Christophe Lemaire, no compromise

He remains vague about his future projects (confidentiality obliged) as the new creative director at Hermès, yet Christophe Lemaire does not hesitate to paint a vitriolic portrait of current fashions, making digs at several big names in the hype fashion world.

The future ex-creative director of Lacoste might have given the impression of being shy, but that was far from the truth. Recently pushed into the spotlight after having been named successor to Jean Paul Gaultier at Hermès, Lemaire has shown himself to be discreet, but also a man of strong convictions that do not necessarily follow the rules of fashionable correctness. It seems he has in effect succeeded in overcoming his former complexes, related notably to the fact that he did not attend a design school.

Buoyed by his success at Lacoste and the honor of having been chosen by Hermès, Lemaire now feels perfectly legitimate in the heart of the fashion world. After years of abstaining from public presentation, he recently showed a collection under his own name in Paris; it was the occasion for him to show that his work (strongly influenced by Japanese culture) had gained in strength, cleanliness and precision.

As of next March, Lemaire will enter into the inner circle of ADs who count and whose work directly influences the fashion trend curve; it is not without interest to discover what this former Christian Lacroix assistant thinks of the current fashion landscape.

In a recent interview given to NYMag, Lemaire set the tone by declaring Phoebe Philo as the designer of the moment. He thus established that he prefers comfortable pieces that flatter and move well, ephemeral yet free of all temporal markers. Having passed his youth in uniform, he admits that he is not a fan of the kind of fashion that changes the must-haves every 6 months.

He also admits to being unimpressed (or even exasperated) by the eternal starting-over that takes place in those fashion houses considered key in the business. According to him, to change incessantly from "bohemian chic to rock & roll, from rock to bohemian chic then from hippie chic to punk chic" is somewhat superficial, completely out of sync with the spirit of rock that these designers pretend to claim as their own.

He is ironical about those hip, pseudo-rebel characters - those following the example of Olivier Zahm - who in their very "sex and drugs" are, themselves, in the end the biggest victims of the system. He sees magazines like Purple (directed by Olivier Zahm) as a big joke. Like a bullfighter planting his last pick, Lemaire declares that until the recent "Célinemania", fashionably dressed women all resembled high-priced prostitutes.

By positioning himself on the edge of the hype attitude bulimic for novelties, Lemaire seeks above all to carve his idea of style into stone, which should bear its fruits at Hermès. Rendezvous March 2011 to judge the results. Until then, a stopover in his boutique on rue de Poitou (Paris) for the neophytes to check out this singular man with a point of view as refreshing as it is prickly.