NYLON Magazine - September 2007 - (Page 72) FRENCH LIEUTENANTS Before he founded A.P.C., Jean Touitou spent seven years as a Trotskyist revolutionary. “Everything in fashion has seemed like a joke in comparison,” says the designer, who, after giving up the fight for social justice, completed stints at Kenzo and agnes b., and began fighting for the right kind of clothes instead. In 1987, Touitou started A.P.C., the “Atelier de Production et de Creation,” a name which neatly sums up the iconic brand: no glitz, no drama, no hysteria, just the creation and production of clothing. Touitou initially began with a menswear line of simple suits that took their cue from the functionality of military wear. He describes the brand’s early days as an era of “hardcore minimalism.” There was no campaign, no fashion show, no lookbook, and yet a cult following soon sprung up by word-of-mouth. Just one year after the label’s inception, so many women were borrowing their boyfriend’s A.P.C. jackets and shirts that Touitou realized a demand for smaller sizes necessitated a women’s line as well. By the early ’90s A.P.C. had become an international corporation with flagships in Paris, Tokyo, and New York. These days, Touitou is still putting forth a look that’s in keeping with his original ethos. “We’re going in the opposite direction of the industry with the ‘it bag’ craze,” he says. “I don’t hate beautiful bags but the game of who’s getting the next ‘it buckle’ is just ridiculous.” Sounds like that revolutionary spirit remains strong. ALEX BOHN WITH A NAME THAT’S AS COOL AND MYSTERIOUS AS THE GUYS AND GIRLS WHO CLAMOR FOR ITS MINIMALIST ESSENTIALS, A.P.C. HAS GARNERED A DEVOTED FANBASE OVER THE PAST 20 YEARS. spring ’07 T-shirt A.P.C. inspiration board Hannah, Berlin I’ve been hooked on A.P.C. since I first went to the Berlin store. I like the way everything looks so effortless, whether it’s a dress or a simple sweater, I feel sexy without feeling like I’m showing off. cult of SOLDIERING ON TWO DECADES OF MILESTONES FOR A.P.C. 1951 Jean Touitou is born in Tunisia. At the age of three, he moves to Paris with his parents, where he attends Alsacienne, a famous Left Bank private school whose alumni include Paloma Picasso. 1959 During his college years, Touitou joins a semi-secret political party and hopes to achieve worldwide revolution in a Trotskyist way. 1980 Touitou abandons the revolution and goes to work for agnes b. and Kenzo. 1987 A.P.C. is launched. The first collection is called HIVER 87 (winter ’87). It’s for men only. The women’s line debuts soon after. hannah photogrpahed by mirjam waehlen. still lifes courtesy of a.p.c.
For optimal viewing of this digital publication, please enable JavaScript and then refresh the page. If you would like to try to load the digital publication without using Flash Player detection, please click here.