CITY Issue 58

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

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of CITY Issue 58

CITY Issue 58 Contents Have You Heard Our Friends Action Wanted City Moment The Amused Bouche Fast Food Temporary Contemporary In Rogue Diary Nicola Vassell Everard Findlay Milan Vukmirovic Lucas Ossendrijver When Fashion Met Architecture People: Person Behind Every Man... Eyeing the Room Mates Vagrant Saints Amplify Where to Buy It Icon

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