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By Daniel Rodgers
“Yes,” say Charlotte Knowles and Alexandre Arsenault. The couple (in life and in business) has since called Airbnb unglamorous in New York. An inventory landscape hangs them on an MDF frame and the walls have been painted in a claustrophobic magnolia hue. Probably described as “cozy” on the rental site, the overall impression of the place is very different from that of the place where Knowles and Arsenault live in London: a slender terrace space where Danish sideboards are decorated with antique Opp Jihlava lamps and extravagant figures from the 70s.
“Our taste is very eclectic,” says Arsenault. Charlotte grew up watching MTV and I grew up in the steel scene in Montreal. So even though we’re obsessed with product design and haute couture finishes, everything we do exists between the junk character of the subculture and the junk character of pop culture. It’s a philosophy that fits well into Jean Paul Gaultier’s global philosophy. This is a designer who has spent decades challenging notions of elegant style with chorus bras and trompe-l’oeil torsos, and with whom Knwls has created a giant collection of 40 Pieces, which will be released this afternoon around the world.
Photo Harley Weir.
“JPG is the opposite of other houses from the 80s and 90s. She was loud and punk and didn’t care about fashion,” says Knowles. “Although haute couture pieces were, and still are, surprising and complex, they weren’t even thought of. “It’s vulgar and ‘oppressive. ‘ Arsenault says Knwls faced the same complaint when the logo emerged from Fashion East in 2019. “We were doing underwear and corsets and other people were saying, ‘This is not what we want. ‘. ‘ Like Gaultier, they did not perceive that we were seeking to create a new debate around women’s empowerment.
Even in Knowles’ college collection at Central Saint Martins, where she disassembled the push-up bra, Gaultier’s excessive dress technique has long shaped the brand’s philosophy, and comparisons between this piece and Gaultier’s subversive conical-breasted corsets are tangible. the concept of distorting your body to suit feminine concepts,” as Knowles says, a concept the couple revised for this collaboration with a minidress with spiral breasts that is tied to the side. “It’s about taking Gautier’s concepts and inscribing them in fresh forms. culture,” adds Arsenault.
A look at the Jean Paul Gaultier Knwls collaboration. Photo: Courtesy of Knwls.
“It’s lovely because there’s no sexual intent on the observer,” he says. Could this argument give more importance to the short crossed blouses, sinuous frames and bodices that adjust the waist that make up the rest of the collection?Critics would argue that this gaze (a type of supercharged femme fatale in the age of Instagram) reinforces the mechanisms it attempts to destabilize. But this is what forced clothing will look like in 2023: either purring and biting fangs. “It depends on how you feel in the frame and I’m going to take the lead on that,” Knowles said. “It’s an emotional response. “
But while the damaging cutouts and low-waisted pants reveal the hard angles of the woman they’ve chosen, the absence of full-bodied styles (with the imaginable exception of Alva Claire) is occasionally discovered in post-show conversations. Young brand, we are doing our best. Everything is so complex and user-friendly that it makes things confusing and expensive. 90% of the time, other people simply ask a well-known plus-size style to parade in a random outfit. But does she feel?” He may be the most common user in the world and his appearance will be terrible,” says Arsenault. “So, it has to be authentic. “
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Even in the most established houses, which have the financial resources to produce multiple samples, the number of curved models decreased by 24% last season. “I think rarely is the gun pointed at the wrong person. I would rather see Chopova Lowena “And Di Petsa do things right, than see someone stuck in the wrong length to tick boxes,” he adds. Knowles agrees. ” We check our tags on Instagram and many curvy women feel empowered in the brand, so I don’t think the visitor feels left out. We will do what we can,” he adds.
It is useful for designers to use the collaboration of Jean Paul Gaulter Knwls to expand their offering beyond groin-cut underwear. “In the beginning, it was about layering small pieces of fabric. But as I mature, I need my wardrobe to grow with me. I need trousers, knitwear and coats,” says Knowles. One of the most powerful proposals of this collaboration is a biker jacket with a manic cut with a pale pink down breaking between its seams; A more imposing silhouette that will continue in its Spring/Summer 2024 collection. “It looks like anything that can exist in the archives of Jean Paul Gaultier and Knwls. “
A look at the Jean Paul Gaultier Knwls collaboration. Photo: Courtesy of Knwls.
The same goes for Gaultier’s iconic sailor print, which has been embodied in faded checkers in tight minidresses, comfortable flared skirts and bare shoulder knitwear that looks like they’ve been damaged by a countercurrent. to things that might exist in our world, but we’re also looking to highlight those very vintage tropes to make them obvious,” Knowles says. Fashion enthusiasts will also recognize the tattoo ghost leotards, taken from Gaultier’s Spring/Summer 1994 collection, and redesigned with moaning snakes, crystalline love hearts and commercial barbed wire.
The preference for looking like a hot, tough it woman is ingrained in everyone who wears Knwls: like Bella Hadid, Rosalia and Kylie Jenner with their dissociative Kubrick looks. “We are very influenced by women on social media. Even Malia Obama bought anything on our site and I used it last week. I love that I’m Knwls’ daughter,” she says Knowles. Es strange to see other people buying clothes for themselves. It’s like, ‘Oh! Actually, are you a fan of the brand?That’s when Grimes commissioned pieces from us, which is wonderful because it’s rare for a celebrity to do that,” Arsenault adds. “He sends us messages. “
A look at the Jean Paul Gaultier Knwls collaboration. Photo: Courtesy of Knwls.
Mentions like that are the hard-earned good fortune for a logo that has taken all the obligatory steps to survive. No longer an emerging designer logo or family name, Knwls occupies a rare (and precarious) position in a hostile fashion landscape. “It’s a matter of survival,” says Arsenault. Brexit screwed young designers, then Covid and then Ukraine. Conglomerates took this opportunity to buy factories in an attempt to stifle competition, but we challenged ourselves to be more informed about business. Now we have to compete with logos bigger than ours.
Perhaps the highlight of those efforts is a hand-braided corset that took just under 12 months. It’s the saddest thing to see. ” It’s one of the most amazing pieces we’ve ever made,” says Knowles, holding an iPhone in front of the camera. I can’t express how satisfying it is to paint outdoors and without the restrictions of the industry. I felt like a student again. The piece is an hourglass like a bottle of Jean Paul Gaultier perfume, and its leather has been screen-printed to look like an eroded statue of grey vert. She looks like a forgotten piece of arcane, a once glamorous showgirl, returning to the spotlight.
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