After graduation in 1980 he worked as a freelance designer for five years. His first attempt to penetrate the international market was made as one of a group of six graduates of Antwerp’s Royal Academy of Art. Soon, Margiela stood out as the leading light of the Belgian school. After the success of the Japanese designers in seventies, it was the Belgians who internationalized fashion design, promulgating their avant-garde vision around the world, revolting against the luxurious fashion world with garments of oversized proportions such as long arms, and with linings, seams and hems on the outside. The concept of deconstruction, also embraced by the aforementioned Rei Kawakubo, is important for the understanding of Martin Margiela’s fashion statement. Margiela famously redesigns by hand objects such as old wigs, canvases and silk scarves into couture garments.

Between 1985 and 1987 he worked for Jean Paul Gaultier, before showing his first collection under his own label, Maison Martin Margiela, in 1989. The same year, he is the first fellowship winner of ANDAM.

Between 1997 to 2003 he became, despite his non-traditional design, the creative director of the Hermès women’s line.

1999 is marked by the launch of a men’s collection called “10”, a mysterious title in keeping with the image of this celebrity with the unknown face.

Margiela’s brand is acquired by the Diesel brand in 2002 which helped its international development – with new boutiques in Tokyo, Paris, New York… – and the creation of complementary lines – 2005, men and women accessorie line, in 2007, sunglasses line, …-. The first Margiela fragrance “Untitled” is launched in collaboration with L’Oréal in 2010.

Martin Margiela introduced a new aesthetic that foreshadowed the trends of the nineties, shaking up the fashion system and redefining its principles of communication. His more-than-meets-the-eye ” approach was the opposite of the “show off” attitude of the previous decade. Starting from the premise of recycling old garments, he deconstructs them to restyle them: the outer fabric and the lining are separated to become vest and dress; a patchwork of old scarves forms a pareu to be worn over jeans transformed into skirts or painted white; a jumper is made out of army socks and dresses out of taped-together plastic slipcovers, all with an economy of means which evokes the deprivations of wartime and depression. Margiela dares to include in his collections copies of old clothes with their origin indicated on the label (a rare forthrightness in a profession in which many designers find their inspiration at the flea market but neglect to mention it). But his suits, jackets and coats also show his capacity to rethink a garment’s structure without any external references. He is also a proponent of the poetry of the unfinished. Art Press magazine quotes him as saying, “I love fashion when it is still in the sketch stage”.

Frédéric Molénac is a designer cum artist who works in spheres of expression ranging from fashion and haute couture through to design and plastic arts.

Graduated from the Studio Berçot, he worked in design studios, first for Claude Montana then for Jean-Paul Gaultier.

In 1987, he launched his own high-end women’s wear label. The same year, his cutting-edge collections won various awards including those from the French ministries of youth and sports and of culture.
The following year, he was named best young European designer in the Cartier Foundation awards.

Highly rated by the French and international press, thanks to his avant-garde touch, Molénac grabbed the attention of Maison Grès where he was appointed art director from 1995 to 1998.

From 2000 to 2002, he put together haute couture collections under his own name.

His interests are not confined to luxury and fashion, and thus he approaches his couture collections more in the spirit of an art designer than by applying constraints dictated by fashion. Molénac uses haute couture as a medium, on the same level as his sculptures and installations which he creates for a private customer base of collectors.

He has also been invited to take part in a wide range of design projects such as the interior design of new underground trains in Shanghai.

Today, he is unveiling OKOON, which bears the distinctive hallmark of his cutting techniques honed since 1987 in his luxury ready-to-wear collections.

For this former assistant of Thierry Mugler and Azzedine Alaïa, fashion design cannot be restricted to the narrow confines of designing clothes. From his education in art history and design at the Studio Berçot, Olivier Guillemin has retained a curiosity for all the diverse aspects of fashion. Since 1993 he has been president of the Comité de Couleur and a member of the Conseil des Métiers d’Art, heading a commission on innovation and contemporary creation.

He also works with industrial groups doing research on new textiles. In his ” Exemplarité ” line, launched in 1994, he experimented with new materials and colours. Functioning as a ” laboratory for industry “, it gave rise to a second bridge line.
Guillemin’s talents as an analyst and speaker have made him an ambassador of French fashion. His advice is sought by key players in luxury goods like Louis Vuitton (LVMH), textile labels like Woolmark, Courtaulds, Dupont de Nemours, Chargeurs and DMC, and cosmetics brands like L’Oreal and Shiseido. His talents as a stylist are much in demand among fashion labels, such as Claude Montana for the men’s line and Paco Rabanne for women’s ready-to-wear from 1991 to 1993. After much experience as a director of fashion shows, performances and exhibits, Olivier Guillemin founded his own company in 1989 after receiving an ANDAM fellowship. In partnership with a group of manufacturers, he launched his women’s ready-to-wear label.

The spaceship of Guillemin’s imagination explores an optimistic vision of fashion, navigating through a galaxy of colourful images where cartoon characters coexist peacefully with pompous personages decked out in ceremonial garb like so many icons from a Sci-Fi-Medieval fantasy. The titles of his collections light-heartedly recount, in polite and frivolous tones, sagas whose heroes, escapees from some dark corner, trip blithely through the most harrowing misadventures: ” Les Globules ” (” Corpuscles “) and ” Les Dents de la Mer ” (” Jaws “) date from 1986,” Voyage dans la Matière ” (” Journey to the Centre of the Material “) from 1994, and ” Expérience Rouge ” (” The Red Experience “) from 1995.
The designs are meant to be fun, with surprises and variable combinations.

Since 2001, he went into partnership with Olivier Védrine, architect, to set up (o,o) paris, an agency which influence sectors as diverse as interior design, fashion, textiles and beauty care and cleverly reinvetns the codes of luxury and tradition.

In the work of ” Mariot Chanet ” (derived from the names of the founders, Michèle Meunier and Olivier Chatenet), innovation never means extravagance, but rather elegance and understatement. Never succumbing to facile effects, these two former Studio Berçot students developed one of the most original styles of the nineteen-nineties.
Along the way, they acquired solid experience in the greatest fashion houses, giving them a broad and diversified point of view. Meunier first worked as a studio assistant at Chanel from 1981 to 1983. From 1983 to 1985 she was in charge of manufacturing for Commes Des Garçons, and then took over as director of the design office of Marithé and François Girbaud. Chatenet was an assistant at Azzedine Alaïa for one year before becoming licensing manager for Thierry Mugler.

Their designs put the emphasis on the natural body, enhancing it with clothes that do not hinder its evolvement in space. Well before the minimalist trend, their collections explored ranges of muted colours that heighten the purity of the silhouette. Certain designs can be transformed to modify their function. Many items created from a single piece of cloth are direct descendants of the primitive wrap.

The innovations tested in the first line, dating from 1987, found clever new applications in 1989 in the second line, ” Jersouille “, made up of small knit pieces with exclusive prints. The Mariot Chanet label continued to thrive into the nineties, supported by various financial partners as well as fellowships from ANDAM and the Ministry of Industry. Hermès asked the couple to work with its design studio on the house’s ready-to-wear lines. Then in 1997, following a divergence of opinion between the designers of Mariot Chanet and the holding company which financed it, company was dissolved.
In 1999, Michèle Meunier and Olivier Chatenet launched a new label called, quite simply, E2. More than just a fashion label, it is an original production and marketing concept which offers one-of-a-kind items and customised vintage clothes, such as antique kilts embroidered with sequins and silver leather.
In 2001, the house of Léonard named the Chatenets as their creative directors in 2001, an ideal choice in the light of their love and respect for prints and antique clothes.

In 2002, E2 participated with the biggest designers of the 20th century in the “Couturier Superstar” exhibition at the Paris Fashion Museum. Today, the couple continues to pursue the concept that made their reputation: designer pieces taken from the 1920s-1980s acquired through auctions or second hand shopping, transformed, studded or buttoned to make one-of-a-kind hand-made clothes.

Launched in 1987 by partners Hélène Nepomiatzi and Marc Gourmelen, this label had taken on the full meaning of its surrealistic name. 31 Février had come to be associated with an original style of accessories as well as the return to elegance of small, jewel-like evening handbags. The originality of their work also lies in the choice of materials and techniques which give the designs maximum effect with economical means.

Insulating felt from the construction industry or the fabric used in bedroom slippers is transformed into bags held shut by schoolbag clips, suspended from bicycle chain straps, or decorated with gilded bolts. Scraps from key cutting, sheathed in leather frames, are transformed into moucharabieh-patterned minaudière makeup bags. Half a coconut shell is carried as an exotic purse closed by a knotted madras handkerchief. The best-selling ” Viens Poupoule “, made of swan feathers, resembles a powder puff. Each design fits into a narrative theme: “Retour des Iles” (“Return to the Islands”) in 1992, “Grands Vins d’Origine” (“Great Vintage Wines”) for winter 1992, and “Ombre du Soleil” (“Shadow of the Sun”) for summer 1993.

As recipients of an ANDAM fellowship in 1990, they developed the “Soirs de Paris” collection, featuring birdcage bags in gilded metal as well as handcuff purses entitled “Descente de Police” (“Police Raid”).

The striking originality of 31 Février had won for its founders prestigious collaborations with Karl Lagerfeld, Thierry Mugler, Chloé, Dorothée Bis, Paco Rabanne, and Tiffany/New York.

In 1993 they opened their own shop, decorated in a French boudoir theme, and in 1996 they signed a licensing contract in Japan under the label 3+1 by 31 Février.

In 1998 they worked with Charles Jourdan on a line of shoes. Their ” Brooks ” design of open-toed evening shoes with metal chain fringe around the heels appeared in all the international fashion magazines at a time when the public’s rising interest in sophisticated accessories had made them a mainstay of the urban look.

The label 31 février stopped in 1998.
After being accessories designer for Céline, Nina Ricci and consultant for Balmain, Swarovski, Isabel Marant, Hélène Nepomiatzi launched her own handbags and accessories label in 2007.

When people mention the ” French touch* ” they could be talking about the style and attitude of Christophe Lemaire. This designer, who left the École Nationale Supérieure des Arts Décoratifs after a year of preparatory studies, loves to play guest DJ. His collections move to the rhythms and accents of disco and funk, mixed with African and Asian references that mingle happily with ideas borrowed from the traditional European wardrobe. The precision of the cuts evokes ” tailor-made ” quality.

He studied alongside some of fashion’s biggest names, learning from Christian Lacroix, Jean Patou, Yves Saint Laurent and Thierry Mugler. After spending four years at Christian Lacroix, Lemaire decided to spread his wings in the fashion world and in 1990 he launched his own label.

After a collaboration with Ramosport and Dorothée Bis, he submitted a brilliant proposal to ANDAM. The fellowship he received enabled him to create his own label and to show his first collection in 1990. In 1994, he was awarded the grand prix of the City of Paris for the men’s collection which he had just launched. The following year, ANDAM encouraged this development toward men’s fashion by granting him a second fellowship.

In 1999, with the backing of Japanese partners, Lemaire opened a new, more centrally located store on Rue de Sévigné, whose well-lit decor reflects his taste for Japanese culture.

In May 2001 Lemaire became creative director of heritage sportswear brand Lacoste. In ten years, he re-established the company’s position on the fashion map and was able to revive its classics, taking the original mark and mixing it with his pop-modern universe of ideas. In June 2001, under his direction, Lacoste staged its first catwalk show.

In 2007, Christophe Lemaire came back strong with his eponymous label. Inspired by the Japanese style of the 70’s, his label introduced light and flattering clothing for both men and women.

Since 2011, he is artistic director of the women RTW for the Hermes house.

Someone unversed in the ways of fashion would have trouble accepting that Jean Colonna comes from the world of haute couture. Indeed, his work seems to fly in the face of the conventional notions of luxury. Closer examination reveals that his style is in fact based on a subtle mix of couture and ready-to-wear. His label, launched in 1987, did not achieve widespread recognition until 1993, when the grunge phenomenon in fashion veered towards glamour.

Many are the designers who have learned a lesson in elegance from this former Chambre Syndicale de la Haute Couture student and ex-assistant in Pierre Balmain’s studio. Colonna sharpened his sense of the “right look” working as accessory designer for Thierry Mugler, Claude Montana and Jean-Paul Gaultier in the eighties, before undertaking in-depth work on image.

His first collections were presented in the form of catalogues, with visuals by photographers such as Bettina Rheims in 1987 and Stéphane Sednaoui in 1988. In 1993, he collaborated with La Redoute and le Printemps department store. In 1996 he signed an exclusive distribution licensing contract with Kashiyama and an accessories license with Muraï. In 1996, Jean Colonna signs a licence of exclusive distribution with Kashiyama of Japan. The following year, he arranged for Italian distribution with the firm of Gibo and the first Jean Colonna store opened in Tokyo.

In 2009, Morgan and Ramosport asked him to design limited editions.
In september 2009, Colonna comes back with his brand Jeancolonna and a new concept made of universal basics such as tee shirts and tops 100% silk, 100% cotton, …

Unlike many designers who dream of dressing “strangers in the street”, Jean Colonna embodies this desire in his principle: “You don’t sell elegance with the design… It’s a matter of balance between you and the garment.”

The name chosen by this former Esmod student for his label, ” José Lévy à Paris “, has everything to do with his style. Indeed, Lévy could only blossom as a designer in this capital of design, alive with childhood memories from the seventies and nostalgia for the fifties and the Paris captured by Robert Doisneau.
He presented his first collection for winter 1988-1989. Since then, the creative world of José Lévy has gained a following as a refreshing contrast to the traditional austerity of men’s clothing design.

At a time when everyone was wearing shoulder pads and the body-builder’s figure was the ideal, Lévy took men’s fashion in a new direction, infusing it with poetry and charm. Jose Levy was awarded ANDAM fellowship in 1991 and grand prix of the city of Paris in 1996 at a time when he was expanding his activities to include women’s fashion and accessories.

Within thirteen years, he has made his mark on the male fashion scene with his own label, José Lévy à Paris, and asserts himself as a one of a kind colorist as much as a sharp-eyed tailor. In the same breath, he collaborated with household names like Cacharel (1993-1994), Nina Ricci (1994-1996), Holland & Holland (1998-2001), Emanuel Ungaro (2004-2006), and design offices such as Mafia, Peciers or Nelly Rodi (1984 to 1990). Aiming to reach a larger audience, José Lévy also designed exclusive products for 3 Suisses, Woolmark, Japanese Jeans Group Edwin (1997-2000), Monoprix (1997-2002), La Redoute in 2003, , or André : a free spirit with an inquisitive, eclectic yet concentrated style.
Right from the early days of his career, he has also frequently lent his highly individual eye to collaborations with numerous artists -photographers and/or contemporary artists- like Jack Pierson, Gotscho, Nan Goldin, Parenno, Jean Pierre Khazem, The Kolkoz ; architects such as Xavier Gonzales, or musicians like Jay Jay Johanson and Benjamin Biolay-.

Since 2007, he dedicates himself fully to this crosswise creation in between plastic arts, design, scenography, interior design .

In January 2009, Emmanuel Perrotin’s Gallery exhibited “Oasis: Luconoctambul!” a personal show of his designs (furniture, luminaries…), participated to the group show “Carpet stories” at the ToolsGallery and was invited to the the scénography at Maxalto for DesignersDays . La Manufacture de Sèvres also exhibited a personal show “Mousse de Sèvres”, he designed MaPharmacie a pharmacy in Paris-Bastille.

The creation of jewellery is but one chapter in the history of the object that Hervé Van der Straeten has been writing since 1985, starting with furniture and interior design. This former student of the École Nationale des Beaux-Arts in Paris does more work in painting and sculpture than in fashion design.

Remaining aloof to the seasonal cycles and trends of the fashion world, he has created a distinctive style which is recognisable by its generous volumes, rich materials and evocations of a world inspired by Matisse and Cocteau. He is especially fond of natural materials like semiprecious stones, crystal and ceramic, sometimes working with hammered metal, antiqued brass or gilt bronze. This rich palette of warm, glimmering tones gives rise to spectacular, lavishly baroque shapes inspired by nature and mythology.
The list of couture houses and designer labels which have commissioned projects from him since 1985 is most impressive: Yves Saint Laurent, Thierry Mugler, Christian Lacroix, Karl Lagerfeld, Martine Sitbon, Pierre Balmain, Guy Paulin, Rifat Ozbek, Jean-Charles de Castelbajac, Sonia Rykiel, Chloé, Lanvin, Givenchy, Jean-Paul Gaultier, and many more.

Philippe Model gave him his first sales space in the Marché Saint Honoré shop, and the Hervé Van der Straeten label soon met with sensational success. At the same time, he continued to be very active in the theatre and cinema world. He took advantage of his 1991 ANDAM fellowship to further develop his fashion projects.
Starting in 1992, Van der Straeten branched out to interior design, working with prestigious houses such as Bernardaud, Saint Louis and Arthus Bertrand.
He has also created fragrance flacons for Nina Ricci, Dior and Lanvin.
The opening of a spacious store-workshop in 1999, functioning as both exhibition space and sales outlet, allows him to display all the different facets of his work in jewellery, decorative objects and furniture. Thematic exhibits have enabled guest artists like Thomas Boog, Olivier Gagnère and Jean-François Lesage to share this space.

At the height of the grunge movement, Véronique Leroy burst onto the fashion scene with a courageous goal: to relaunch the flashy elegance of the disco era in a return to structured designs that hark back to the designers of the seventies who exalted the Body Beautiful.

The style of this Belgian-born designer prefigured the ” glamour ” trend that emerged in the mid-nineties. Nothing is too stunning to express this vision of a ” fashion of the stars “. The materials conceal the body to heighten the suspense, clinging tight to accentuate suggestive curves punctuated by carefully placed anatomical cutouts. The exuberance of the forms is tempered by a dose of austerity in the palette of colours.

This rigor can be seen as a reflection of her background: after studies at the Institut Parisien de Modélisme and the Studio Berçot, she sharpened her sensibilities at that illustrious school of ultra-Parisian elegance, the one headed by the grand master of the cut, Azzedine Alaïa.

After working as a supervisor for Didier Renard in 1987, Véronique Leroy won the Canette d’Or in Brussels in 1989, and the Courtelle Prize in 1990. She then went to work for Martine Sitbon as a stylist-assistant, and started to create her own fashion designs. Her first fashion show took place in a nightclub in March 1991, and she won an ANDAM fellowship that same year and a second one in 1994. In 2005, Leroy opened her first own boutique in Paris.

Leroy has been consultant stylist for Maison Léonard during 8 years until October 2011 for the Spring/Summer 2012 collection.
Leroy is currently consultant stylist for the brand Mus still 2010.