LE TEMPS – AUGUST 2007

AUGUST 2007

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YOU ARE MORE LIKE A DESIGNER THAN A FASHION DESIGNER. YOU SEEM TO WORK ON SHAPES AND AESTHETIC, RATHER THAN 'FASHION.' DO YOU AGREE? ON THE OTHER HAND, YOU HAVE ACHIEVED YOUR OWN FASHION AESTHETIC, EVEN CONSIDERING (IN SOME VIEWS) THAT YOUR WORK AS REPETITIVE? 

WHENEVER I FIND MYSELF GETTING DISTRACTED OR INDECISIVE, I LOOK AT BRANCUSI'S WORK. THERE'S SUCH A STRONG, PURE VISION THAT'S CONSISTENT AND PERSONAL. ALMOST OBSESSIVE. I APPRECIATE THE WHIMSY AND JOY IN CREATORS THAT EXPERIMENT AND FLY OFF INTO OTHER DIRECTIONS, BUT I CHOSE A VERY STRAIGHT PATH FOR MYSELF, FOR BETTER OR WORSE. I WAS ALWAYS MORE INTERESTED IN THE CONSTRUCTION OF CLOTHES THAN THE MESSAGE OF CLOTHES. BUT THAT'S JUST ME. I SEE PEOPLE DOING CONCEPT CLOTHES THAT I ADMIRE A LOT. THERE WAS A TIME THAT DESIGNERS HAD A PERSONAL VOCABULARY. VIONNET, GRES AND ALAIA COME TO MY MIND MOST. I'M ATTRACTED TO THAT KIND OF FOCUS AND PACE. 

YOUR CLOTHES ARE LIKE A BIOGRAPHY, REFLECTING YOUR IMAGINARY AND REAL WORLD. HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE THEM (THE FALL/WINTER SHOW, FOR INSTANCE, OR IN GENERAL)? 

I DON'T HAVE AN IMAGINARY WORLD. I TRY TO PUT MY REAL WORLD ON THE RUNWAY. THERE HAVE BEEN MOMENTS IN THE PAST WHEN I SLIPPED; WHEN I WASN'T AS FOCUSED. BUT THAT WAS YEARS AGO. 

THERE WAS NOTHING ON THE FALL RUNWAY THAT WON'T BE FOR SALE IN MY STORE. OR THAT I DON'T CONSIDER A SERIOUS PROPOSAL ON MY PART. GRANTED, MY IDEAS AREN'T EVERYONE'S CUP OF TEA, BUT THE PROPOSALS ARE GENUINE. 

I'VE ALWAYS LIKED IT WHEN THE BARBARIC TURNS ELEGANT. AND WHEN IT'S DONE QUIETLY AND CONTROLLED. WITH MY LAST 4 COLLECTIONS I FEEL THAT I'M GETTING CLOSER TO EXPRESSING THAT WITH FEWER MISTAKES. 

DO YOU FEEL A CONNECTION WITH THE LOS ANGELES/LARRY CLARK SUBCULTURE AESTHETIC? DO YOU HAVE HEROES, OR DO YOU ONLY TRUST YOUR EYES? HÈLËNE TOLD ME YOU LIVED IN THE STREET FOR SOMETIME, CHANGING HAIR COLOUR EVERY OTHER DAY, BEFORE MEETING MICHELE. 

I'M AFRAID I WAS JUST A CATHOLIC SCHOOL CLICHE REACTING AGAINST UNEXCITING MORALITY AND LOOKING FOR EXOTIC SIN. BUT I'VE FORGIVEN MYSELF FOR BEING SO PREDICTABLE; THAT'S WHAT YOU'RE SUPPOSED TO DO WITH YOUR YOUTH. 

I WAS ALWAYS ATTRACTED TO RECKLESS HEROES, BURNING OUT IN A BLAZE OF GLORY. LIKE BRUNHILDE'S IMMOLATION. THAT WAS THE ENVIRONMENT I PURSUED IN L.A. BUT THEN I REALIZED I MIGHT HAVE MORE OPTIONS. I LOOK BACK ON THAT PERIOD WITH GREAT AFFECTION, THOUGH. I WAS VERY THOROUGH. 

HOW DID YOU CONSIDER FASHION THEN? 

I HAD A VERY LARGE NOSE RING WITH A CHAIN TO MY EAR AND ALWAYS WORE HEAVY MAKEUP: CHANEL BASE IN BISQUE, AND POWDER. I PENCILED MY EYEBROWS GOING BACK IN A POINT. I WAS TRYING TO BE A CROSS BETWEEN A THIERRY MUGLER ALIEN AND KLAUS NOMI. I LIVED IN A FRIEND'S WAREHOUSE THAT WAS ONLY ACCESSIBLE BY AN OUTDOOR FIRE ESCAPE. I WORE PLATFORMS, GLOVES AND CAPES. BLACK BLACK BLACK. I HAD A WONDERFUL '50S DODGE WITH TAIN FINS, LOADED WITH WAGNER AND SISTERS OF MERCY CASSETTES. I WISH I HAD PICTURES BUT DIDN'T THINK OF IT THEN AND CAN'T FIND ANY. 

I'M INTRIGUED BY THE TIME YOU WOKE UP WITH DONNA SUMMER MUSIC AND COCAINE EVERY DAY. WAS IT FUN? 

OF COURSE IT WAS FUN. EVERYONE KNOWS IT WAS FUN. BUT THEN IT BECAME MORE TROUBLE THAN IT WAS WORTH, AND I MOVED ON TO DIFFERENT PRIORITIES. MAYBE WHEN I RETIRE I'LL GO BACK TO IT. 

HOW DID YOU MEET MICHELE, AND HOW DO YOU WORK TOGETHER? 

SOMEONE I WAS SEEING INTRODUCED US AND I ENDED UP LEAVING HIM AND GOING WITH HER. WE'VE BEEN TOGETHER 15 YEARS NOW AND HAVE GONE THROUGH DIFFERENT STAGES. WHEN WE WERE FIRST TOGETHER, SHE STARTED A VERY GLAMOROUS RESTAURANT AND I STARTED MY COLLECTION. WE LIVED IN MY STUDIO AND WERE STARTING BOTH PROJECTS FROM ZERO, SO IT WAS A TRADITIONAL STRUGGLING HONEYMOON. WE'RE PROBABLY BOTH VERY DRIVEN, BUT TOGETHER WE PROBABLY FUELED EACH OTHER'S FEROCITY. IT WAS GREAT. THEN I GOT A DEAL TO WORK IN EUROPE, SHE NEEDED A CHANGE, AND HERE WE ARE. SHE HAS VISION AND MAINTAINS OUR STANDARDS. IN WORK AND IN LIFESTYLE. I ENJOY THE EVERYDAY MACHINATIONS OF BUILDING A BRAND. 

HOW DID YOU FIRST USE BIAS CUT, MAKING GODDESS DRESSES IN THE MADELEINE VIONNET SPIRIT? AND HOW DID YOU FIRST TRANSLATE THESE LINES IN JERSEY? 

MY BEST-SELLING BIAS SKIRT WAS FIRST MADE ON A MANNEQUIN IN THE LIVING ROOM OF OUR SUITE AT THE CHATEAU MARMONT WHERE WE WERE LIVING AT THE TIME. I KNEW THAT I WANTED TO MAKE COUTURE SILHOUETTES WITH THE EASE AND FAMILIARITY OF T-SHIRTS. I WANTED TO DRAG SPECIAL-OCCASION CLOTHES INTO EVERY DAY. IT WAS MY FORM OF SUBVERSION TO TRY TO MAKE SKIRTS WITH A TRAIN LOOK COOL AT THE BEACH AND AT THE SUPERMARKET. MAKING T-SHIRTS MIX WITH EVENING WASN'T EXACTLY A NEW IDEA. CHANEL HAD DONE IT, RUDI GERNREICH HAD DONE IT, NORMA KAMALI HAD DONE IT. BUT THEY DID IT WITH THEIR OWN IDENTITY, AND I THINK I HAVE WITH MINE NOW.

HOW DO YOU WORK? 

I'VE BUILT A FOUNDATION OF SHAPES IN WHICH I FIND A NEW LINE TO EXAGGERATE OR OBSESS OVER. I CARRY INDEX CARDS IN MY POCKET AT ALL TIMES AND, ESPECIALLY AT THE GYM, OR AFTER A NAP, I MAKE NOTES AND ROUGH SKETCHES OF THINGS THAT PASS THROUGH MY HEAD. WHEN IT'S TIME TO START A NEW COLLECTION, I COLLATE MY CARDS AND MAKE A COLLECTION OUT OF IT. THEN I WORK ON THE PATTERNS AND FIT ON A MODEL WITH THE TOILES. 

YOU OFTEN QUOTE YOUR OWN STYLE AS 'DRAMA QUEEN' WHICH USUALLY REFERS MORE TO SEQUINS THAN THE VERY SIMPLE SHAPES AND MATERIALS YOU USE. AREN'T YOU MORE OF A MODERNIST THAN A DRAMA QUEEN? 

WHEN I REFER TO A DRAMA QUEEN, I'M REFERRING TO EGOTISTICAL AND HISTRIONIC TEMPERAMENT AS IN AN OPERA DIVA SINGING WITH A SCARF IN ONE HAND AND A KNIFE IN THE OTHER ON A BARE WOODEN STAGE. 

YOU'VE SHOWN CLOTHES FOR MEN AND WOMEN, USING SOME IDENTICAL SHAPES OR MATERIALS. IS THERE STILL A DIFFERENCE, OR A FENCE BETWEEN THE TWO, IN YOUR APPROACH?