Esprit d’enFrance

it of France Spir



Fashion

-/ Between inheritance and modernity the young guard unanimously refusesto choose, espousing both in a fusion of French artisanry and contemporary thinking that statestheir character.
Three young women designers are monopolising the ready-to-wear sector’s attention with their taste for anarchy coupled with a love of tradition. A year ago Priscilla and Deborah Royer and Virginie Muys launched their Pièce d’Anarchive label. Their ambition ? “Touphold two values side by side : heritage, as in respect for French craftsmanship, and aesthetic freedom.” Their intention is to “acknowledge conventions but question them ; to esteem traditions but shakethem up”. Pièce d’Anarchive’s urban-chic first collection toys with knitwear codes, develops a creative language around leather and plays on contrasts, all the while complying with thetenets of traditional garment making. The clothes are all made in France and each piece is numbered according to its place in the creative chronology. Last July their classy monochrome silhouettes won them the ANDAM (Association Nationale des Arts de la Mode) first collections prize, which givesthem some financing plus a display space in Galeries Lafayette and a runway show during Fashion Week at the end of the month. Thethree women think up their collections like a story, onethat can already be read in the windows of the coolest concept stores worldwide, such as Montaigne Market and Colette in Paris.

as the name says in French. Since January 2010 they have been producing silk head squares printed and manufactured in France in the purest Lyon tradition. “We paint the designs for our prints first then digitalisethem ; all our scarves are woven, printed and made up closeto here.” A far cry from our grandmothers’ drab head squares, for these women’s prints aretruly contemporary in their aesthetics, inspired by David Hockney’s painting, cinema or nature. In a different register, Paris jewellery designer Vincent Richard de Latour is attracting considerable attention. Equally fascinated by the value of artisanry, he designs collections motivated by his love of leather and wood, which he uses in endless variations, and his desireto create strong, imposing pieces. “I enjoy exploring materials, combining leather with lace, wood with steel. My pieces are unique and demand specialist knowhow. They’re all made in France – that’s a prerequisite – and I work only with local artisans because I need the direct contact with them. I make my prototypes in my studio then my artisans do the leatherwork and wood cutting. Finally I paint or screen print each piece myself.” His most notable jewellery includes a necklace in the form of a braided leather ruff and an imposing wooden cuff with a gold patina. The future of creativity is indeed in human hands, not machines. ∞

Virginie Muys, Priscilla et Deborah Royer, créatrices de Pièce d’Anarchive.

Dans un autre registre, mais tout aussi fasciné par la valeur artisanale, le créateur parisien de bijoux Vincent Richard de Latour attire l’attention. Le point de départ de ses collections ? L’amour du cuir et du bois qu’il décline à l’infini et sa volonté de signer des pièces fortes et imposantes. «  J’aime explorer les matériaux. J’associe le cuir à des dentelles, le bois à l’acier… Mes pièces sont uniques et reflètent un savoir-faire spécifique. Tous mes accessoires sont made in France, j’y tiens beaucoup. Je netravaille qu’avec des «  locaux ». J’ai besoin de ce rapport. Je créetous mes prototypes dans mon atelier. Je fais ensuite appel à des artisans pour le cuir ou la découpe du bois. Chaque pièce repasse ensuite entre mes mains, pour être peinte ou sérigraphiée. » Parmi ses bijoux les plus marquants, on retient son collier en collerette de cuir tressé ou sa manchette imposante en bois et patine dorée. Ils le prouvent au fil des saisons, l’avenir de la création n’est pas la machine, mais bien la main de l’homme. ∞

© Paolo Roversi

Low-down on accessories
Staying with reinvented tradition, let’s take a look in the Milleneufcentquatrevingtquatre label’s studio. Behind this mouthful of a name we find designers Amélie Charroin and Marie Colin-Madan, both born in… 1984,

A droite : Bracelet en bois recouvert de cuir sérigraphié signé Vincent Richard de Latour.

www.cotemagazine.com - SEPTEMBRE 2012 | 79