Paris, ten something am, light greyness : I  can’t stand the “morning” concept anywhere in this bloody world. The almost desert Marais (the oldest area in the centre of Paris) slowly wakes up, like the ritual of an eccentric dignified old lady. A friend of a friend recognized me, I need an awakening. Warrior Ipod, the catchy single of Blondie, “Atomic”, played again and again, addicted.

The not straight old walls and the empty brightness of the sky, give an impression of a crumbling whiteness and a German expressionist set with crazy perspectives. Small door in raw wood, large stairs, the contrast of the thick black varnish and the small white letters, here I am, I ring: Gaspard Yurkievich, the fashion designer.

Spare white show room, a “message” neon light (“Romance is a surprise”) in front of a basic neon light, study atmosphere in the next room where the officers staff works. Few snapshots, colorful geometrical forms on black socks, on carryings the last man collection presented a week ago. Easy to feel the idea of rigour, with a controlled fancy side. Unpretentious, Gaspard comes with Virginie, his P.R. and we sit.

– Berçot, it’s a beat like a psychotherapy, like the Actor Studio.

Studies at  the Studio Berçot, an experience at Colonna (a famous French design of the nineties) and before the Hyères Festival (of the young creation) springboard, the “step” of assistant for shows in the Isabelle Roch press office:

– I needed to be less shy, to get more in touch with different people.

Smile and to add with mischievous eyes:

– Kid, I used to have my own world, I was never bored, I drew. I loved singing and dancing, music. Big crush on Diana Ross two years ago. I love dancing, the body. A unique idea of the body: it’s frightening! I dress my friends, they test and wear our clothes. We are really critical of ourselves.

I couldn’t stop myself telling him how much I’ve loved his shoes from the beginning:

– Thank you. It’s really easy for me to design shoes.

While Gaspard describes his “super Parisian and enough contemporary” fashion approach, his hands play with the shoes eels of the next season woman collection (here the supa hot pictures, an exclusivity just for you guys!):

– We got involved in Fashion business naïve and totally free. Imposing a language, an identity. Creating a sense between spirit and body: redefining the fashion “cliché “, a link between the establishment and the traditional. The philosophy of our brand is: item is a day mate. Today the approach is more and more elaborated. It’s sexy , but a real item. The first man collection was born from the woman collection’s foundations. But all collections exist by themselves.

Since childhood, Gaspard naturally enjoys the Contemporary Art and he collaborates for his fashion shows with many different artists, for exemple: Edouard Levé and the architect Didier Faustino.

– It’s a beat like a playtime at school, I’m like an art director on shows: a casting of visions, like keys given to people. We live a very intense moment. I need to work with people I like.

I think of the stylish dessert he designed for the “mythical” Café de La Paix:

– We love food, the idea of generosity. We wanted it sexy and “gourmand”: with a lucky charm in a case. First, I imagined for a Japanese magazine’s exhibition, a “Forêt Noire” cake crushed by a high eel shoe. Funny!

I moved, need different angles for the famous “creative mechanism”  of Gaspard. For his next woman collection, he was inspired by a book not sold in France (Pierre Berger and Karl Lagerfeld might stand in the way of a French version), “Beautiful Fall” of Alicia Drake. I really like the concept, a forbidden book!

– The story of Yves Saint Laurent, Lagerfeld, Antonio Lopez. The seventies: how people dressed, it’s not interesting at all. It’s more the Couture spirit, the muses, Loulou de La Falaise: taking their energy, the fantasy of this period. The passing down between the Couture and the Ready-to-Wear.

From his several professional trips, Gaspard keeps the influence of ” the energy, not the folks” :

– There is a dialogue. I really like American culture. The US recycle a lot, the vintage culture. Meeting up with the Crazy Horse in Las Vegas, we had a day stop in Detroit, where we found a great vintage shop and discovered the exhibition of Anthony McCall.

And when the so Parisian Gaspard is his home town, Paris:

– I live Rive Gauche (the left riverside of the river, La Seine) and I work Rive Droite (the right riverside of La Seine).

I leave the show room thinking of this sentence of Gaspard:

– I love fashion, it’s suggestions, like a dialogue.

So Gaspard, thank you for this lovely dialogue!

His Parisian addresses:

– In a very exclusive hotel : a suite where switches were designed by Gaspard, with the shapes of Crazy Horse dancers… so chic! L’Hotel Particulier de Montmartre : www.hotel-particulier-montmartre.com/wordpress/ 

– A fusion restaurant : “the Japanese chief cooks the French gastronomy” Les Cartes Postales : 7 rue Gomboust, 75001 Paris – Tel : + 33 (0) 1 42 61 02 93 

– A new “centre of Contemporary Art” Le Laboratoire :  www.lelaboratoire.org 

– A tubular architecture: “Of course” Beaubourg  www.centrepompidou.fr/   

– “Soulful Paris” : Le Crazy Horse   www.lecrazyhorseparis.com 

www.gaspardyurkievich.com

Related posts :

Gaspard Yurkievich: Backstage Men Show Summer 2009 

Paris Women Collections Fall-Winter 2008: Gaspard Yurkievich

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