Paris Fashion Week: Lucien Pellat-Finet, 71, holds debut show blending sport and casual luxury
As the Paris Men's Fashion Week opened on Wednesday, French designer Lucien Pellat-Finet has brought together buyers, friends and the media for his very first runway show at his rue d'Aboukir headquarters in the French capital. "This is my debut, at 71 years of age! Like Coco Chanel, when she started again," said a visibly emotional Lucien Pellat-Finet at the end of the show.
The designer founded his own eponymous fashion label in 1994 at the age of 49, having worked as freelance stylist for labels such as Thierry Mugler and Chanel. His idea was to offer a fresh new take on cashmere.
His Autumn/Winter 2017-18 men's and women's collections are resolutely youthful and contemporary, featuring luxury pyjama suits, glittery silk sport jackets, black cashmere tracksuit bottoms with a silver stripe and ultra-soft, knitted zipped hoodies.
Not to mention the pop knitwear tee-shirts featuring provocative slogans such as 'Baise-moi', 'Fuck' or 'Enjoy Ganja'.
"Nowadays sports apparel is everywhere. As I have been making it for 23 years, I introduced in this collection quite a lot of vintage items of mine," said Pellat-Finé.
Among them, mock-Adidas knitwear or trousers featured, instead of the renowned trefoil, a line of cannabis leaves, one of Lucien Pellat-Finet's signature motifs, like the death's head. The designs were jointly created with artist John Matous and graffiti artist Crash, and they include characters from 'Minions', energising a classic sweater with an spirited pop vibe.
"This collection is a tribute to freedom. I drew inspiration from Los Angeles as I knew it in the 1990s. It is a blend of different genres, expressing California’s typical laid-back attitude. You can wear ultra chic items together with tracksuit bottoms. Or get up in the morning and slip on whatever is on hand, but all of it is absolutely lavish," said the blue-eyed designer, a great knitwear specialist.
The collection features fabrics such as cashmere, alpaca and silk, as well as a new type of velvet, threaded with lurex and some ultra-warm fleece. All garments are manufactured in France, Italy, Scotland or Japan.
'The king of cashmere', as the designer is nicknamed, operates a monobrand store in Paris at 231, rue Saint-Honoré, and claims nearly 150 multi-brand clients, chiefly in Japan, the USA and Asia.
Copyright © 2023 FashionNetwork.com All rights reserved.
