CITY Issue 58 - (Page 62) CITIZENS / LUCAS OSSENDRIJVER MAKING THE MAN A Dutchman with a team of international designers redefines French menswear at Lanvin By Tim Yap L anvin’s Lucas Ossendrijver is one of the most influential menswear designe s wo king today. Bo n in me sfoo t, The Nethe lands, Ossend ijve g aduated f om nhem Institute fo the ts with a Maste s in d aping fo m befo e moving to Pa is in . e wo king fo b ands such as Plein Sud, Kenzo, Kostas Mu kudis, and Dio Homme Classic, he joined Lanvin in . Since then, Ossend ijve has not only helped to defi ne quiet luxu y as the identity of the sto ied F ench house but also einvigo ated menswea with lightness and feeling. This fall, he su p ises us with his unde sized to ove sized fits based on the idea of boys g owing up too fast, as well as quilted satin dancing shoes and insect-like cuffl inks. In case you haven’t noticed, we’ e mo e than just a little hooked. ou’ e kind of an “it” boy in fashion ight now. How do you feel about that? It’s so t of accidental because I don’t eally feel that way. ou t y to do the best you can and you neve know whethe it pleases people o not. What was you initial eaction when Lanvin said they wanted to hi e you? I was ve y happy, but the thing is, to be honest, I app oached lbe because I hea d they we e looking fo someone and I eally liked his wo k. So I w ote a lette to him and got the whole thing olling. with new techniques. So you c eate classics but with a twist that a lot of people can identify with. It’s not about making Lanvin fashion; we’ e not t ying to be fashionable. We’ e t ying to make classics in a diffe ent way because I think people a e mo e inte ested in quality than befo e, and in luxu y. Do you feel menswea designe s can be mo e expe imental with design today o a e the e still ce tain codes you have to go by? I think it’s still est icted, but I see that as a challenge because it’s eally about millimete s, const uctions, and fab ic esea ch. ou have to be eally c eative about it and about fi nding an identity and language because it’s a difficult balance and because it’s easy to become a ca icatu e of you self and go too fa . How do you fo esee g owing Lanvin’s menswea ? The e a e a lot of possibilities because the e’s g owing demand. This season we int oduced jeans as a whole line so we did a double-b easted jacket in jeans, we did a shi t in jeans, pleated pants in jeans, eal jeans, t aine s and jeans, bow ties and jeans. It’s a need, actually — but at the same time the e is a eal sto y to it. How closely do you wo k with lbe ? How much of an emphasis is the e on making the women’s and men’s divisions cohe ent? Tell me about the men’s line. How do you defi ne it? He’s always the e but not the e. [Laughs.] No, it’s a ve y valuable elationship We t y to keep it ve y F ench, whateve that may be. It’s funny that as a small fo me because he’s like my mento . He gives me a lot of f eedom and we see team — an ust ian guy, a Chinese gi l, a Japanese guy, an English guy, and a each othe fo fittings. He has a diffe ent eye because he does womenswea . I Swedish guy, and I’m Dutch — we’ e all t ying to don’t feel the p essu e, actually, because it’s a ve y defi ne F ench elegance. It’s a way of d essing and natu al evolution and I think what we do fo the IT'S NOT ABOUT combining things. It’s a little bit accidental. men’s is diffe ent f om what we do fo the women’s. The e’s a ce tain nonchalance to it that makes it But at the same time it’s the same unive se. I think MAKING LANVIN ve y elegant. they go ve y well togethe . But we don’t t y to duFASHION; WE'RE plicate what lbe does fo womenswea . SomeNOT TRYING TO BE ou just showed Sp ing . How has it evolved times the e a e ce tain techniques o fab ics we do use, but menswea is always a diffe ent lanf om the fall collection? FASHIONABLE. I think we went back to the idea of laye ing. We guage to womenswea . WE'RE TRYING expe imented a lot with elastic and uching, oppoTO MAKE CLASSICS sites, diffe ent volumes c eated by those techWould you eve c oss ove to womenswea ? niques. In a sense it’s something ve y ai y, and has No, Not fo the moment — I am ve y happy with IN A DIFFERENT WAY a spo tswea element to it. Winte was a little bit the p oduct. BECAUSE I THINK mo e st ict. Could you eve imagine not designing? PEOPLE ARE MORE What’s the sec et to making Lanvin elevant to No. To be honest, I would be bo ed. It’s something INTERESTED IN that’s not just a p ofession but a passion. It’s someyounge gene ations? QUALITY THAN BEFORE, I think what we can do is take the he itage of Lanthing that I’ve always wanted to do. I even get vin and add the knowledge but t y to innovate bo ed on holidays. AND IN LUXURY. 62 CITY TY
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