NICOLAS GHESQUIÈRE: „I BELIEVE IN CREATING NEW FEELINGS“
Helena Todorova
Born in Comines, Northern France, but raised in the western part of the country, Nicolas Ghesquière at the age of 12 expressed his desire to be a designer. After about two years, he started his first internship with the French designer Agnes B, and his salary was "measured" in clothes, not in money. In the early 1990s, he became an assistant to the French designer Jean-Paul Gaultier. Over the years, he trained with various designers and fashion houses, including Jean-Paul Gaultier, to whom he became an assistant, the French company " Pôles " and the Italian fashion house " Callaghan ".
The talented Frenchman is starting to make his mark after being tapped to take over as creative director at Spanish fashion house Balenciaga as Joseph Thimister is fired. Ghesquière succeeds in enforcing the smart-casual style for women with glittery jackets paired with casual pants. In fact, thanks to Nicolas, " Balenciaga " rose again and managed to overcome the serious problems it faced. Despite successful projects and 15 years of working together, at the end of 2012, Nicolas Ghesquière and "Balenciaga" parted suddenly , due to disagreements.
A year later, Louis Vuitton announced that Ghesquière would take over as creative director, previously held by Marc Jacobs. In 2013, Balenciaga sued the French designer, claiming he breached the terms of their "breakup" agreement, as he said in an interview that he felt "sucked" by the Spanish brand. The two parties managed to reach an out-of-court settlement. The designer debuted his first collection at his new post for French fashion house Louis Vuitton in 2014.
"It's very difficult to do something new today," says Ghesquière , since much of his time at Louis Vuitton is spent thinking of new technically sophisticated ways to create beautiful things. “But I certainly believe in creating new feelings. Even if some things have existed before, it's not about how to make them fresh and new, but how to create a new emotion with them," he adds. It is the search for sensation, not the new in fashion, that makes his work fascinating and distinguishes him from other fashion designers.
Over the years, Nicolas Ghesquière has received honors including VH1's "2000 Designer of the Year" (Vogue Fashion Awards), "2001 International Womenswear Designer of the Year" by the Council of Fashion Designers of America, "Order of Art and literature", "Designer of the year 2008" of " Accessories Council Excellence Awards ", "International Designer of the Year 2014" at the British Fashion Awards, etc. In 2006, he was among the 100 most influential people of Time magazine.
Photos:
1. French designer Nicolas Ghesquière.
Photo: © Annie Powers / Courtesy of Louis Vuitton / https://tinyurl.com/2thyznn4
2. – 3. Outfits made by Nicolas Ghesquière for the Balenciaga fashion house .
Photo: © Rex Features / https://tinyurl.com/5dpt8r58
4. Outfits made by Nicolas Ghesquière for Balenciaga fashion house .
Photo: © Cavan Pawson / Evening Standard /REX/ Rex Features / https://tinyurl.com/5dpt8r58
5. Ghesquière 's debut collection for Louis Vuitton fashion house .
Photo: © Louis Vuitton / https://tinyurl.com/4srr5jaa
6. – 9 . Part of Nicolas Ghesquière 's 2024 Cruise collection for Louis Vuitton.
Photo: © Alessandro Lucioni / Gorunway.com / https://tinyurl.com/3bj799rb
9 . The creative director of fashion house "Louis Vuitton " - Nicolas Ghesquière.
Photo: © Alessandro Lucioni / Gorunway.com / https://tinyurl.com/3bj799rb
Sources:
- https://www.harpersbazaar.com/fashion/designers/a41081695/nicolas-ghesquiere-profile-september-2022/?fbclid=IwAR1JaNeB-bpQHzVnw1zeyWjoWvNwzOXqkWxDgOrZrhTJZco5-MBpTQ30Rao
- https://www.businessoffashion.com/community/people/nicolas-ghesquiere
- https://www.britannica.com/biography/Nicolas-Ghesquiere
- https://10magazine.com/is-nicolas-ghesquiere-starting-his-own-label/
Read: 1500 times © Fashion Lifestyle Magazine, issue 124, July 2023
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