From Flaunt Magazine.
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http://flaunt.com/features/117/elegant-fray-lucas-ossendrijver
Written By: LONG NGUYEN
When you first arrived at Lanvin, did you have a particular mission in mind on what to do with the men’s collection?
Lucas Ossendrijver: When I started, about six years ago, it was a blank sheet. What we tried to do was figure out what men needed today and what was relevant at that moment. We didn’t want to make a fashion collection. For us, it wasn’t about being cool or trying to bring some kind of revolution to Lanvin, but about making the clothes that we thought were relevant for men today. We thought about defining a wardrobe much like what Jeanne Lanvin did in her time, almost like a lifestyle company before it existed. So we thought about every moment of the day and what, for that moment, men needed; we had a few pants, we had some coats, we had jackets, a tuxedo, a pajama, underwear and some hats. It was really about making a contemporary wardrobe. That was my mission. I don’t really believe in revolution, I believe in evolution. From season to season we adapt and change. We don’t throw away the old ideas, but we try to make them evolve and move forward.
Since Lanvin only had very classic menswear, was it easier for you to start off without a burden of heritage to follow?
Lanvin was actually one of the first brands to do menswear. When I arrived, there was a classic line. Jeanne had important information for men. In the ‘80s and ‘90s, there was prêt-a-porter for menswear, but the image was somewhat dusty. There was always, and I’m very happy about this, a notion of quality craftsmanship. Those were the type of things that further built the brand. I took the quality that was there and tried to modernize it.
I’ve seen all of your shows since the beginning and never had a sense that the collection was designed for anyone in particular. There are no references to the past seeing as how designers like to talk about the ‘60s and ‘70s—this rockstar, that rockstar—and with you, it’s really about discovering the clothes. Is that how you work with the collection?
Yes, I’m very hands-on when I work with my team in the studio. We work on clothes. We don’t really make a mood board with decisions on whether or not we go to the Bahamas next season or if we’ll be Indians after that. For me, it’s about the clothes and how they speak. For me, luxury is something intimate. There is a lot of research that is done and I use my studio as a laboratory to find solutions, to find techniques. Each season, we start from a technique—a shape, a cut, or construction—and then we try to build a story around that. In the end, the story is not what’s most important, but what one must do is make clothes that make people beautiful and make their personality come out. It’s really about the individual person and I’m trying to bring that forth instead of fashion that outshines the wearer. Also, what we try to do with the show is have 40 boys who are 40 individuals. It’s sort of anti-uniform.
That’s really what elegance is today. It’s about people and individualism, not corporate looks and logos.
Exactly. What we try to do is define French elegance. What is French elegance? I think in French elegance there is something about making mistakes. It’s about clothes that you have for a long time, not every season buying a new look from one brand and wearing that. It’s about mixing pieces and, I think, that’s where it gets interesting.
In the collection, a lot of research goes into trying to find fabrics that address how the clothes would look in a certain feel, texture, or material. How important is making the right fabric choice?
Fabrics are always a starting point. Fabric development is extremely important, especially in menswear: the weight, texture, and composition. What you want to do when you work on a fabric is make it speak, so to say. After you have the right fabric, you try and find a technique that works for that specific type. Also, when we do colors, we do individual-per-fabric color, so it’s not like we’re taking one color then applying it to each fabric choice, but trying to look at each fabric’s texture and say, ‘Okay, this red may work in a cotton, but may not work in a wool. This texture may work with a strong color and not with a soft color.’ Every fabric has it’s own color. In the end, when we mix them all for the show, it’s ultimately very rich looking. Again, they’re not uniform, and they’re not all the same. You get a feeling of richness, and I think that’s very important.
How is working with Alber [Elbaz]? Do you interact with him a great deal in terms of your work?
Yes, we communicate a lot actually. His studio is right up the road. For me, it’s very valuable to have him come from outside. He’s not a menswear designer and he has a different eye. It’s very enriching for me, as well, to have someone come over and give an opinion, give a different input or find another solution. Sometimes when you’re in the design process, you only see the problem and it’s easier for him to come in from the outside and see a different view and say, ‘Do you really need this piece? Why would you try to make it work when it doesn’t? Try this or try that.’ That’s our strength; it is a dialogue, not a monologue.
Over the past two or three seasons, there’s been a lot of women’ s wear fabric incorporated into the men’s collection. Was that deliberate?
That works both ways. A lot of the time we do fabric research and I look at what Alber finds and vice versa. I think it’s good for the company to be under one umbrella. We can go from women to men or from men to women and it doesn’t matter. It’s really about what works.
In this Fall collection, there are a lot of silhouettes for jackets and pants. There’s a range of choices from fitted to loose silhouettes.
Fashion, for me, is about options and also what works in real life. We don’t make outfits just for the show. The outfits have to work in real life for real people. When we propose something, we like to have options. A person can have a slim pant with a large jacket or a really tight-fit jacket with a larger pant. It’s really about proposing different options for men so that they can find themselves and make the clothes their own. We are not dictators. We propose.
Do you think men nowadays look more for suits, or for jackets and pants separately?
I think they look for separates, to be honest. When I am in the showroom after the shows, I see how clients buy, and they buy separates. They buy a jacket, they buy a pant, and they combine them. They don’t really buy the suits anymore like they did, and I think that’s very good because you can mix fabrics and colors together. Even if you have a complete look, you can have a pant that’s a slightly different texture or color and that makes it a bit more individual.
Is that a major change in menswear?
Yes! Men are very different from women in that aspect. Men buy for need. They don’t go to a store to shop just for fun. Women do that. They want something that’s new each season, but when men find something that works for them, they go to that store for the same thing. What I see now is that men are a little bit more interested in fashion. They’re not afraid anymore like they used to be. Men admit that they enjoy fashion and like dressing up. It’s very positive.
Every time I visit the showroom, there is a huge selection of shoes. Are shoes the accessory for men like handbags and jewelry are for women?
I love shoes, and I love the craftsmanship of them. As far as accessories for men, shoes are really how you can change a look without wearing something quite outrageous. If you wear a hiking boot or a trainer with a suit, it can completely change how you walk and completely change your attitude. That’s what I really like about accessories.
Especially a hiking boot in snakeskin!
Yes, you’re right. It has to be luxurious!
In the collection, how did the magnetic buttoning come about?
We had to look at sportswear and bring elements of that into tailoring and seriously constructed garments. We looked at zippers and different clothing systems like the magnetic system, and then we tried to use it in a new way. We made those tailored coats really slim-fitted, almost cut with a knife, and close to the body with really narrow shoulders. We then wanted to do something that wraps around the body with little effort so that it almost closes itself. Next, we sewed the magnet on the inside so that you don’t see them on the outside, and it clicks automatically.
So, it’s almost like combining traditional tailoring with new technology.
Exactly! It’s really about mixing the classic with contemporary and proving that the two can live in the same world. When you look at the show, on one hand, you have the tasseled loafer in crocodile, snakeskin, or plain leather, and on the other hand we have the hiking boot, which are quite extreme with elastic wrapping, the application of different clothing systems, and two-toned soles. It’s really about proving that those two can live together.
So you experimented in the studio and found the magnetic buttons to be a new solution.
Yes. It was about how we can make this coat more modern and easier to wear. When you design, it’s about answering those simple questions. For me, designing is also about being generous. I don’t like the idea that you have to concentrate on one thing, because that’s so stressful. I like the process you go through when you have different items or different propositions that, ultimately, results in a story. For me, fashion isn’t linear. It is emotional. It has to do with intuition, and also letting go of things, instead of trying to be so narrow. That’s the way it works with people in real life as well.
