2023-07-04 00:02:00
At just 26 years old and with a gender fluid aesthetic, the French designer Charles deVilmorin is setting the trend for the most elite segment of fashion, the haute couture week in Paris, France.
While ready-to-wear collections have become increasingly unisex, haute couture remains an almost exclusively female domain, concentrated in evening gowns, high heels, and wedding dresses.
But that’s changing, with several brands incorporating menswear styles on couture week’s opening day on Monday; with young designers like de Vilmorin setting the tone.
“In real life, there are a lot of men who wear couture. It’s not a desire to do things differently, it’s normal, it’s extremely natural to me.”said de Vilmorin to the AFP ahead of her first live show during official couture week on Monday.
“Unisex simply means that a piece can be worn by both a woman and a man. It’s more a matter of casting than clothing”explained
His show had three acts: from an all-white section with large swan-shaped hats, to a more colorful act with prints, flowers and large volumes, before concluding with designs that he described as “sophisticated and mature, more constructed and structured”. , all in black.
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Who is Charles de Vilmorin
With her slender figure and laconic gaze, de Vilmorin has been compared to a young Yves Saint Laurent, and she already has an atypically promising career.
Born to an art teacher mother and fashion-obsessed financier father, he earned a place on the official haute couture list at just 24 years old thanks to the endorsement of fashion icon Jean Paul Gaultier. Coming at the height of the Covid-19 pandemic, he featured his creations in videos online.
He was then hired as Rochas’ artistic director, but he only lasted two years in the role. “I arrived very early, without much experience. It was the best school to get my feet wet and learn how to put together a collection and bring it to life,” he said.
The goal was clearly to revive a brand, he admitted “it was a huge challenge” adding that he was “relieved” to be working for himself again. Although he does not rule out working for another consolidated house: “I want to grow and I am open to all proposals. I can also grow in the context of a small house.”
For now, he’s happy to be working with the friends who helped him out on his early shows, even if it can get a little complicated. “We get along but we got on each other a little bit,” he said. “The apartment, which seemed big before, now seems tiny.”
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