louis-gabriel nouchi

spring-summer 2022

JUNe 28, 2021 — text CYRIL VINCHON interview mathias quinton photographs ben fourmi

version française ici

Louis-Gabriel Nouchi has made the comeback of runways with an unforgettable moment where emotions run high. His spring-summer 2022 collection is characterized by audacity and flouting the rules, especially when it comes to love: Unauthorized gives center stage to all those who embarked on a story that should never have been. Drawing his inspiration from one of the most famous French female authors, without naming her, the designer gives his unabashed, open-hearted definition of sensuality in Indochina. Louis-Gabriel Nouchi now includes (and gets away with it) pieces in his collection that flirt with eroticism and appear to be intended for wearing in the intimacy of your own home. But believing so would be to misjudge the designer, for whom every story has its share of astonishing twists to the plot. The pieces are of exceptional elegance, meaning that they can be worn not just in private or hidden under an outfit, but as the central feature of a look too. Undergarments are becoming overgarments, and are increasingly perceived as the key element in a figure. Added to that are new items such as the paper clip, a consumable from the publishing world ingeniously reworked to serve as a belt buckle, brooch, etc., or a collection of swimwear made of recycled nylon. The menacing gray sky of the runway echoed the hot and humid atmosphere emanating from this collection and if one thing is certain, it’s that more than ever now, the LGN house is digging its heels in and taking a stand to show the world that it’s blazing its own trail, far from the beaten track and away from preconceived ideas, to propose a fashion style that is simple, intelligent, unique and astoundingly effective. At the runway show, Sacrebleu! met the designer, who gave us a quick interpretation of what the spring-summer 2022 season will be from his standpoint.

Describe your new collection in three words.

Sensual, intellectual and rebellious.

How did this new collection come to be? What inspired you?

Inspired by a book that I cannot quote, the collection is an ode to sensuality, two people who love one another despite everything that sets them apart. In an Indochinese atmosphere, the Mekong crossing becomes a physical and sensual moment between that young woman and that Chinese man. The collection questions the bathrobe, an inside garment that becomes an outside one, the intimate and transgressive. The pattern for the collection, the marbled lining paper that you find inside book covers, evokes both water and the hidden intellectual side.

What message (if any) did you want to put across through this collection?

That you can be sexy without being vulgar.

What is the new flagship piece that stands out in this collection for you?

We have created a new burnout fabric jersey that is a perfect illustration of the idea of transparency, sensuality, and lingerie.

Is this collection part of your sustainable approach to fashion?

All the dyes are made using natural colorants such as coffee, beetroot and beechwood. We have also privileged the use of Bemberg™ (cupro), linen and fabric mixtures to reduce our environmental impact. We have banned fabrics developed in France (a first for us). Using laser engraving on denim and applying patterns by polishing enable us to create printed fabrics without using invasive chemical processes. Our buttons and labels are made of recycled plastic, and the hangtags are made of unbleached paper.