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FASHION INTERVIEW
slogans about politics when the structure of your brand
is not going towards the effectiveness of that meaning.
For example, I don’t see anyone designing anything
that’s feminist. I see everyone saying it, but I don’t
see any products being made. I just see people
regurgitating designs that aren’t feminist. That’s where
the giant bra in my collection came from: accentuating
a woman’s anatomy. I felt that was the most political
statement I made in this collection. I don’t really feel
like I have any solutions to the problem of politics
and fashion, so for the time being my standard is to
be at a minimum. It’s good to take a moment and do
something that feels standard, so that you know and
understand what’s frivolous in a social way.
ST: Is this also why you came back to tailoring,
at a time when everyone else is jumping on
the streetwear bandwagon?
SO: Yes, we’re at a moment where you wonder, “Are
you into streetwear because you’re favouring the new
and the next, or just because that’s where the money’s
going? Do you really believe in the idea of diversity in
fashion?” Today everyone is becoming a brand, there
are no more designers. I don’t think that’s a problem,
but I just think that you can’t call things fashion when
there are no designers. No one is saying, “This is what
I designed this season, you can buy into it.” It’s the
other way around: “Look what I’m implementing into
these criteria, buy into this because this is actually
just a brand.” People forget that the aesthetics that
someone created are for a reason, and if you don’t
like it then you shouldn’t be buying the brand in
general. That’s why ever yone adapting streetwear
feels inorganic and cheap. I don’t see anyone doing
it in a demanding, highbrow way. They know what it
looks like, but they don’t really understand it. Right
now streetwear is no cooler than it was in the 90s
when people were actually wearing it. I don’t see
anyone taking it to the next level, except a few specific
designers. So in my collection for Helmut Lang, it was
all about keeping it in the tailored world. Yes you can
buy a T-shirt and hoodies, but I don’t even think it was
necessary to show them on the runway. And most of
the brands that adapt streetwear today shouldn’t be
showing it on the runway either: they don’t have the
precision that makes it important.
ST: And what about all the Helmut Lang logos
you played with?
SO: There was so much to play with! But everyone has
referenced Helmut Lang so much, including myself. At
some point, for example, we wanted to reference his
Mapplethorpe vibe, but realized it looked like a collection
that Raf Simons did before. So we just chose to do the
most basic things, rewriting Helmut Lang’s name like a
little child. Very primary things seemed to be the point.
“When you are a young designer taking over a house
that was created by one of the great names of couture,
you really have to be strong.”
ST: Helmut Lang’s current structure is quite
experimental, with an editor in residence,
Isabella Burley, and guest designers. Do you
feel this is relevant?
SO: Yes. It was interesting for me to take the risk of
doing something that hasn’t been done, but with
someone else’s project. It was good to be there at
the beginning. In the future it will be great if it really
goes into this idea of curation. Isabella has done great
examples of that with the capsule collection that
recreates pieces by Helmut Lang, and I think other
brands will start to do their own version of this. Isabella
is smart enough to keep it going in a good way. As for
me, I began working on the holiday collection, with
the Helmut logo, then a preview collection that was
shown in July and released at the end of November.
The third instalment will be the spring/summer 2018
collection that was in the New York show. As I begin to
progress as a solo designer, I’m open to other projects.
I don’t know how demanding the next ones will be,
but I’m totally into it. I’m confident about the process
– as long as I’m working under a designer I respect, of
course. It helps me to grow up as a designer.
ST: Do you think this idea of guest designers is
a solution to the constant coming and going
of artistic directors that we have been seeing
at the big houses over the past few years?
SO: Yeah I know, the pace is crazy. At first I didn’t
have a problem with it because, well, that’s the way
the world goes. But then I started to realize that
sometimes, after some designers have worked at a
house, they do not have a second chance, you know
what I mean? Their name has become synonymous
with a brand – it can be hard to break the visual
identity that people associate with you. So I think that
for me, what’s really cool is what Nicolas Ghesquière
did at the beginning of Balenciaga, because he grew
the house to the level where it is today. That’s why he
was able to move on to Louis Vuitton. When you are a
young designer taking over a house that was created
by one of the great names of couture, you really have
to be strong. It doesn’t mean it’s impossible – some
people can do it. It’s more about having the time to
mature something that’s relevant. Today, a lot of the
things we are seeing are consumer-ready, but not
really relevant. That’s what worries me. Of course you
have to sell, but the challenge of fashion is to be able
to do something that sells but that is also relevant. ST
Creditline: Numéro
By Delphine
Roche, Portrait
by Éric Nehr
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