SIR RICHARD BRANSON reaches for the skies - Mayfair Times

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JUST WHEN YOU THOUGHT MAYFAIR
COULDN’T GET ANY COOLER, FASHION
LEGEND JEAN-CHARLES DE CASTELBAJAC,
THE DESIGNER WHO HAS DRESSED
EVERYONE FROM POP STARS TO THE
POPE, HAS ROCKED UP CONDUIT STREET
WITH HIS FIRST LONDON STORE.
SELMA DAY CAUGHT UP WITH HIM
Jean-Charles de Castelbajac must be one of the few fashion
designers – if not the only one – to have dressed the Pope. In
1997, he was asked to design the ecclesiastical robes for the late
Pope John Paul II, along with 500 bishops and 5,000 priests. It
was for the historic World Youth Day and accompanying papal
mass in Paris. Jean-Charles’s rainbow-striped creations were
based on the story of Noah and the ark. When he pointed out to
the Pope that the rainbow was also the symbol of the gay
community, the Pope answered: “Young man, you have used the
colour as a cement of faith.”
Colour is one of the fundamentals of the designer’s work. “I
use colour with generosity,” he says. “And today is a good time
for me because it’s a time of creativity, pop and colour and I’ve
been doing that for many years now.”
For the past 40 years, Jean-Charles’s bright, eclectic designs
have been worn by everyone from Farah Fawcett – who he
dressed for the original Charlie’s Angels television show – and
Diana Ross to the New York Dolls and Madonna. Today, he is
reaching a whole new generation of followers. A retrospective at
the V&A in 2006 brought his designs to a younger hip-hop
audience, who now refer to him as JC/DC.
A pioneer of avant-garde and pop art fashion, Jean-Charles’s
signature pieces include Iceberg’s cartoon sweaters, blanket
coats made of – er, blankets, and a coat made of teddy bears.
It’s no surprise then that his new flagship store in Conduit
Street, showcasing fashion collections, luggage, sunglasses,
shoes, headwear and stationery, is a fusion of colour and
creativity. Designed by Jean-Charles himself and architect
Christian Ghion, the two-storey shop features a chalked
biography across the wall behind a Rubik’s cube till, while white
walls are decked with the designer’s quirky illustrations.
“Whenever I do a store, I invent a new play,” he says. “I do the
décor to suit the city and my London store has to be about pop
because my first love was the Kinks and the Yardbirds.
“I want this to be a fashion store, art gallery and performance
space – something exciting that will inspire kids and young
fashion students. It’s not just about proving the power of the
brand – it’s also about giving and sharing.”
Jean-Charles has set his sights on London for some time.
“London is an excellent place for creativity today – it is
incomparable,” he explains. “If you want your chance, you can
have it here.”
Jean-Charles – in contrast to his bright and bold designs –
dresses mostly in black, on this occasion in a black jacket with
white open-necked shirt and jeans. He says he used to wear
suits by Chittleborough & Morgan around the corner in Savile
Row before discovering “slim jeans”.
For a man of contradictions, Jean-Charles’s store couldn’t be
better placed. “On one side, you have the classicism of Savile
Row and on the other side, you have upcoming London. This
street is just starting now – it will be huge in five years.” He’s also
in the company of his good friends Vivienne Westwood, Issey
Miyake, Yohji Yamamoto and Sketch owner Mourad Mazouz.
Flying
colours
Born in Morocco into French nobility, Jean-Charles started
designing in Paris at the age of 17. His first job was at Kenzo. In
1975 he launched MaxMara’s Sportsmax line. Although staying
true to its traditional tailoring, he chose graffiti artist Keith Haring
to design the catwalk shows and Malcolm McClaren, manager of
the Sex Pistols, to produce the music. Then in 1978, he set up
his own label.
His designs are largely inspired by his tough upbringing. From
the age of five to 17 he was sent to a military boarding school
in France.
“I had a tremendously difficult life,” he says. “When I was a
child I had to be an adolescent – but in the end that’s what
fuelled my imagination. And throughout my career I have had the
freshness of a kid in the way I see things. I’m convinced there’s a
child in all of us and I want my customers to find that freshness.
It’s all about the fantasy inside them. I am offering a passport for
Peter Pan.”
Jean-Charles’s childhood experiences gave rise to some of
his most famous creations. A boarding school blanket inspired a
coat worn by John Lennon, while his teddy bear coat came
about from not owning a teddy bear when he was a child.
Although, he admits, there was actually a more sinister side to
that particular theme. “I’m going to be honest with you,” he says.
“It’s a very dark inspiration. My first encounter with a teddy bear
was through a priest who carried out exorcisms. Whenever he
saw children, he asked their parents to bring their teddy bears to
check there wasn’t a black spell or something hidden in there. I
remember walking into this room and it was full of teddy bears –
it was like a massive teddy bear chainsaw massacre. And I
always had it in my mind to reconstruct that – and it became the
teddy bear coat.”
Even today, Jean-Charles says there is no limit to what
inspires him. He has a passion for art, which he has been
collecting from an early age. “I was always into art because I was
into suffering,” he says. “I think to create, you need to suffer.
“I really like English art. What I like about artists such as
Tracey Emin is that there is this humour or this very dark, cynical
way of looking at life.”
Along with art, Jean-Charles collects photography, flags – and
even castles (including his own family castle). “But life is too short
to collect everything,” he says.
Outside his design work, Jean-Charles, who has already
written a book, is busy writing songs, which he hopes will be
performed by his great friend Rufus Wainwright. He is also
working on launching a new music label and is planning an
exhibition of his paintings in London next year.
But he is also now ready to develop the brand. “My brand is
a mystery,” he says. “In a sense, I’ve never wanted to be very
popular. I was always alternative and wanted to be
underground. But today, I’m ready to hit the floor. So our next
stop is New York because Paris talks, London rocks and New
York makes it happen.”
“I use colour with
generosity, and today
is a good time for me
because it’s a time of
creativity, pop and
colour and I’ve been
doing that for many
years now.”
JEAN-CHARLES DE CASTELBAJAC
IS BEST KNOWN FOR HIS PRINTS
AND BOLD SPLASHES OF COLOUR
fashion