HONEYCOMB – APRIL 2008

APRIL 2008

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WHEN YOU WERE IN LOS ANGELES, YOU STUDIED IN AN ART SCHOOL. WHAT ARE THE SIMILARITIES AND DIFFERENCES BETWEEN FASHION AND ART? 

FASHION IS AMUSING AND ART IS COMFORTING. 

IN ART, THERE ARE SO MANY DIFFERENT WAY OF EXPRESSION. WHAT KIND OF ART ARE YOU INTERESTED IN? 

I USUALLY LIKE THINGS THAT ARE QUIET AND RESTRAINED AND AMBIGUOUS. I USUALLY DON'T LIKE THINGS THAT ARE ARCH, CONFRONTATIONAL OR SUPERIOR. 

WHO ARE THE ARTISTS YOU RESPECT THE MOST, AND WHY? 

I LIKE JULIAN SCHNABEL'S HUNGER FOR GRANDEUR. I LOVE BEUYS'S HOLISTIC POETRY. I'M REASSURED BY BRANCUSI'S CONSISTENCY. I'M IMPRESSED WITH TIM HAWKINSON'S INGENUITY. I'M ENGAGED BY IAN KEIR'S REDUCTIVENESS. I LOVE RACHEL WHITEREAD'S CONTINUING STORY. I COULD GO ON FOREVER. 

HOW DOES ART INFLUENCE YOUR WORK IN FASHION AND FURNITURE? 

IT REMINDS ME OF POSSIBILITIES AND COURAGE. 

WHEN DOES FASHION SPILLS OVER INTO ART? 

I THINK REI KAWAKUBO SEEMS PRETTY CLOSE, BUT I'M NOT SURE. 

WHAT DOES THE ACT OF CREATING MEAN IN LIFE? 

MOMENTUM, PROGRESS AND EGO. 

WHAT MADE YOU DECIDE TO BECOME A DESIGNER? 

I WENT TO ART SCHOOL AND WAS INTIMIDATED BY THE COMMITMENT THAT I FELT WAS NECESSARY TO BECOME AN ARTIST. FASHION SEEMED LIKE THE NEXT BEST THING. 

HOW DID YOU START YOUR OWN BRAND? 

I VERY INNOCENTLY THOUGHT THAT IF I JUST KEPT MAKING THINGS AND KEPT PUTTING THEM OUT THERE, EVENTUALLY IT WOULD CATCH THE EYE OF SOMEONE WHO COULD HELP ME FINANCE AND DISTRIBUTE IT, WHICH IS PRECISELY WHAT HAPPENED. I DON'T REALLY KNOW IF THAT WOULD BE POSSIBLE NOW. THERE ARE SO MANY MORE DESIGNERS THAN THERE USED TO BE. AND, COMING FROM L.A, I WAS ALLOWED TO BUILD A BUSINESS QUIETLY WITHOUT BECOMING HOT AND THEN DISPOSABLE. 

YOU COME FROM THE MIDDLE OF CALIFORNIA. LATER YOU MOVED TO L.A. TO STUDY IN AN ART SCHOOL. IS THERE ANY INFLUENCE FROM YOUR COUNTRY, THE USA, IN YOUR COLLECTIONS? 

I SUSPECT THAT THERE MIGHT BE AN AMERICAN DIRECTNESS AND PRAGMATISM THAT COMES THROUGH. 

SINCE YOU LIVE IN FRANCE, ARE YOU BEING INFLUENCED BY PARIS? 

SHOWING IN PARIS RAISES THE BAR, FOR SURE. FANTASY AND POETRY ARE DEMANDED HERE. I SEE NO DEMERITS IN BEING BASED HERE. 

I'M SURE, IN THE PARISIAN PRET-A-PORTER BUSINESS, THERE ARE SOME RULES TO FOLLOW. WHAT KIND OF MERITS AND DEMERITS DID YOU FIND OUT? 

IF THERE ARE RULES, I GUESS I'M NOT AWARE OF THEM OR ELSE MY HEAD JUST DOESN'T REGISTER THEM. THE ONLY RULES I REALLY FOLLOW ARE DEADLINES. YOU CAN HAVE THE MOST POETIC COLLECTION IN THE WORLD BUT IF YOU SHIP IT TOO LATE TO SELL, YOU'RE OUTTA BUSINESS. 

RIGHT NOW IN MEN'S FASHION, THE TRADITIONAL STYLE OF THE AMERICAN EAST COAST IS VERY POPULAR. WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT THIS? 

I DON'T UNDERSTAND PREPPIE. 

IN A NEAR FUTURE, IN WHICH DIRECTION DO YOU THINK MEN'S FASHION WILL GO? 

IT'S BEEN PRETTY RESTRAINED FOR A WHILE. MAYBE IT'S TIME FOR FLAMBOYANCE AGAIN. I HOPE SO. 

WHAT ARE THE SIMILARITIES AND THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN YOUR MEN'S AND WOMEN'S COLLECTIONS?