Rejecting the industry's more traditional methods, Louis-Gabriel Nouchi drapes material directly on the body when starting a collection. This exploratory draping technique lies at the core of the designer's technical process: for him the beginning is not found on a page. “I don’t need to make a mood board, I pattern the pieces and then try them on the form. I work on the body directly to track the evolution of the toile,” he explains.
Mining Norman Mailer’s 1983 novel Ancient Evenings for this season's inspiration Nouchi crafted a collection that unravelled as a dialogue between workwear and streetwear. “I use a bit of bad taste," he says adding, "but I enjoy designing the in-between... And always end up with a chic silhouette.” Comfort and elegance took centre stage as Nouchi sent out easy-to-wear silhouettes in elevated materials (a mix of soft jersey and knits) hued in browns, tans and oranges.
Nouchi was a student of Law and Medicine before training at the prestigious Ecole des Arts Visuels de la Cambre. He gained invaluable early industry experience at Vogue Magazine as well as the design department at Raf Simons after which he decided to launch his own brand. Three seasons later it is already stocked by prestigious retailers like Beams Tokyo, Heimat Store Koln and Just One Eye Los-Angeles.
The designer modestly credits this early success to doing "a lot of homework" and then launching his brand armed with this knowledge. “I knew what I wanted to do and why, so everything was really precise. Now I want to continue with my vision and push to do better and better each season.” Watch the video interview of Louis-Gabriel Nouchi as he thrives on the adrenaline of having just launched his AW’19 collection on the runway.
View the Louis-Gabriel Nouchi Wholesale Collection online here >
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