Text by Olga Gasnier, Vidéo by Titre Provisoire, Photos by Alan Marty, Chorégraphie by Sohrab Chitan
“It is not necessary to accept everything as true, one must only accept it as necessary.' 'A melancholy conclusion,' said K. 'It turns lying into a universal principle.” ― Franz Kafka, The Trial
20 January 2021, Palais de Tokyo – the fashion world met the LGN Louis-Gabriel Nouchi’s fall-winter 2021-2022 collection. The geometric shapes with loose silhouette and steel metallic shades shrouded in haze of neon lights were inspired by the atmosphere of the novel “The Trail” by F. Kafka. This collection – a philosophical manifest – raises many questions, so we had an opportunity to find the answers with Louis-Gabriel Nouchi.
Louis-Gabriel, you are know as an intellectual and you own an impressive library in your Parisian boutique, so why F. Kafka? Is your choice somehow reflecting common mood of the previous year or it’s more personal reflections on the life?
I always choose books which include the same kind of « persona»: it’s always people that are a bit of outsider of the society, and want to fight against the system, but not in a violent way. It’s more like a passive // intellectual revolution, as words can be considering as weapons to reveal things on our society. I’m always choosing books which are part of the « library hell », as the topic or the writer were very controversial at the time. I like also taking books that the subject makes a resonance with the actuality, and showing that even the story was written years and years ago, you still have a continuity with the present situation.
To which message you would like to draw the attention?
I’d like to draw the attention on making peoples think by themselves and interpret the pieces. Literature is a fundamental element of the brand, as for me you can interpret differently the same book in different way, it depends on your age, when you read it, where,... Literature for me is a way of putting together different kind of people (men, women, young, old,...) and make them debate and interact together. That what I want to install with the brand: a space to express everyone envy and passion.
Three sentences to describe the person to whom you would dedicate this collection?
Don’t be afraid of going outside, even if you feel safe at home. Reveal who you are. You can write your own story
What does the digitalization of the fashion week mean to you? You revealed your collection as a defile and as a live dance performance by Sohrab Chitan. How do you find this experience?
LIVE DANCE PERFORMANCE BY COMPANY SOHRAB CHITAN, MUSIC SARA ZINGER It allows us to be more creative than a classic runway show. Also, I think it’s really important for me trying re-create the emotion that you can have live a physical show. You have to make people feel something and want to make the clothes and garments desirable. It gives another dimension then just peoples walking. As we were working with actors for our SS21 collection, I was very happy to change a bit from classic models and work with different type of bodies and peoples. Working with dancers were a logic continuity. This is also my way to put the light on the people from the Art scene in Paris, who are very impacted by this COVID19 pandemic. Sohrab was first a client, then I proposed him to dress him for a dance residence, then we decided working on this project together. The experience was amazing and I must say this is the first collection of the brand I’ve been crying watching it live. We all forget that it’s been more than a year that we cannot see Art in real and I miss it so much. We were very lucky and privileged to be able seeing this in front of us.
What is your interpretation of the mirrors?
I wanted to recreate the feeling of a crowd, as it’s an image that is quite rare now.
Imagine that tomorrow you should choose the only possible palette of colours that people can wear, what it would be and why?
Maybe only black and white. Even if I love working on very subtle colour gamma every season, I must say that’s it’s an essential way constructing the collection and looks starting this colour.
Your previous collaboration was with PSG, this collection has pieces of the sportswear, like joggings. What are sport and comfort for you?
I like the fact that sportswear clothes have a used, it’s very particle to wear and wash. I wanted to injected this kind of way of doing garments in a more classical wardrobe. Comfort is natural for me. I cannot do pieces if you don’t feel well in it. It’s like reading a good book : you feel very confirmable, cosy, in your own bull. I want to recreate this impression in the clothes: if you feel well in it, you can really be yourself. It’s like a soft armor that protect and interact between you and the world.
If your design would be a genre of literature, which one?
Absurdist Fiction.
