ANTHONY VACCARELLO /BY/ BEHIND THE BLINDS

EXCLUSIVE ITW with ANTHONY VACCARELLO

BY

Anja Rubik, Caroline De Maigret, Julien Gallico, Luca Gadjus, Saif Mahdhi, Laetitia Crahay, David Alexander Flinn, Zahoua Raji, Saskia Lawaks, Emmanuel Tomasini, Barbara Martelo & Alastair McKimm.

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FASHION STORY

Anja : Who would you rather dress : Sharon Stone or Brigitte Bardot ?

A : Sharon, always...

Zahoua : What is THE recollection of our adolescence that inspires you in your work ?

A : When I customised your Quick T-shirt when we were 17, and you got yourself fired because of it.

Luca : How is your creative process or work ethic ? Structured, scheduled, stoic-like e.g. Thomas Mann, or rather unpredictable and characterised by phases of creative highs and lows ?

A : Every day , every hour , every minute I'm thinking of shoes, details, attitude, … It's quite awful sometimes, because it can overtake me while I’m having a completely different conversation with someone. But I can't help it.

What follows is never scheduled. I have a problem with that. Once I’ve thought all about a moment, the realisation of the concept is quite evident and fast. But it never turns out like I thought… Which is frustrating, but it helps to move on to the next one, and to always question things.

Caroline : Anthony, how do you define feminism, and do you consider yourself to be feminist ?

A : To me, being feminist today is to be free. To live for yourself and not for others. I believe to have done so since the beginning; the woman I dress is self-assured. Or at least I hope she is…

Julien : Who would be THE person to have reborn ?

A : Nobody. Once it’s over, it’s time to pass on to other things.

Saif : Who is the inspiration for the final dress worn by Anja during the S/S 2013 défilé ?

A : That’s you of course … #discomarrakesh... ;-)

Luca : What is your biggest fear, your worst nightmare ? Do you have any phobia ?

A : I’ve been a claustrophobic since I got stuck in an elevator in Casablanca five years ago. And I’m more and more afraid of taking a plane … I guess the more I take it, the more I risk having a crash … it’s just statistics. The older I grow, the more I’m scared of death.

Luca : Your collections are more than visual delights. How would you recognise someone wearing an Anthony Vaccarello piece in a darkroom ?

A : By touching her …

Barbara : How come your clothes are so sexy ?

A : That's a question you have to answer.

Laetitia : What is the best way for you to recover after the end of new collection ?

A : To spend time with friends and my family.

DAF : Where did you find Anthony ?

A : I found myself quite early I guess. At school in ’99, sketching on a wooden bench. It was there without knowing it could ever be a real job or business. It was just the desire to dress or undress a woman, which became reality in 2006.

Barbara : Sooner or later you will be offered to be the Creative Director of a Major Brand … Would you put your own brand on hold to pursue that project, or would you try to keep both, even with fashion’s demanding calendar today ?

A : Everything is possible, depending on how things come to be, and which house is asking. But only one can ask me to so. I believe it’s impossible to do two brands with the same enthusiasm and energy. It would drive me crazy knowing that one would always be less good than the other.

I don’t think it’s about moving energy towards something else. I could also stop fashion altogether and put my creative energy in another field than fashion. I don’t want to see fashion as a goal itself.

Emmanuel : When will boys finally have the opportunity to dress in AV ? I for one would really love to…

A : There are quite a few pieces for men in the collections… It’s merely a question of looking… You already have Amber Valetta’s bomber jacket ;-)

Saskia : What is the positive thought to makes you bounce back up when you are at the end of your strength ?

A : I rarely am at the end. And when I am, I fall… and think of nothing else. It’s quite rare.

Anja : Would you rather be Gianni Versace or do Gianni Versace ?

A : Being myself, having grown up with all Gianni Versace did in the 90´s.

Alastair : What is today's obsession ?

A : Change.

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