{"id":19114,"date":"2015-01-26T12:54:15","date_gmt":"2015-01-26T11:54:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/?p=19114"},"modified":"2015-01-26T12:54:15","modified_gmt":"2015-01-26T11:54:15","slug":"jean-paul-lespagnard-studio-visit-interview","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/de\/article\/jean-paul-lespagnard-studio-visit-interview\/","title":{"rendered":"Participatory fashion: an interview with Jean-Paul Lespagnard"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"JP Photo by Tine Claerhout<\/p>\n

As Haute Couture Week kicks off in Paris, Brussels-based fashion designer Jean-Paul Lespagnard\u00a0 is polishing his next collection for the next Ready-To-Wear week in March. He\u2019s also presenting an exhibition \u201cTill we drop\u201d in Mons, European Capital of Culture in 2015. Warm, cheerful and down-to-earth, he talks to Sleek about his work and his ambition to create “participatory fashion”.\u00a0<\/p>\n

How did you start and end up in fashion?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Since I was a child, I wanted to be a fashion designer, so after a degree in Economics, I graduated in Visual Arts. Then I attended evening classes to learn fashion design. But I particularly learnt from the field. I went to the US and worked for Anna Sui, then for a Belgian designer, Annemie Verbeke, who specialized in knit design. And this path brought me to Festival de Hy\u00e8res. It was a validation from the fashion industry.<\/p>\n

Have you always wanted to create your own brand\u00a0?<\/strong><\/p>\n

I had and still have propositions, but my brand is my baby.<\/p>\n

\"JP Photo by Tine Claerhout<\/p>\n

You grew up in Belgium and have a Belgian degree. Why do you choose to stay away from Paris\u00a0?<\/strong><\/p>\n

I\u2019m always in Paris but the fact that I live in Brussels is important to me. I like the idea of being in Belgium and going to Paris, it allows me to stand back and see further. Aside from my fashion collections, I create theatre and dance costumes, or exhibitions. The city doesn’t pretend<\/em> that it’s something it’s not.<\/p>\n

Is that important for you to have different creative processes\u00a0?<\/strong><\/p>\n

It\u2019s very important because they feed one another. My fashion is nourished by my additional projects. I\u2019ve always said that I run a creative studio where you can come with different projects and the core of the studio is fashion. When I say fashion, I mean lifestyle. It\u2019s not only clothes, it\u2019s food, music, performing arts, or just the way you do things.<\/p>\n

Is that why your shows never look like traditional runway shows\u00a0? The last one was a butcher shop!<\/strong><\/p>\n

I want participatory fashion! Going through a show, sitting on a chair and looking at girls passing by, that\u2019s not how I see fashion, and it\u2019s not what gets me excited. When you work on a collection, you use different ingredients, you transform them in your own way to create a line: it can be like a dish you cook.<\/p>\n

I like eating meat but I never realized what happens to it before it arrives in my plate. Therefore, I met a famous butcher in Brussels who shows me how to cut the meat, how to serve it\u2026 We made the connection with the collection, so used cotton that we pierced, laminated, printed and served, like we serve meat.<\/p>\n

\"\" Jean-Paul Lespagnard studio. Photo by Tine Claerhout<\/p>\n

So, bringing irony into this business is difficult\u00a0?<\/strong><\/p>\n

I do it naturally. We don\u2019t get results that can shock people. It is a difficult industry that doesn\u2019t want to be shaken up, but we are subtle. I didn\u2019t come with a white bloody apron. I don’t do this job to shock and provoke but to offer and talk about something else.<\/p>\n

Do you think fashion becomes more about the image than the clothes\u00a0?<\/strong><\/p>\n

I see what you mean – a lot of people think that. I see fashion like a lifestyle, as a way to express myself. When I create a collection, I make clothes than can be sold. But the way you present them can tell a lot about their true nature.<\/p>\n

You\u2019ve created a bag for Eastpak. Are you planning another collaboration\u00a0?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Yes, when a brand approaches me to offer a collaboration that suits me and the language that my studio wants to develop. Very surprisingly, I started a collaboration with Jaguar. I\u2019m becoming their brand ambassador for a new car! They want to focus on the new and younger businessmen. They wanted a creative entrepreneur that can represent this car. I cannot say much, but it\u2019s much more than sticking a print from my collection on the car…<\/p>\n

\"\" Jean-Paul Lespagnard studio. Photo by Tine Claerhout<\/p>\n

Have you thought about menswear\u00a0?<\/strong><\/p>\n

My collection is a womenswear line, with pieces that come from menswear. I don\u2019t present them like that but men can wear them. For example, a lot of men buy my trousers. I will get into it when I will have time.<\/p>\n

Your range of consumers is very wide\u2026<\/strong><\/p>\n

It\u2019s very true. We dress 20-something girls like 60-something women, without any problem. A large range of customers can wear every piece. When I see people waiting in front of my shows, I don\u2019t see a mass of people that can be my clones. I see people that claim ownership of the clothes but I still see people. I don\u2019t cover up their personality.<\/p>\n

What do you enjoy most\u00a0about the job ?<\/strong><\/p>\n

The interdisciplinary approach. I never do the same thing twice. The creative side when you imagine a collection but also the commercial side. I\u2019ve always been interested in pop art or neo pop, where you talk about visual arts but also how you communicate about your work and the way you sell it. Fashion is a good connection.\u00a0<\/p>\n

What is your next project?<\/strong><\/p>\n

<\/strong>My show. But I won\u2019t say a word!\u00a0<\/p>\n\n

Interview by\u00a0Aurore Hennion<\/strong><\/p>\n

Menwswear\u2019s Long-lasting Hero<\/a>: read our interview with\u00a0James Long<\/a>\u00a0von\u00a0Sleek 44<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

Check out our exclusive studio visit with Henrik Vibskov<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

Mehr erfahren\u00a0fashion<\/a><\/strong><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Photo by Tine Claerhout As Haute Couture Week kicks off in Paris, Brussels-based fashion designer Jean-Paul Lespagnard\u00a0 is polishing his next collection for the next Ready-To-Wear week in March. He\u2019s also presenting an exhibition \u201cTill we drop\u201d in Mons, European Capital of Culture in 2015. Warm, cheerful and down-to-earth, he talks to Sleek about his…<\/p>","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":19115,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_kad_post_transparent":"","_kad_post_title":"","_kad_post_layout":"","_kad_post_sidebar_id":"","_kad_post_content_style":"","_kad_post_vertical_padding":"","_kad_post_feature":"","_kad_post_feature_position":"","_kad_post_header":false,"_kad_post_footer":false,"_kad_post_classname":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[2129,2130,2131,21,2132,13,2133,2134,37,2135,1165],"class_list":["post-19114","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-anna-sui","tag-annemie-verbeke","tag-aurore-hennion","tag-fashion","tag-festival-de-hyeres","tag-interview","tag-jean-paul-lespagnard","tag-knit","tag-studio-visit","tag-tine-claerhout","tag-womenswear"],"acf":{"main_category":null,"legacy":"1","exclude_from_ads":null,"hero_title":null,"subtitle":null,"hero":null,"teasers":null,"facebook_image":null,"related_articles":null,"next_article":null,"sleek_card_focus":null,"content":null},"yoast_head":"\nParticipatory fashion: an interview with Jean-Paul Lespagnard Participatory fashion: an interview with Jean-Paul Lespagnard<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/de\/article\/jean-paul-lespagnard-studio-visit-interview\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"de_DE\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Participatory fashion: an interview with Jean-Paul Lespagnard Participatory fashion: an interview with Jean-Paul Lespagnard\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Photo by Tine Claerhout As Haute Couture Week kicks off in Paris, Brussels-based fashion designer Jean-Paul Lespagnard\u00a0 is polishing his next collection for the next Ready-To-Wear week in March. 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