portes que du noir quand tu travailles. Mais j’ai cru comprendre qu’en vacances, tu portais tout sauf du noir. Donc d’une certaine manière, tu deviens un Avatar de toi-même quand tu pars en vacances.
Au fil du temps, j’ai porté de plus en plus de noir, au point que c’est devenu mon uniforme et après avoir analysé la raison….. c’est que dans mon travail, je dois prendre tellement de décisions sur les couleurs tous les jours que j’ai eu besoin d’une couleur neutre. C’est à la fois par volonté d’être en “ mode travail” et à la fois l’envie de ne pas avoir à prendre de décision du tout. Et, aussi, parce que je veux me vider la tête et ne plus voir de couleur.
Mais quand je suis en vacances, j’ai envie de sentir que je suis en vacances. Psychologiquement, le noir est mon uniforme de travail donc porter de la couleur et des imprimés pendant mes congés me permet de sentir une vraie rupture. Je me sens plus libre. C’est une autre Mary qui est en vacances.
C’est vraiment une autre Mary! Vous dites que la couleur remonte le moral, est-ce que porter ces pièces vous transforme ? Changent-elles votre état d’esprit ou votre attitude ?
Oui, bien sûr ! La psychologie des couleur n’a rien à voir avec le thème d’une collection. Certaines femmes sont attirées par mon travail juste pour la couleur. Et parce que c’est un signe positif, c’est une marque joyeuse, en quelque sorte. Ça, en soi, peut vraiment attirer certaines femmes. Le pouvoir des couleurs dépasse la mode, il s’applique à tout autour de nous.
En parlant de changement, vous avez collaboré avec Victoria’s Secret sur une collection capsule récemment. Vous n’êtes pas habituée à créer de la lingerie, comment s’est déroulé ce processus ?
Chaque collaboration que j’ai faite a été différente, parce qu’elles dépendent toujours du produit sur lequel on travaille. C’est toujours éloigné de ce que je fais au départ. Mais c’est ça qui rend ces partenariats si intéressants. Ils me permettent d’aller plus loin, de pousser mes horizons. J’ai immédiatement pensé que ce projet serait intéressant parce qu’il existe un rapport très intime entre les femmes et ce qu’elles portent sous leurs vêtements. En plus, je n’aurais pas été capable de réaliser ce projet toute seule. C’est un produit tellement technique. L’expertise technique de Victoria’s Secret m’a beaucoup appris. C’est merveilleux de s’adresser à un public plus large.
Vous avez un nouveau bailleur de fonds. J’imagine que les fonds de Wendy Yu vont aussi vous aider à toucher un public plus large. Qu’est-ce que cela change pour vous ?
Ça n’a pas changé la façon dont on travaille, mais ça m’a permis de réfléchir à ma marque et de voir où je veux en être dans cinq ou dix ans. Le soutien de Wendy va vraiment nous aider à être reconnus en Chine. C’est merveilleux d’avoir une alliée qui croit en vous et qui se fait l’ambassadrice de votre marque. Quelqu’un qui pense comme vous et qui peut vous aider à réaliser vos objectifs gr'ce à son réseau, avec qui échanger des idées. À ce stade de développement de mon entreprise, il est important de planifier à l’avance au lieu de prendre des décisions à partir des opportunités que je rencontre. Il s’agit de décider de ce que je veux faire et comment je veux développer ma marque.
Donc faire une percée sur le marché asiatique est une priorité pour votre entreprise dans les années à venir. Ce qui est malin, sachant qu’il existe un amour historique des couleurs vives dans cette région du monde. Pouvez-vous parler de votre processus créatif, de la dissonance des pièces que vous assemblez ?
Quand j’ai commencé, je cherchais à protéger les idées de chaque saison. Je restais fidèle à l’idée qu’on avait établie et je la suivais jusqu’au bout, je contrôlais ce processus. Maintenant, j’accorde moins d’importance à comment débute une collection. Ce qui compte, c’est de voir comment cette idée va être exécutée, en lui donnant une chance d’évoluer avec le temps. Avant, la collection naissait avec un thème défini, alors que maintenant elle peut naître avec une humeur. Ça nous mène quelque part, et on ne définit ça qu’une fois qu’on trouve quelque chose de concret, qui ait du sens. C’est devenu un processus plus démocratique.
“Je pense qu’à présent je comprends mes forces et ce qui m’apporte de la joie, et je m’en félicite.”
À présent que vous avez un nouvel investisseur et davantage de sécurité, que voulez-vous faire de cette marque au niveau créatif ?
Ça n’a pas vraiment changé. Je comprends simplement mieux ce qu’est ma marque et ce qui m’inspire, ce qui me rend heureuse, qui est ma cliente. Cela me permet de prendre du recul. Quand on commence, on est tellement focalisé sur chaque collection et la manière de la produire : qui est le meilleur fournisseur, qui on va embaucher dans son équipe, est-ce qu’on sera capable de les motiver et de les diriger… On se noie dans tout ça, on n’a aucun recul. Je pense qu’à présent je comprends mes forces, et ce qui m’apporte de la joie, et je m’en félicite. Je sais ce qui me rend heureuse dans le processus créatif. Je suis inspirée par tous les gens merveilleux que j’ai rencontrés pendant ma carrière, c’est l’une des choses dont je suis la plus reconnaissante. Cela m’a aussi permis de me concentrer sur certains éléments que j’aime vraiment travailler, et de leur donner de l’importance. C’est ça, l’équilibre auquel on peut aspirer quand on est une marque indépendante.
💭 Sigourney Weaver for ODDA Magazine
Sigourney Weaver is an icon and a role model for women across the globe. Not just for the breadth and width of her work as an actress in films as varied as the Alien and Avatar series as well as Gorillas in the Mist, The Ice Storm, Galaxy Quest and Dave; but also in the way she has lived her life and career fully on her own terms. Weaver has worked consistently over the past 40 years while raising a daughter alongside her husband of over 30 years, stage director Jim Simpson. If she has one defining characteristic, it is her endless curiosity about the world around her. And it is this inquisitiveness that makes her such a delight to watch on screen and to speak with in person.
This article first appeared in the ODDA Magazine, Issue 15.
SIGOURNEY WEAVER
Sigourney Weaver is an icon and a role model for women across the globe. Not just for the breadth and width of her work as an actress in films as varied as the Alien and Avatar series as well as Gorillas in the Mist, The Ice Storm, Galaxy Quest and Dave; but also in the way she has lived her life and career fully on her own terms. Weaver has worked consistently over the past 40 years while raising a daughter alongside her husband of over 30 years, stage director Jim Simpson. If she has one defining characteristic, it is her endless curiosity about the world around her. And it is this inquisitiveness that makes her such a delight to watch on screen and to speak with in person.
Total look 1 MONCLER PIERPAOLO PICCIOLI
I know you are currently shooting back to back films Avatar 2 and 3 with James Cameron, so let’s talk about what it is like to work 24/7 in a capture suit that tracks your movements to create a totally virtual character?
Yes, we’re doing 2 and 3, and it’s been a very exciting year. But we have been in capture suits or in sort of silver, wet-capture suits, and then we have a third capture suit for when we’re half in the water and half out. It’s kind of technical, but yeah it’s been a wild year and I’ve had a lot of fun! I can’t really talk about the part but it’s been great to work with Jim again, he’s in great form. I think this one as much as the first one. The story is so compelling and so moving, full of action, but also tender and funny. And I think, technically, we’re working at a completely new level, I can’t understand half the conversations the tech guys have! I only know that whatever we’re going for is much more ambitious than what we did before, so it’s quite exciting.
And you’ve had to learn free dive and scuba diving?
It was fun because my husband actually trained with me. We started before the film, we went down to Florida Keys, we were certified and had the most marvelous instructor, who worked with Jim all the time on the other side of his life which is, you know, inventing, developing, and building submarines.
So, he worked with Jim on all the deep sea exploration and he was our teacher, so we couldn’t be in better hands.
What is it like to be under water like that? I mean, I’ve only ever snorkeled, what is that experience like?
Well, it’s wonderful, you feel like a whole new universe is opening up in front of you, that you never were allowed to go in. And suddenly, like we’re in Hawaii, we went there for rehearsal in deep water before we started shooting. One time we did a night dive and we went to this place where the manta rays love to congregate. And we were all laying on the bottom of the ocean and these manta rays, these beautiful 8/10-feet long manta rays, just went right over us. Sometimes, skinning your forehead, they were kind of playing with us. So it opens up this world, it’s just extraordinary!
And then the free diving, Jim Cameron decided that we’re not going to pretend that the actors are under water, but we’re going to teach them to hold their breath for three minutes, so we can do takes under water.
It’s been incredibly challenging because there’s so many things about shooting in water that they had to deal with, like the reflections. The surface was covered with these plastic balls, very easy to swallow by mistake, you don’t want to do that! But, to cover the surface, when the camera’s under water, it’s just one thing after another and we got these amazing tanks that can change into all kinds of different environments, but you know it’s very very ambitious.
But I mean, honestly, between you and me, do you do anything other than ambitious films? Because Gorillas in the Mist, Aliens, Galaxy Quest and Dave, I mean all of that is really ambitious stuff. Is that what drives you to your roles, pushing yourself? What do you look for as far as that is concerned?
Oh, gosh. Well, you know, I never look for anything in a role. I never look for the role, I look for the story and if the story, to me, is something I would want to see and something that I think is relevant and has a good beginning middle and end, and a very good structure.
When it passes all those tests, and the biggest test is: is it about something more than just a character? Then, if it passes this, if there’s enough for me to make something out of this, because I feel like in some of the movies you’ve mentioned, I’ve been very fortunate to be involved in, so many good movies that I think hold up pretty well because of the stories. I certainly don’t consider myself charming enough to sustain an audience’s interest for two hours if I’m not riding on a fantastic story. And I don’t really think any actor is. So that’s what I look for. I’m not seduced by a role if it isn’t a project that I want to be a part of, or a director that I would like to work with because I have structured my career that way. It allows me to bounce around to so many different genres and work with all kinds of directors.
You do bounce around, so it’s the story that brings to a comedy or to a drama, but what about the director? You’ve read the story, you liked the script, do you prefer a director that’s hands on or one that lets you go with your gut and let things roll a little bit more freestyle? Where do you feel comfortable?
Well, you know, you have to be just opened to whatever happens. I think that there are some directors, like Roman Polanski, who is very hands on, and that can be also liberating, although it takes the whole film to learn how to deal with that. But it is very liberating when someone has a very specific idea of what it is, and I find that most directors, especially ones that I’ve worked with before, kind of trust me, and kind of let me go.
The only kind of director I don’t like to work with would be one that is caught up in how to shoot the day’s work, you know, who isn’t interested in talking about the scenes or talking about the characters. But that’s very rare and you get that, frankly, mostly in television, because they’re trying to make their day, using all the cool shots they can and it seems like they could care less, which kind of leaves you high and dry. I like to be directed.
Have you actually directed anything yourself, and if not is it something that you’ve ever fantasized about doing?
You know, I have thought about it because I think I would work well with actors. I could certainly tell them what not to worry about. Actors worry about so many things!
What shouldn’t they worry about?
You know, they are always worrying about how they look, stuff like that, and they don’t realize probably that the reason they’re cast is because of who they are, actually, as people. The sense of character, within the character they’re playing. You sense their character, who they are as a person in the character, and I would encourage actors to be more themselves. It sounds like a contradiction, but brings your life forth to your character, I think that’s what people want to see.
And I think that this can hold young actors up because they feel that there’s a certain thing that they’re supposed to be doing, they don’t realize that they’re already doing it. They don’t have to worry about it.
Ok, so you’ve done all these amazing roles. Which character do you feel that was the closest to you in real life?
Well, I’m not trying to be difficult but really the one that’s closest to me, and the most challenging, is the one I’m doing now in Avatar 2 and 3, but I can’t talk about that, sorry!
I know it’s ridiculous, and some day you’ll see the film and you’ll laugh because you’ll remember that I’ve said it’s the closest to me and it really is.
And it is kind of wicked that they’ve cast me as this character because they know me very well, it’s not a side I show.
Total look PRADA
Can you tell me if it’s a new character?
It’s a totally new character. Other than that, I’m just trying to think who would be like me. Oddly enough, I think of Tawny, Gwen, in Galaxy Quest. Which was what I’ve said to the director. You know they didn’t want to see anyone who’s done any science-fiction for that movie, my agent told me that and I thought, “They’re out of their mind!” You know, if anyone can make fun of this genre, it’s the people who have done these movies. I had to kind of talk my way in. And then it was my decision to make her blonde, and she was already insecure, but I just decided to go with how I would sometimes feel if I had to go to outer space, really as Sigourney, and play that. So really, Tawny and Gwen are pretty close to me.
Is Tawny the character you’re recognized most for these days? Do people still come up and quote a line she says from that film or is it a different character from another film?
You know it’s all over the map. Certainly, kids think of me from Alien, or Avatar, or Finding Dory because my voice is in that. And then, people who are older, recall Gorillas in The Mist, Years of Living Dangerously, The Ice Storm, things like that. It really depends and it’s so nice to jump around a lot because, to do comedies and more serious kinds of films, that’s the joy of being an actor.
Why do you think you’ve never have really been pigeon holed? I mean, that’s exceptional. You never had a low, you’ve really been able to move throughout the Hollywood system all these years. What is your secret?
Well, it’s not really a secret. I was told when I was at drama school that I had no talent and that I’d never get anywhere. So, I remember thinking I was crushed because what my goal was. My mother was a British actress, she worked in Repertory theater for a couple of years and that was my dream. To be in a company, and do big parts, small parts, comedies, and just do everything!
And when I was told I had no talent I though, “Ugh, now I have to rethink everything.” So, eventually, I got out of that place and I started working on all these new plays with my friends and I was thinking, “Well, I can’t work in a repertory company, but I can think about creating my own repertory, doing the same thing but with whatever jobs I’m offered.
So that being my kind of structure, like I don’t care if I’m playing the maid, I’ll play the queen in the next one… you know what I mean? I just like to jump around and do different things. It all makes sense to me because I’m in this sort of invisible repertory company of actors where we all take turns doing different things ad having different responsibilities. I love that, I love being part of an ensemble.
My part in Avatar is not the biggest part but, to me, of course, it is the most interesting part!
Let’s talk about your voice now, because while researching you I’ve discovered how much voice work you’ve done on Wall-E, Dory, and everything, does that use a different creative muscle for you? What is that kind of acting like?
I love doing it, first of all some of the things I have done are just so interesting. And what I find is since I know nothing about narration, really, I kind of go in and take a whack at it and let them kind of tell me who I should be. In other words, for Planet Earth I had to very much flatten down what I said, and so I did quite a few of those and that was very interesting for me because it was more narration that I have ever done before.
And other times, clearly, they want to have a more personal approach; so I would say every single job is quite different and I have a wonderful voice over my agent who’s always coaching me to bring more of myself to the narration, which is a tricky thing. Not necessarily narration, but sometimes I read for other things and to put yourself or your voice and have that represent you is a very interesting challenge. I enjoy it, but it’s not easy I must say.
That’s really interesting to know. We were talking earlier about the motion-capture suits that you were wearing and, because this is an interview for a fashion magazine, I’m wondering if you can talk a little about fashion in your life, like clothing getting you into a role, or maybe a moment when fashion really was impactful for you, like when you were growing up something your mother wore or something you wore at the Oscars. Do you have a moment when you really felt the power of clothing in your life to a certain extent?
You know, I think one of the funny things about doing motion capture is you don’t get a costume. I’m so dependent on costumes, and it’s such a big partner for me for all the roles I play. I would say the best example would be The Ice Storm because Janey was such a cypher and I felt that thanks to Carol, who designed the costumes and found these old fabrics, all these horrible polyester fabrics. The clothes were practically falling apart by the time we finished, but my costume was so incredible, and between that and my hair and makeup, the outside absolutely told me where I was going.
Same thing with Galaxy Quest. Sometimes, the costume is so simple, like in Death and the Maiden, that red, white and blue costume, and that tells you everything. I get more from costumes than just about anything else. I think of my capture suit, which is unique to my character. And we have stickers we put on this like Velcro. Patches we put on, we stick them on each other’s costumes and they say ridiculous things like, “Follow me on Tinder!” and things like that. Because they’re just black with a few bright markings. So you have to develop a costume even if you have no costume. You have to develop an identity.
What do you attribute your long and happy married life to, in Hollywood, which really doesn’t have that great of a track record when it comes to marriages?
Well, first of all we live in New York. I think it’s a big plus. We’re not a Hollywood couple, and I’m not sure that anyone is. And, you know, we’re a very normal, boring couple. My husband ran a theater company for 20 years. We’re very active downtown with this wonderful group of young actors, young writers and directors. And, you know, I just think when you’re in the world, you forget it’s such a tiny microcosm where you’re a movie star and it’s fine. You go on the red carpet… but that is such a micro part of what you do.
T-shirt VERSACE
Pants ROBERTO CAVALLI
Boots and gloves RAF SIMONS
Coat OFF-WHITE c/o Virgil Abloh
What about aging in such an image-driven business. You are in your 60s now, what are your impressions, reactions or your life history been as far as you’ve been experiencing this progression through your career?
I think it’s an amazing time for women now and in every way. I think that we’re seeing so many women directors, women writers and so many actresses starting to direct like Greta Gerwig. Not waiting, but just jumping in!
I just feel, in spite of what may be going on politically, in this country in many other ways it’s the most interesting time for women. But I also feel there’s been a great sense of sisterhood and pride in who we are. And the women coming forward about #MeToo really changed the landscape. I don’t think the same stuff will be able to go on like that. We have a long way to go. In Hollywood, for instance now, there really are more roles for women, but when you look around and it would be nice to see women in all these different capacities: in sound and in construction, in lighting and all these different things, that has not happened. I think partially because the unions have training programs, but maybe they don’t have enough support to train people to make sure your crew is diverse.
I think the bigger worry for me is not Hollywood, but when I look at the fast-food industry and the hotel industry: think of how much might be going on there that can keep women down. A manager who requires sexual favor if you want to keep that low-level job. We have a lot of work to do in these various industries. In November, we’re going to see this army of women running. I don’t know when, but they are certainly out there now.
What kind of advice would you give to your 25-year-old self or a young person coming into the industry?
It is very hard to give anyone advice I think, but I would say to myself, “Don’t be so serious.” And, in fact, I think Jim Cameron has observed. I’m much less serious about my work than I used to be. In my 20s especially, I missed out a lot of things because I was thinking about work and looking for work.
I would say to my 25-year-old self, “Just relax, don’t stop having fun because you’re hoping for a job.”
I feel like the universe will sort this out for you. I think you can just be in the moment and you know life will let you know pretty quickly whether you’re on the right path or not. So just go for it. I wasn’t sure if I was in the right business I kept being offered work, but I couldn’t actually say out loud or to myself, “I want to be an actor” until I had my first paying job, which wasn’t till I was in my early 20s.
What is it like to be nominated for an Oscar?
Well, it’s a terrific acknowledgement by your community. That’s what’s so cool about it. The nomination is a kind of a “job well done” clap on the back. To actually win is the whole community vote. And it’s quite an amazing night to be there with all these people. You have so much in common with many, most of whom you’ve never met. People outside think you all know each other really well. I don’t of course! But it’s a chance to be with your community and celebrate what you do.
I think, ironically, that I’ve done better work that has not been acknowledged, but that’s just because you have to be in a movie that catches fire and that has support.
That’s a large part of what seems to get you to the Oscars. The movie has to catch the attention of the audience and the community. And I think that’s perfectly valid, but they do miss out on a lot of wonderful films like Detroit, which was an amazing film last year. Awfully difficult to watch and I was very shocked.
You have done dream things like going and hanging out with gorillas in the wild, freediving and scuba diving, traveling the world for your work. What’s left on your bucket list of things you still really want to do?
Wow, what a wonderful question! I think now that my husband is retired, it’s also funny because he’s younger than I am, but he’s retired! And he’s been out here really for the first time ever in my career. I’ve been in a location where my husband and my daughter are both out here and we’ve had the most wonderful year to sort of enjoying life in California and the farmers markets and the wonderful LA Philharmonic and all the things that are out here.
What I would say is I’m looking forward to doing more traveling with him. We’re just trying to figure out all the places we would like to go. Also I feel like I’m at the top of my craft and I’d love to sink my teeth into something that’s very challenging. So, I am looking around for that kind of story.
But, on the other hand, I feel like there’s so many things I haven’t done: I’d love to go around the world just listening to music. Just immerse myself in the world music and see more of the world.
Being able to travel for my job is one of the greatest things I’ve been given in my career. This chance to work all over the world with people from those countries doing something we all love.
Photographer JENS INGVARSSON @2DM
Interviewed by JESSICA MICHAULT
Talent SIGOURNEY WEAVER
Fashion Editor GEORGIA TAL
Creative Director DAVID MARTIN
Casting Director CLARE RHODES @Castingbyus
Make-Up Artist BRIGITTE REISS-ANDERSEN @Starworks Artists using MAC Cosmetics
Hair Stylist REBEKAH FORECAST@The Wall Group
Photographer’s Assistant SHAWN CUNI
Fashion Assistant MIRKO PEDONE
Location SPACESCOUT
Special thanks SOMAR, MARJAN and NINA
💭 Paul Andrew for VOGUE Japan
As far as first impressions go Paul Andrew knows how to make an impact. On the top floor of the Salvatore Ferragamo headquarters in Milan he greets me inside a giant glass veranda. There, the city’s rooftops frame an impressive display of his first shoe collection for the house.
This article first appeared in the VOGUE JAPAN June 2017 Issue No. 214.
PAUL ANDREW
VOGUE Japan June 2017
As far as first impressions go Paul Andrew knows how to make an impact. On the top floor of the Salvatore Ferragamo headquarters in Milan he greets me inside a giant glass veranda. There, the city’s rooftops frame an impressive display of his first shoe collection for the house. It’s a momentous occasion considering that Andrew is first person to every hold the title of design director of woman’s footwear for the brand since its illustrious founder Salvatore Ferragamo.
If he is feeling the pressure of having such enormous shoes to fill, you wouldn’t know it by looking at him. “Its beautiful up here isn’t it,” are the first words out of Andrew’s mouth as he takes in the view with an easy smile on his face.
But he is also eager to show off his debut runway collection. Picking up one pair after another to explain what exactly makes those shoes so special. “ The most important thing is, as much time I spend designing this collection, I also spend time reworking the fit and the construction of the shoes for Ferragamo,” he said.
Many people think that Andrew should feel right at home at Ferragamo. For years he has earned a reputation for creating chicly shaped footwear that never sacrifice comfort for style. And in 2014 he took home the top award at the prestigious CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund prize. He is also one of the most prolific shoemakers in the industry. When he accepted the position at Ferragamo he ended over 14 shoe designing contracts he held with leading fashion houses like Diane Von Furstenberg, Donna Karan and Alexander McQueen. Only holding onto his own signature label that he will continue to design in tandem with his work at Ferragamo.
Here Andew explains some of the cool new features he has incorporated into his Ferragamo designs, how the female foot has changed since Salvatore was in charge and reveals one of his secret talents.
What was it like to you when you came on board at Ferragamo and first got you hands on those amazing archives? Because you, like Salvatore, have been passionate about shoes all your life.
I have! Well, I knew a lot of his shoes already. There were a lot of museums pieces in display. But to actually have the great honor and pleasure to see how they were crafted. And there are actually shoes that I found in the archive that I don’t think anyone has ever seen before. He was a genius and to have inherited the keys to that archive is pretty much the most incredible honor and privilege for anyone.
So when the Ferragamo family approached you did you even hesitate to say yes to the job?
It was a very organic process. They have been, the Ferragamo family, were following my career for a little while now. We also share a similar sense of values in design, in quality and for color... And I think those things really appealed to them. It’s family; it feels like I am part of that family. It’s really an amazing thing.
You mentioned earlier when we started looking at the shoes that you wanted to “rebuilt” some of the signature shapes. Was that the first thing on your “to do” list when you arrived at Ferragamo?
Re-work the fit was the number one thing. Because it’s really the foundation on which the company was born. Salvatore was very interested in art, in architecture, in sculpture, collecting different pieces of art and spent great time energy investing in museums. Somehow a lot of that informed what he did in his shoes, the architecture of his footwear. So I’ve tried to translate that mentality into the new products. It’s much more clean and simple. There is a lot of attention to the line of the foot. When they’re on the foot, hopefully they are the perfect fit.
So your saying that women’s feet have changed a lot over the past 50 years?
If you look at the shoes in the archives, it’s incredible, I can hold them in one hand, they’re tiny, people were much more smaller in those days. But more than that, so many people wear sneakers these days. People are more engaged in sports, running, yoga or whatever. What that does is it has really changed proportions: feet are bigger, wider, people’s arch tends to be higher. So the shoe has been re-proportioned in the way it’s really going to fit the modern foot. There is a new technology that I have developed with the Ferragamo team: it’s memory foam. Everytime you put in on, you feel that same juicy cushion on the ball of your foot.
So this is you version of botox for shoes?
That’s exactly what it is - fabulous.
So what exactly is the fascination with shoes? How did you first get interested in them?
It sounds like a generic answer but I would say its thanks to my mother. She's incredibly stylish. She has always had deep closets full of shoes. I remember being 5 or 6 years old, sitting in her shoe closet; holding and cherishing this red suede fringe boot which became my obsession. And then I started drawing shoes from that point on.
Would you say that that red fringe suede boot is your favorite shoe of all time?
When I started my own collection, I did a version of that which actually sold very well. But I don't know if it’s my favorite shoe of all time. I mean people ask me to choose my favorite shoe in my collection; it’s really like choosing your favorite child. Like you spent so much time and attention to each model and picking one more to the other… I don’t know it’s very hard to choose.
I know that about 40% of the brand’s business comes from footwear but there are three of you creating the Ferragamo universe. Fulvio Rigoni is doing the womenswear and Guillaume Meilland is in charge of menswear, while you create all of the footwear. How do you all communicate with each other? What is the process like?
We’re all on the road all the time and we all thank god for technology. We do a lot of Skype calls, Facetime calls but we speak to each other all the time. I know that’s an unusual scenario in fashion to have three creative directors but it kinda works in this case. We are all specialists in our own role. Even though certain things may begin with the shoes, because of course we are women's shoes house, it’s a very open vocabulary. It’s a great relationship actually.
What’s your creative process like?
I get up really early and I find it’s the best time because the world is waking up and it gives me a moment to think and start sketching. Once I’ve sort of curate some initial shapes and pulled together some inspirational images, that’s when I start engaging with my team and we work together to create the collection.
And then how do you break up your time, when you’re working on your own signature label and Ferragamo?
I do like to keep things separate so there is no aesthetics overlap and the way that I do that is by keeping a very tight schedule. It’s very clear that you know “this day I’m working for Paul Andrew”, “the next day it’s all about Ferragamo”. Actually it tends to be less about days but more about weeks. I would spend a week in New York, a week in Florence.
It tends to be that way: back and forth every week. It’s important for me to keep the two things very separate.
What has been the biggest surprise for you here so far at Ferragamo?
I think the biggest surprise was to discover that archive and then understanding that all this was designed in 192o and 30s. Just thinking how incredibly ahead of the time Salvatore was. It was all about innovation and technology but at the same time incredible craftsmanship. He was so engaged with these Italian artisans, that he not necessarily discovered in factories. He might be walking in the streets of Florence, and in the 1920s and 1930s, every square had markets with artists, painters, artisans... he was incredibly engaged with these people and always trying new things, inventing things. He was an incredible man.
Do you have a vision of the new modern Ferragamo woman? Who is she?
You know that’s an interesting question because, as we in America, we don’t want to throw the baby out with the bathwater. We have established consumers. We don’t want to lose her. She may be a certain age now so we’re interested in introducing the brand to her daughter.
It’s difficult to put a celebrity name to that person. Even if I have that person in my mind...
Who? You can tell me, it’s between us!
Well I think she’s a sophisticated, educated, world-traveling woman...like so many women today. I think of women the brand has been dressing like Cate Blanchett, Julianne Moore or Jessica Chastain, you know these smart intellectual women.
I am curious, do you try on the shoes?
(Laughing) No I have not! Maybe because they don’t come in my size – 43. Actually you can’t believe the number of requests we have for size 43 shoes.
What would you way is the common denominator between your design philosophy and Ferragamo’s?
We both have a shared love for color. He was always very connected and obsessed with color. He was pushing boundaries on that. Imagine in 1928 what he created with natural pigments. There is also that underlining desire for fit and comfort.
Tell me something about yourself that no one else know.
I play the piano. That’s an amazing way to relax… the hours almost disappear.
Looking forward, how do you envision your future? Where do you see yourself?
This definitely isn’t a temporary arrangement for me. I feel like it is just the beginning and we have a lot of work to do still. It’s an incredible heritage luxury brand. We want to really introduce this company to a new generation and that takes time. I’m really excited about the prospect of doing that. Plus the archive is so rich, there is so much to do and so much I am excited about for the future. So I definitely see myself here for an extended time.
What is Ferragamo to you in one word or sentence?
It’s an incredible Italian heritage brand. It’s all about family and at the same time about technology and innovation. We have so many values here. We established...that You know I am really trying to pull it back to that, fundamentals…
💭 Celine for VOGUE Japan
The clothing that Phoebe Philo creates for Celine has often been described as wearable artwork. She elevates the everyday wardrobe of modern women to a place where it feels both relevant and yet revolutionary. And from the beginning of her time at the house she has found creative ways to incorporate inspirations from other artists into her sartorial universe.
This article first appeared in the VOGUE JAPAN May 2017 Issue No. 213.
CELINE
VOGUE Japan May 2017.
The clothing that Phoebe Philo creates for Celine has often been described as wearable artwork. She elevates the everyday wardrobe of modern women to a place where it feels both relevant and yet revolutionary. And from the beginning of her time at the house she has found creative ways to incorporate inspirations from other artists into her sartorial universe. She has done this via her invitations, moodboard books she leaves on the seats for guests and, of course, the set designs for her show.
But for her most recent spring/summer show she wove her artistic muses into her work in two much more literal ways. First she turned to the modern artist and writer Dan Graham, who is renowned for his “installation” artwork, to concoct an undulating glass walls that dissected the audience. The walls separated the guest but, as they were transparent, they also made it possible for a visual connection to remain between the individuals.
“I first came across Dan’s work at the Dia in NYC many years ago. I thought it was beautiful…. ,” said Philo about the contemporary artist. “I wanted to see my collection cast through the kaleidoscope of Dan’s installation. The fact that people can see themselves and the collection makes for more complex reflections,” she explained.
As the show unfolded — filled with tailored jackets, ensembles with graphic cut outs sliced at the sides, mismatched shoes and draped dresses in neon hues – guests could watch the reaction of others to Philo’s work as the models glide by. The two-way glass had the audience simultaneously seeing themselves and those sitting opposite them. Resulting in a viscerally experience which made it possible sense to how others responded to the designs in real time and appreciate the work in an unconventional way.
“ I want to show that our bodies are bound to the world, whether we like it or not….” pronounced Dan Graham in a typed statement that was featured on the show’s invitation. His cryptic words being open to a multitude of interpretations in light of his divisive yet inclusive set.
But what the designer appreciated most about the artist’s work, and her show’s set in particular, was how it elegantly channeled everyday life and ordinary elements into something unexpectedly and serenely beautiful. “I love the fact that this pavilion by Dan Graham, made up of readily available corporate materials {2way glass}, offers an opportunity to question our present day, highlighting the complexities and contradictions of every day life,” she said. “Social interaction, fantasy, and life in general are the main driving forces in my work and Dan Graham’s installation is therefore an interesting and powerful way for me to present my collection to the audience,” she added.
The other artist that Philo turned to this season was Yves Klein. Designers commonly use the iconic Yves Klein blue color in their collections but never has one made such a clear allusion to some of his most iconic work.
Back in the 1960s Klein famously panted nude models in his signature color and then had them press their naked bodies onto paper, leaving a colorful traces of their female forms on the canvas. These works are known as the Anthropometry paintings. The also happen to be some of Philo’s favorite modern art prints.
So in a homage that felt very much in keeping with the designer’s overarching artistic inclinations, Philo flipped the narrative on the Anthropometry nudes. On two white dresses in her collection she returned those celebrated two dimensional nudes to their three-dimensional origins. She reproduced in her own way the blue print outline. But this time the curves of her model’s bodies gave the flat forms new life. It made for a brilliant and bold statement about the female body that conveyed an inspiration that somehow also felt rooted in a feminist repossession of self.
Philo is a private woman of few words. She rarely talks with the press and most often only via email. But what she doesn’t say with hundreds of magazine and newspaper interviews or via social media posts speaks just as forcefully. She is a designer who leaves it all on the catwalk. Each season the artists that inspire her or that she collaborates with to present her collections are her heralds. They are the ones that help to hone her narrative and vision down to a precision perfect result. One designed to make sure that her message is heard loud and clear.
Pheobe Philo for Celine, 2017, Vogue.
💭 Saif Mahdhi for ODDA Magazine
Saif Mahdhi is the fashion industry’s equivalent of the Wizard of Oz. He is the President Europe of Next Management and if you like a fresh face on the cover of a magazine, then you probably have this “man behind the curtain” to thank for it. Mahdhi, who has helped nurture the careers of Kate Moss, Carla Bruni, Anna Cleveland, Caroline de Maigret, Anja Rubik, Grace Hartzel, Lana Del Rey, Caroline Issa and Alexa Chung (just to name a few), is a someone who not only can spot talent in others, he knows how to cultivate it. But more than that, in an industry with a reputation for being fake and two faced he is renowned for his loyalty and commitment to his every growing band of beautiful and talented friends. And just like the Wizard of Oz, he is able to instill in each of them the ability to discover their full potential.
A version of this exclusive interview first appeared in the pages of the 13th issue of ODDA Magazine.
SAIF MAHDHI
Fashion’s Wizard of Oz
Saif Mahdhi is the fashion industry’s equivalent of the Wizard of Oz. He is the President Europe of Next Management and if you like a fresh face on the cover of a magazine, then you probably have this “man behind the curtain” to thank for it. Mahdhi, who has helped nurture the careers of Kate Moss, Carla Bruni, Anna Cleveland, Caroline de Maigret, Anja Rubik, Grace Hartzel, Lana Del Rey, Caroline Issa and Alexa Chung (just to name a few), is a someone who not only can spot talent in others, he knows how to cultivate it. But more than that, in an industry with a reputation for being fake and two faced he is renowned for his loyalty and commitment to his every growing band of beautiful and talented friends. And just like the Wizard of Oz, he is able to instill in each of them the ability to discover their full potential.
You recently have been rediscovering your family roots in Tunisia. What brought that about?
Basically, I was born and grew up in Paris but my parents are immigrants and when I was I kid I use to come here like 5 times a year but when I became a teenager the cultural contrast were quite strong and I kind of moved away from my heritage and I didn’t explore it again for something like twenty years. Then last year I decided to come back for 2 weeks and I ended up staying for a whole month and I kind of reclaimed my country. I found hidden treasures and I wanted to help people rediscover this country. It started with me posting images on my Instagram and then my friends – photographers, artists, models and fashion magazines – became interested. I really started to push people in my industry to take a look at Tunisia because our industry is very powerful and we can really present a new vision of the country to the world.
Saif Mahdi
You famously started your career because you accidentally got off on the wrong floor when you were going for a job interview. Which makes me want to ask you if you believe in destiny and fate?
I honestly don’t know if I believe in fate. I do believe in being honest, being real and working hard and following your instincts. I come from a very poor background, my mom was a cleaning woman and my father was a garbage man. They never really went to school and they had a very tough life. But they sacrificed everything for me to get a good education and thank God I grew up in France were the national education system gave me access to so many things. So I am grateful for the life I have but I worked very hard to get where I am today. And I am very conscious that have a voice and that what I do can have an impact.
So how are you using your voice?
First of all, I am working in an industry were women are very powerful. Where women make a 100 times more money than men for the same job. And I love that, it’s really important for me to empower that. For me women are the base of humanity and human beings. And so I am very protective of my clients. Basically when I started I never felt like I had any special talent, basically a go between between people. But then I realized that I do have a talent, which is to support the talent I see in the people around me. To spot it. To develop it. To support it. I just love human beings and that became the basis of my job. The word that I prefer to sum up what I do is a French work it is “accompagnateur” and I love that.
So you are not interested in the spotlight?
No! No! That is not what drives me. Of course I am taking care of famous people, and because I work with them and I follow them I get to have this amazing life. But that is not my life. I don’t have any ego about the spotlight, I don’t exist through that.
You get your fulfillment through helping those around you succeed?
Oh yes! Its huge for me and it makes me extremely happy because their success is my success.
What do you feel has been the biggest change in the industry and what you do since you started working?
I know this is a bit of a generic answer but it’s basically social media that has changed everything. Basically people can exist by themselves and they can promote themselves. Before to have someone like Steven Misel XX or a designer aware of one of my clients I would have to Fedex over some pictures and I would have to talk about them and promote them. Today people can see my clients on social media and get a sense of who they are right away. Sometimes I post a picture of a new client I have just signed and my team will call me up and say “did you post something about this person” because they just received like five phone calls for options. All of that just because I posted their photo. It makes things move much faster. Which is great. But at the same time there is this endless craving for something new. All the time. Also today its more about being an artist. Not just being or doing one thing. People need to be models, actresses, painters, designers… before that was something the industry didn’t like. They wanted to have people stay in one area, doing only one thing.
So how do you know when someone is the right fit for you. That a person is someone you want to take on as a client and support?
It’s a mixture of a lot of things. It’s the beauty first, for sure, especially for a model. But is also their personality. Their energy. Their ambition. It’s really just something you have…or you don’t. It’s hard to explain and its very instinctive. Also you really have to believe in them because sometimes it can be years and years for someone to become who they are. You just have to support them.
💭 The Row for ODDA Magazine
Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen have carved out a unique niche for themselves in the fashion industry. The twins are exacting and crystal clear about what they want and what they think a very select group of wealthy women desire — understated and refined designs of exceptional quality. Garments that exist in the rarified air above trends, fast fashion or everyday attire. Instead, pieces from The Row reside outside of sartorial time. They do not age. They do not become obsolete our out of touch. They do no relinquish their evergreen grace for anything. And that is why they have become some of the most “major” designs of the modern age.
A version of this exclusive interview first appeared in the pages of the 13th issue of ODDA Magazine.
THE ROW
The Exceptional is the Rule
Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen have carved out a unique niche for themselves in the fashion industry. The twins are exacting and crystal clear about what they want and what they think a very select group of wealthy women desire — understated and refined designs of exceptional quality. Garments that exist in the rarified air above trends, fast fashion or everyday attire. Instead, pieces from The Row reside outside of sartorial time. They do not age. They do not become obsolete our out of touch. They do no relinquish their evergreen grace for anything. And that is why they have become some of the most “major” designs of the modern age.
Can you talk about how the luxe minimal nature of The Row‘s aesthetic came about… is it just an extension of your own personal tastes, did you see space in the market for this style?
Mary-Kate Olsen: The Row was inspired by quality and fit. What we wanted to wear, but was not available in the market at the time. The concept that quality product can sell even without a logo.
Ashley Olsen: The Row started with the idea of the perfect t-shirt. We saw a need in the market for essential pieces that were the perfect fit and of the highest quality.
You have a “store” in LA and one in NYC… but I put the word store in quotes because both spaces feel less like boutiques and more like homes. Why did you take this approach to presenting your oeuvre?
MKO: Architecture is another passion of ours. Our spaces dictate our stores, the stores don’t dictate the spaces.
AO: We wanted to take the opportunity to present The Row to our customers in the way that we had envisioned. It was never just about shopping, but the experience you have within the world of The Row.
You have opened your world to include other brands in the store… what was the thinking behind that… with even the artwork on the walls for sale.
MKO: We have a strong appreciation for all forms of art. It was part of the narrative, thus we felt strongly about incorporating these elements into the spaces.
Can you talk about how you work together. Do each of you have a part of the business that you excel at or enjoy the most?
AO: We both do everything together.
MKO: There is a balance – a ying and yang relationship.
What was the thinking behind the decision to support high-end fashion manufacturing in the US?
AO: Localization is very important to us. The
craft to create quality pieces exists in the United States. With this, you also have efficiency. –
MKO: Overseeing and nurturing the samples until we deliver the garments gives us more control over fit and quality.
With so many talented top tier brands now showing in Paris (and I know you have presented in France in the past) is it still important for you to continue to present your work in the United States?
MKO: It’s important for The Row to be true to our clients and customers. We show internationally when it’s the right time.
AO: When we present our collections, we show within a context that makes sense for that season and for our clients, wherever that location may be at the time.
What would you say sets your brand apart… there is a sort of stealth understated elegance to it?
MKO: Consistency. We don’t look to trends. We don’t believe we are trendy. We do what we do and constantly look ahead.
AO: We are owner operated and have a very consistent mindset when designing. We practice restraint.
You now have ready-to-wear, eyewear, handbags and footwear. Are there any other lines you would like to develop?
AO: Yes.
MKO: All in a matter of time. Doing collaborations with other brands is a big trend in fashion right now.
Is that something you would like to explore…and if so… what brand would you like to creatively team up with?
AO: We have partnered with other brands in the past and will do so again in the future when it makes sense.
Can you tell me a story about a time when you saw someone wearing one of your designs out in the street. What was that experience like?
AO: During our second market in Paris, I saw a woman wearing the leather leggings outside of a restaurant. It’s always a very humbling feeling. There are many options for women, so I never take it for granted.
MKO: Every time I see someone in the brand, whether it was 10 years ago or today, it makes me smile.
Random question… what is your favorite fabric?
MKO: Hard to answer. When fabrics are treated well there are many fabrics that are considered favorites.
AO: It’s hard to pick one.
Besides making covetable clothing do you both have any other hidden talents that you excel at?
MKO: It’s hard to excel if you can only do something part time.
AO: What she said.
💭 Riccardo Tisci for Exhibition Magazine
Last year, after over a decade at the house, designer Riccardo Tisci walked away from his job as creative director of Givenchy. A brand that he put back on the fashion map, making it an epicenter of cool, street inspired ready-to-wear collections that brought an entirely new fan base to the house. And on the other end of the spectrum Tisci also designed cutting edge haute couture that gave a breath of creative fresh air to the sartorial art form. Along the way he dresses some of the most beautiful women in the world and became friends with living legends like Kim Kardashian, artist Marina Abramović and fashion editor Carine Roitfeld.
This article first appeared in the Exhibition Magazine, Family Issue.
RICCARDO TISCI
Last year, after over a decade at the house, designer Riccardo Tisci walked away from his job as creative director of Givenchy. A brand that he put back on the fashion map, making it an epicenter of cool, street inspired ready-to-wear collections that brought an entirely new fan base to the house. And on the other end of the spectrum Tisci also designed cutting edge haute couture that gave a breath of creative fresh air to the sartorial art form. Along the way he dresses some of the most beautiful women in the world and became friends with living legends like Kim Kardashian, artist Marina Abramović and fashion editor Carine Roitfeld.
During his whirlwind career what has kept Tisci humble and his feet firmly planted on the ground is his family. He is the youngest of nine siblings and the only son to a mother who lost her husband when the designer was just four years old. This loss bonded an already close knit family even tighter together and the designer has often spoken about how his family has inspired him over the years.
Even after he left home at the age of 17 to study in London at the prestigious Central Saint Martins fashion school, Tisci found a way to recreate this sense of family through a close circle of friends who have been by his side since those early college years. Its these friends, as well as a handful that joined the group during his time at Givenchy, and his family that have been the focus of Tisci’s time over the past year.
When we spoke Tisci had just finished lunch with his mother who had recently been released from the hospital after a health scare. The event had the designer in a very reflective mood about his life, what he wants to do next and why now having a son has become something very important to him.
You had a rather unique environment growing up, surrounded pretty much exclusively by women. How do you think that shaped you during your formative years?
Well this is the only thing I have ever known. And I think it just really showed me very clearly how powerful women are. I think I really learned from my sisters and my mom is how to deal with problems. Because life is beautiful, but sometimes we have to deal with difficult situations, this happens to everybody, and it shapes who you are. And I find that women are very brave when it comes to facing problems in life, but they also approach them in a positive way. Something that I think men, now that I am grown up and have had more time to interact with men as well, that they tend to be more pessimistic.
So I grew up with nine very strong women, in a poor family from Puglia. When I was young we moved from the south of Italy up to Como in the north, and at that time there was a real prejudice in Italy between people from the north and south. Anyway, as you know, I lost my father when I was four years old. So we all had to pitch in and we all started working when we were very young. I would see how my sisters would deal with society and their work and the people around them. And I remember they were so strong, like warriors, very tough. And then at night they would come home, it was like they would take off their armour and they would become these sweet creatures. Very funny and open, just completely different than how they were when they were outside the front door of the house. It was like, if somebody had a problem then everybody got involved to help. They were very collaborative. I don’t agree when people say that women don’t collaborate well together. I think actually, when a lot of women all come together they can really solve a lot of problems.
So, you were the youngest child, with 8 older sisters. How did you create a space for yourself among all these women? Did you try to differentiate yourself and stand out?
So I might not have had any men in my house, but to be honest, my mom she is like a man. She is a real tough woman and she is the toughest one of all of us. So my mom was my reference. And my sisters, I have to be honest, they never treated me as a kid. They always spoke to me, and treated me, like an adult. But then of course I would find a different connection with each of them. One of them is like my mother, one of them is like my friend, one of them you can play games with, I would find a different thing about each one of them that we would build a connection through.
But we are all very collaborative with each other.
Everybody talks with everybody else, we all pretty much get along with each other. In our house there wasn’t any difference between men and women. And this is why I just naturally grew up as a feminist. I remember when I started working I was so surprise to discover how the world treated women differently. It was a real shock. Because in my house there was no difference. I was washing the clothing, my sisters were fixing things when they broke in the house, taking care of the garden, they did everything and there was never any question about if they were capable of it. They just did it.
What do you think, for somebody who grew up not seeing any difference between men and women, about this whole Time’s Up movement and the floodgates that have opened in terms of the issue of sexual harassment?
I think it is really good that it is happening. I think society will only become stronger when women have a bigger voice. The only thing we can thank Donald Trump for is that he galvanized women to speak up and stand up for themselves and each other. And I only hope that in the next decade we will see less and less discrimination between men and women, different cultures and different races. Because the world is facing a lot of problems that we need to deal with together. Like humans are destroying nature, so we need humans to start working together to try and fix the damage they have done to the environment. We are all on this planet together.
It has been over a year now that you walked away from your job as the artistic director of Givenchy. What has it been like to have this time to reconnect with family and friends?
Everyone thinks that I took this sabbatical year to rest after time at Givenchy. But I have really been working non-stop since I was 9 years old. I didn’t want to look back on my life and have regrets. I took it off because of my family. I could always find a bit of time for myself while I was working. But I realized that my nieces and nephews were growing up so fast, and my mom was getting older, and yes I spent time with them over the years, but it always felt like that when I went for a visit or we went on a holiday that there was always this clock ticking away. I was always watching the clock, that I couldn’t ever just be there with them one hundred percent. Because of all the success at Givenchy my job became a 24-hour thing. So I wasn’t able to have the quality time I wanted to with my family.
So this year I just took the time. The time to do simple things like go shopping, see my sisters kids in their Christmas play, go to the movies. To just sit and talk about everyday things, to talk about life. When I get older I want to have these memories. I know they will sustain me and they have made my relationship with my family even stronger.
How has it been over this past year with your fashion family. The band of friends that you build for yourself over your career? How have those relationships evolved?
Well, there are two things I have two say. I left Italy I was 17 and I went to London and I build my own sort of family of friends there. You know that most of these people who work with me I have known for 20–25 years. These are people who knew me when I was nobody. Then when I got to Givenchy I build another sort of family, a bigger, broader family with people like Marina Abramović and Carine Roitfeld who I now get to see and talk to more than I could before. You can call them a group, or tribe or whatever you want, but to me these people are family. They are the people who stick with you no matter what. For better or worst I am a very faithful friend. If I have a problem with someone I always try and work it out. When I consider a friend is part of my family I don’t drop them. I fight for them, I always try and find a solution and I always try and share my successes with them. For me, not so many people know how to live as a family with friends.
What does you look for in a person? I mean, you have already a ton of friends…
There are three things that really attract me to people; honesty, humour and intelligence. And when I say intelligence, I am not talking about someone who has a great education or a lot of culture. For me intelligence means people that have a strong personality, who are very open and honest about things. This is what I grew up with, in my family we have always been honest to each other. We’ve always been trying to be positive. I considered my mom and my sisters intelligent because they survived and they are survivors, they have an emotional intelligence.
I know that your mom just had a bit of a health scare and I know how close the two of you are. Did that experience put your life in a new kind of perspective?
It has always been my fear to lose my mom, you know. This time, when she had a heart attack on the 1st of January, it was a trauma for everybody. I rushed back from my holiday in Brazil to be with her in the hospital. And I spend all day and night with her. I was looking at her while she was recuperating and I was thinking a lot. I think you need to prepare yourself, parents are not immortals. At some point everyone is going to die so you should try to find time for the people you love, you should forgive people who made mistakes in the past, make the time to help the people you love because life goes by so fast.
Of course it breaks everybody’s heart when you see your parents getting old. But I think that if you can live this moment in a way that you really see the best in them, everything they gave to you, then you will live the rest of your life with beautiful memories. I have friends who fights with their parents, and I tell them “ one day you are going to regret it”. Parents make mistakes, they are humans, we are all. Be a parent is not easy. You need to see them as the people they are, not just your parents.
What about you? I know you have lots of nieces and nephews but have you ever thought about being a father yourself?
Yes. I have been talking about this for a long time.
I know some people have kids without a husband, without a wife.
I am ready. I am 43 I want to be a father very soon, for two reasons. Reason one because I love kids. Second is because I am the only boy in my family, the only one who can carry on the Tisci name in my family. So the name Tisci is going to stop if I don’t have kids of my own. So I was telling my mom and my sisters very very soon I want to have a boy. I hope it will be a boy because I want to give him the name of my father, who I never met when
I was a child.
I never had the figure of a father in my life. But I do love it when I see around me boys with their father who are also such good friends. I think to be a good father you also should be a good friend. You need to have a fantastic communication with your kids. But I like this idea of raising a son, and showing him the right way to live, to give him the right education about life and how to live in this world. I think the moment has come in my life that I want to do this, that I want to share what I have learned about life with my own son.
Well now that you are thinking about having a son, what role will the world of fashion play in your life in the future? Or is there some other sort of creative field you would like to explore instead?
You know during my career my job was never just about designing clothes and beautiful bags, jewellery and make-up. I explored a lot of things, I did a book, I worked in the theatre, I worked with many different artists. In this sabbatical year, I think personally it was the right moment to take a break. Because I am a very positive person and it felt like fashion was becoming very negative and it was going through changes. Now I am ready to come back and I am sure 2018 is going to be the year I return. But I want to come-back in a different way.
I don’t want to be a workaholic like I was in the past. I now have enough experiences and have grown enough that I feel I can delegate to people and just focus on being a creative director one hundred percent. When I was at Givenchy things were growing so fast and I didn’t have the time to learn how to delegate and be smarter with my time and where I spend my energy. The year away has really helped me get clear about a lot of things and now I am really ready to come back.
Il y a un an, le designer Riccardo Tisci quittait la direction artistique de Givenchy, après plus d’une décennie passée au sein de la maison. La marque lui doit un retour en gr'ce dans le paysage de la mode, avec des collections prêt-à-porter d’inspiration urbaine qui ont fait d’elle une référence en la matière, et ont contribué à renouveler en profondeur son image et son public. À l’autre extrémité de la gamme, le travail novateur de Tisci en matière de haute couture a donné un souffle créatif à l’art vestimentaire. Son parcours l’a conduit à habiller quelques-unes des plus belles femmes du monde, ainsi qu’à se nouer d’amitié avec des légendes vivantes telles que Kim Kardashian, l’artiste Marina Abramović ou encore la rédactrice de mode Carine Roitfeld.
Dans le tourbillon de sa carrière, cependant, ce sont les relations familiales qui ont permis à Tisci de garder la tête froide et les pieds sur terre. Dernier né et seul garçon d’une famille de neuf enfants, le designer avait quatre ans lorsqu’il a perdu son père. Les liens familiaux, déjà forts, se resserrent encore à l’occasion de ce deuil, et Tisci a souvent évoqué sa famille comme une source d’inspiration au fil des années.
Lorsque Tisci quitte le foyer maternel à 17 ans pour aller étudier à la prestigieuse école Central Saint Martins de Londres, il emporte avec lui ce sens de la famille, qu’il recrée avec un petit cercle d’amis. Ceux qui ne l’ont plus quitté depuis avec une poignée de nouveaux venus rencontrés à Givenchy et, bien sûr, sa vraie famille ont été le cœur de ses préoccupations au cours de l’année passée.
Quand nous l’avons rencontré, Tisci revenait d’un déjeuner avec sa mère, récemment sortie de l’hôpital où elle était soignée pour un problème de santé. L’événement avait rendu le designer pensif, le conduisant à s’interroger sur sa vie, ses projets d’avenir et son désir devenu très important pour lui d’avoir un fils.
Vous avez grandi dans un environnement assez particulier, exclusivement entouré de femmes. En quoi cela vous a-t-il façonné ?
À vrai dire, ce que cela m’a montré, et c’est sûrement tout ce que je sais, c’est que les femmes sont extrêmement fortes. Je suis convaincu d’avoir appris de mes sœurs et de ma mère comment résoudre les difficultés. Car même si la vie est belle, tout le monde doit affronter des situations difficiles un jour ou l’autre, et ces épreuves font de vous qui vous êtes. Or je trouve non seulement que les femmes sont très courageuses devant les problèmes de la vie, mais aussi qu’elles ont tendance à les aborder d’une manière positive. Maintenant que je suis plus vieux, et que j’ai eu l’occasion de connaître davantage les hommes, je les trouve généralement plus pessimistes.J’ai donc grandi avec neuf femmes très solides, au sein d’une famille pauvre des Pouilles. J’étais jeune quand nous avons quitté le sud de l’Italie pour nous installer à Côme, dans le nord. À cette époque, les préjugés des gens du nord à l’égard de ceux du sud avaient encore la vie dure. Et puis, comme vous le savez, j’ai perdu mon père à quatre ans. Donc nous avons tous dû mettre la main à la p'te et nous avons commencé à travailler très jeunes. Je voyais la façon dont mes sœurs appréhendaient le monde extérieur, le travail, les gens, et je me souviens qu’elles étaient vraiment très fortes, de vraies combattantes, dures. Mais quand elles rentraient à la maison, le soir, c’était comme si elles avaient quitté leur armure : elles redevenaient des anges. Drôles, ouvertes, complètement différentes de ce qu’elles étaient à l’extérieur de la maison. Si l’un de nous avait un problème, tout le monde s’impliquait pour l’aider. Elles avaient un sens aigu de l’entraide. Je ne suis pas d’accord lorsque j’entends dire que les femmes ne sont pas solidaires entre elles. Au contraire, je pense que beaucoup de femmes peuvent résoudre ensemble des montagnes de problèmes.
Vous étiez le petit dernier, entouré de 8 grandes sœurs. Comment avez-vous aménagé un espace personnel au milieu de toutes ces femmes ? Est-ce que vous essayiez de vous démarquer d’une manière ou d’une autre ?
Peut-être qu’il n’y avait pas d’autre homme à la maison, mais en réalité, ma mère était comme un homme. C’est une femme très dure et la plus robuste d’entre nous. Elle était ma référence. Quant à mes sœurs, si je devais être honnête, je dirais qu’elles ne m’ont jamais traité comme un enfant. Elles me parlaient et se comportaient toujours avec moi comme avec un adulte. Ensuite, bien sûr, j’avais des affinités spécifiques avec chacune d’entre elles. L’une était comme ma mère, une autre comme une amie, une autre une partenaire de jeu… avec chacune, la relation se construisait sur quelque chose de différent.Mais nous nous sommes toujours entraidés.
Tout le monde se parle et nous nous entendons tous assez bien. À la maison, il n’y avait aucune distinction entre les hommes et les femmes. C’est donc naturellement que j’ai grandi en étant féministe. Je me rappelle que lorsque j’ai commencé à travailler, la différence de traitement entre les hommes et les femmes m’a beaucoup étonné. C’était un choc, car chez moi cette différence n’existait pas. Je lavais le linge, mes sœurs réparaient ce qui se cassait dans la maison, elles s’occupaient du jardin, elles faisaient tout ce qu’il y avait à faire et la question de leur capacité à le faire ne s’est jamais posée. Elles le faisaient, point final.
Vous qui avez été grandi sans voir de différences entre les hommes et les femmes, que pensez-vous du mouvement Time’s Up et du flot de questions que cela a entraîné autour du harcèlement sexuel ?
C’est une très bonne chose. La société entière ne pourra être que plus forte quand la voix des femmes sera davantage entendue. S’il y a une chose pour laquelle nous pouvons remercier Donald Trump, c’est d’avoir galvanisé les femmes en les poussant à parler et à prendre position, pour elles-mêmes et collectivement. Tout ce que j’espère, c’est que dans les années à venir nous verrons de moins en moins de discrimination entre les hommes et les femmes, entre les différentes cultures et les différentes couleurs de peau. Car le monde est confronté à de nombreux problèmes qu’il nous faudra résoudre ensemble. Les êtres humains détruisent la nature, et c’est donc à eux de travailler ensemble à réparer les dég'ts qu’ils ont infligés à l’environnement. Nous vivons tous ensemble sur cette planète.
Il y a maintenant plus d’un an que vous avez quitté la direction artistique de Givenchy. Comment avez-vous vécu cette période de reconnexion avec votre famille et vos amis ?
Tout le monde pense que j’ai pris cette année sabbatique pour me reposer après Givenchy. En réalité, je ne me suis jamais arrêté de travailler depuis l’'ge de 9 ans. Je ne voulais pas avoir de regrets quand j’aurai à faire le bilan de mon existence. J’ai pris ce congé pour ma famille. Quand je travaillais, j’arrivais toujours à dégager un peu de temps pour moi. Mais je me suis aperçu que mes neveux et nièces grandissaient très vite, que ma mère vieillissait, et même si j’ai quelquefois passé du temps avec eux ces dernières années, quand je leur rendais visite ou que je partais en vacances avec eux, c’était toujours avec une montre dans la tête. J’étais sous la pression du temps en permanence, et je n’arrivais pas à être pleinement avec eux. Avec le succès de Givenchy, je me suis mis à travailler vingt-quatre heures sur vingt-quatre. Le temps que je passais avec ma famille n’avait pas la qualité que je souhaitais. C’est ce temps-là que j’ai pris cette année. Le temps de faire des choses simples, de faire du shopping, d’aller voir les enfants de mes sœurs à leur spectacle de Noël, d’aller au cinéma. Simplement s’asseoir et parler des choses de tous les jours, parler de la vie. Quand je serai plus vieux, je veux me souvenir de ces choses. Je sais que ces souvenirs vont me nourrir, et qu’ils auront rendu les relations avec ma famille plus solides.
Comment les choses se sont-elles passées cette année avec votre famille de la mode, la bande d’amis que vous avez constitué pendant votre carrière ? Comment les relations avec eux ont-elles évolué ?
J’ai deux choses à dire. J’ai quitté l’Italie à 17 ans et je suis allé à Londres et j’ai construit ma propre famille d’amis là-bas. Comme vous le savez, je connais les personnes avec qui je travaille depuis parfois 20 ou 25 ans. Et eux me connaissaient quand je n’étais personne. Puis, quand je suis arrivé chez Givenchy, j’ai construit une autre sorte de famille, plus large, avec des personnes comme Marina Abramović ou Carine Roitfeld, que maintenant j’ai l’occasion de voir et avec qui j’ai le temps de parler davantage qu’auparavant. Appelez ça un groupe, une tribu ou ce que vous voudrez : pour moi, ces gens sont une famille. Ils sont de ceux qui restent à vos côtés en toutes circonstances. Je suis très fidèle en amitié, pour le meilleur et pour le pire. Lorsque j’ai un problème avec quelqu’un, je m’efforce toujours de le régler. Quand je considère que des amis font partie de ma famille, je ne les abandonne jamais. Je me bats pour eux, je trouve des solutions et je t'che toujours de partager mes réussites avec eux. Je crois que ce n’est pas si fréquent de savoir traiter ses amis comme une famille.
Que recherchez-vous chez les gens ? Après tout, vous avez déjà des tonnes d’amis…
Il y a trois choses qui m’attirent vraiment chez les gens : l’honnêteté, l’humour et l’intelligence. Et quand je parle d’intelligence, je ne parle pas d’avoir fait de grandes études ou d’avoir une immense culture. Être intelligent, pour moi, c’est avoir une forte personnalité, être ouvert et honnête. J’ai grandi avec ces valeurs, dans ma famille nous avons toujours été honnêtes les uns avec les autres. Nous avons toujours essayé d’être positifs. Je considère ma mère et mes sœurs comme des femmes intelligentes parce que ce sont des survivantes, et qu’elles ont une intelligence émotionnelle.
Je sais que votre mère vient d’avoir des ennuis de santé, et que vous êtes très proche d’elle. Cet événement vous a-t-il fait voir la vie différemment ?
Perdre ma mère a toujours été ma grande crainte. Cette fois-ci, la crise cardiaque qu’elle a eue le 1er janvier nous a tous beaucoup choqués. J’ai écourté mes vacances au Brésil pour être auprès d’elle à l’hôpital, où je suis resté avec elle jour et nuit. En la regardant se rétablir, j’ai beaucoup réfléchi. Il faut se tenir prêt, car nos parents ne sont pas immortels. Tout le monde meurt un jour ou l’autre, et c’est pourquoi il faut trouver du temps pour ceux qu’on aime, pardonner à ceux qui ont fait des erreurs dans le passé, prendre le temps d’aider ceux qui nous sont chers, car la vie passe très vite.Bien sûr, c’est une douleur pour tout le monde de voir ses parents vieillir. Mais je crois que si l’on arrive à toujours voir le meilleur en eux, à voir tout ce qu’ils nous ont donné, alors on peut vivre le reste de sa vie avec de beaux souvenirs. J’ai des amis qui sont en conflit avec leurs parents, et je leur dis toujours : « Un jour, vous le regretterez. » Les parents font des erreurs, ils sont humains, comme nous tous. Ce n’est pas simple d’être parent. Il faut aussi les voir en tant que personnes, et pas seulement comme nos parents.
Et vous ? Vous avez beaucoup de neveux et nièces, mais avez-vous déjà songé à devenir père vous-même ?
Oui. J’en parle depuis longtemps. Je sais qu’il y a des gens qui ont des enfants sans nécessairement être en couple. Je suis prêt. J’ai 43 ans et je voudrais devenir père bientôt, pour deux raisons. D’abord, j’adore les enfants. Ensuite parce que je suis le seul homme dans ma famille, le seul qui puisse faire perdurer le nom de Tisci. Ce nom va se perdre si je n’ai pas d’enfant. J’ai donc dit à ma mère et à mes sœurs que je souhaitais avoir un petit garçon très bientôt. J’espère que ce sera un garçon, parce que je veux lui donner le nom de mon père, que je n’ai pas connu quand j’étais enfant.
Il n’y a pas eu de figure paternelle dans ma vie. Mais j’aime vraiment voir autour de moi les amitiés qui existent entre des garçons et leurs pères. Je crois que pour être un bon père, il faut aussi être un bon ami. La communication avec ses enfants doit être excellente. L’idée d’élever un fils me plaît, lui montrer comment bien vivre, lui donner une bonne éducation et lui apprendre à vivre dans ce monde. Je crois que le moment est venu pour moi de partager avec mon fils ce que j’ai appris de la vie.
Maintenant que vous voulez devenir père, quelle place va occuper la mode dans votre vie future ? Y a-t-il un autre domaine créatif que vous souhaiteriez explorer ?
Vous savez, au cours de ma carrière, mon travail ne s’est jamais limité à dessiner des vêtements, à faire de beaux sacs, des bijoux ou à créer du maquillage. J’ai exploré de nombreux domaines, j’ai fait un livre, j’ai travaillé pour le thé'tre, ainsi qu’avec beaucoup d’artistes différents. Maintenant que j’ai pris cette année sabbatique, je me dis que c’était vraiment le bon moment pour faire une pause. Je suis quelqu’un de très positif, et j’avais l’impression que la mode devenait très négative et commençait à changer. Maintenant, je suis prêt à revenir et je suis sûr que 2018 sera l’année pour cela. Mais je veux revenir de façon différente. Je ne veux plus être accro à mon travail comme je l’ai été jusque là. J’ai eu assez d’expériences, j’ai assez grandi maintenant pour me sentir capable de déléguer et me concentrer entièrement sur la direction artistique. Quand j’étais chez Givenchy, les choses allaient si vite que je n’ai pas appris à déléguer ni à gérer mon temps et mon énergie de façon plus intelligente. Cette année de pause m’a permis d’y voir clair sur de nombreux points, et maintenant, je suis vraiment prêt à revenir.
💭 Nicoletta Santoro for ODDA Magazine
Nicoletta Santoro is a fashion industry fixture. One of the most well respected stylists working today, her sartorial vision has appeared in the pages of Italian Vogue, French Vogue and Vanity Fair. She was also the International Fashion Director at Large for Vogue China before her current job as the Creative Director at large for Town & Country.
A version of this exclusive interview first appeared in the pages of the 12th issue of ODDA Magazine.
NICOLETTA SANTORO
Learn How To Fly
Nicoletta Santoro is a fashion industry fixture. One of the most well respected stylists working today, her sartorial vision has appeared in the pages of Italian Vogue, French Vogue and Vanity Fair. She was also the International Fashion Director at Large for Vogue China before her current job as the Creative Director at large for Town & Country.
Nicoletta, with her famous waves of blond hair and her devotion to wearing Prada creations, has travelled the globe to shoot fashion stories in some of the world’s most exotic locations. So in this exclusive interview, we thought she would be the best person to ask about how to look chic in any circumstances, even on a 24 hour flight.
The 3 celebrities for the Town and Country June/July Philantrophy Cover
Nicoletta what sort of flyer are you? Do you get to the airport early…do you have a fetish outfit you always wear on the plane… Do you have any sort of flying ritual?
I get to the airport promptly and I have a timetested travel uniform, which includes Prada denim jeans. My ritual is the narcoleptic one.
Do you find that you are flying more now then you did earlier in your career? It seems like there is always some major fashion event now in some exotic location.
When I was Vogue China’s Fashion Director I probably spent those years flying more than I ever have in my life.
How do you spend your time in the air? Do you try and disconnect from the world or is it time you use to focus on powering through work without being bothered by any exterior distractions?
Unplugging is essential for me. Sleeping pills or overdosing on the mediocre movies that play from the miniature screen in front of me are both helpful.
As a famous stylists I am particularly curious about how and what you pack. Can you give me a blow by blow of what is in your bag…and what is in your carry-on…just in case the checked luggage doesn’t make it?
I pack systematically with military-like rigor starting two days before departure, pairing looks with accessories. This is more or less the same frame of mind I apply to my fashion shoots. Having something go wrong is not an option!
Do you have a luggage brand that you are faithful to, and if so which one and why?
Tumi. I like traveling with wheels and their bags are sleek and dependable.
What is the most luggage you have brought on a flight when you were doing a shoot?
Transporting seventeen trunks for a Vanity Fair Hollywood issue cover shoot with Annie Leibovitz.
How do you pack for a month of shows? Do you have things you plan on wearing shipped ahead of time?
I check what the weather will be like. And no, I don’t ship my clothes ahead of time. They’re just clothes after all, right? 😉
What makes an outfit for you? Suzy Menkes always told me to wear comfortable clothing and always have an amazing coat.
That’s good advice from Suzy. Me? I stick to a personal combo while trying to keep things unpredictable. I almost only exclusively wear Prada and I like mixing looks from past and present. Looking stale is the enemy.
I know some people love to always sit in the same seat, do you have any preferences, and if so what?
I always want the corridor seat. I’m a bit claustrophobic.
What is the secret to looking good and feeling good while traveling on a long haul flight?
Staying hydrated. I’m partial to lots of fruit juice.
Have you ever done a fashion shoot on an airplane?
I’m not crazy about the idea – it feels a bit cliché – although I once did a suitcase ad featuring Isabella Rossellini on a plane.
What do you always have to have with you when you travel?
My perfume. I’ve only changed scents three times in my whole life and each time was simply because the perfume got discontinued.
What do you love most about flying?
Being unreachable.
85 Likes, 4 Comments - Nicoletta Santoro (@therealnicolettasantoro) on Instagram: "After long #fashionmarathon back home so exited ! 🌹🌹🌹"
What can’t you stand about flying?
Ironically, also being unreachable.
Where do you stand on airplane food? Do you partake or do you bring your own?
I am vegetarian and I preorder my meals.
Which airline is your favourite to travel with?
I’m very fond of Virgin airlines.
What is your stance on shoes on a flight, must they always stay on?
I bring my slippers.
What is the best and worst thing that has every happened to you on a flight?
The best was meeting an old friend. The worst remains, and always is for me, talking to strangers.
Where is your favorite place to travel to?
I’ve been all around the world but visiting Milano, where I grew up, is always my favourite trip. I still stay with my mother in the same apartment I grew up in as a girl. The second would be Paris, where my husband and I started our family before moving to New York in the late 90s.
What should you never do on a flight?
Get angry. It can spread like a wave and affect everybody.
💭 Louis Vuitton Exhibition for VOGUE Japan
Louis Vuitton is taking its “Volez, Voguez, Voyagez – Louis Vuitton” exhibition on the road. Fittingly its first stop is Japan, a country that has been a font of inspiration for the house spanning its entire 162 years of existence.
This article first appeared in the VOGUE JAPAN June 2016 Issue No. 202.
LOUIS VUITTON EXHIBITION
VOGUE Japan June 2016.
Louis Vuitton is taking its “Volez, Voguez, Voyagez – Louis Vuitton” exhibition on the road. Fittingly its first stop is Japan, a country that has been a font of inspiration for the house spanning its entire 162 years of existence.
The exhibition, which opens in Kioicho, Tokyo, on April 23rd, celebrates the work of the founding family and its unparalleled skills at creating bags, trunks, cases and accessories that helped their exacting clientele voyage around the world in style. To bring to life these objects curator Olivier Saillard and Artistic Director and Designer Robert Carsen decided to forgo a chronological recounting of Louis Vuitton’s illustrious travel heritage. Instead opting for thematic chapters such as automobiles, yachting and trains. While at the same time weaving in subtler, perhaps less well known, aspects of the house such as the art of writing, fragrances and the root of the business itself – the wood used as a framework to create those iconic Louis Vuitton trunks.
The exhibition is broken up into ten chapters, one more then the version of this show that was presented at the Grand Palais in Paris. They feature sweeping set designs that include the wings of a biplane covered in Louis Vuittton bags, the inside of a luxury train with the images of majestic landscapes whipping by and a boat deck, complete with mast and sail. The added chapter, which is called “Inspirational Japan”, is the final room of the exhibit. It was created so that Louis Vuitton could more fully explore and honor its long creative connection to the country of Japan.
“Japan is a place of boxes – wood boxes,” said Saillard about a fundamental connection between the country and the travel trunks at the heart of the Louis Vuitton house. “It is from that same spirit of wanting to be organized, to arrange, package and protect. That obsession for order and the art of order is a common thread between the two,” added Saillard who was once an honored artist in resident at the Villa Kujoyama.
Another possible connection can be found in the iconic Louis Vuitton Monogram. Georges-Louis Vuitton was captivated by Japanese family crest emblems called mon, it is hard not to see a strong link between those powerful motifs and what would become Louis Vuitton’s most recognizable symbol. While during his lifetime Gaston-Louis Vuitton would become an avid collector of tsuba, the decorated guards usually found at the base of the grip of bladed Japanese weapons.
Guests of the exhibition can see an impressive makeup trunk created by the head of the Special Orders Department Patrick-Louis Vuitton, the great great grandson of founder Monsieur Louis Vuitton, for a famed Kabuki performer. There is also a cabin trunk build back in 1883 for the Japanese dignitary Taisuke Itagaki on display. And let’s not forget all of the highly creative modern collaborations Louis Vuitton has worked on over the years with Japanese artistic legends like Takashi Murakami, YayoiKusama and Rei Kawakubo of Comme Des Garçons, whose work also had pride of place in the final room of the show.
The link between Louis Vuitton and the land of the rising sun has never been stronger. The country and the company are connected in their fundamental love of beauty, artistry, creativity and innovation, as well as the endless pursuit of perfection. This exhibit displays that steadfast relationship in an elegant and inventive way.