“I played a game when I was a child: I´d try to understand who the person hiding behind the clothes really was. Clothing´s capacity to tell stories has always fascinated me, especially because we can make it say everything and the opposite too,” says Jean Colonna. And what do his ubiquitous leather jacket and black tee-shirts say? That the most punk French designer has remained true to his radical and irreverent fashion vision.
Given the current minimalist revival, he couldn´t resist the temptation to bring out one of his bestsellers this spring: biker´s trousers made of skai with darts and seaming on the derriere, originally created in 1992. And speaking of anatomy, Jean Colonna was initially headed for a career in medicine. Born in Algeria in 1955 to a pharmacist´s family, he began his studies in Aix-en-Provence then veered off towards fashion, his true passion. After graduating from the Chambre Syndicale de la Couture Parisienne, he worked for Pierre Balmain, and was soon collaborating with the rising generation of designers, including Jean Paul Gaultier and Thiery Mugler. What sums up the Colonna style? A rock energy and eroticism, cut close to the body and made for the most part of nylon and fake fur, and especially a firm desir for street fashion. “I don´t like the idea of being elitist, my clothes are for all bodies, for all social categories, and that has nothing to do with the price,” explains the designer, who recently collaborated with Morgan.
In 2010, he took centre stage again with the launch of the brand Jeancolonna, and a new concept of universal basics, pure silk, pure cashmere and pure Nepal, tee shirts and sleeveless tees to layer together for day or night. “I like the idea of a piece of clothing that you want to use and even abuse like a second skin,” he explains. An addiction he has shared with Première Vision, with seamless tunics he designed for the hostesses, and a pop-up shop featuring his sleeveless teeshirts.
