SPOTLIGHT ON: MANON PLANCHE
Describe your collection in 3 words Daring, sporty, flashy.
Where do you draw your inspirations from? This collection was inspired by drag racing cars and their bold and eclectic drivers. Protective wear and car interiors informed new and exciting 3D textiles for outerwear pieces with details borrowed from sportswear. Prints and metallic surfaces reference the paint job of the cars and their complex construction is reflected through pattern cutting – all pieces are squared off and pleated to follow and transform the body.
What’s the most exciting thing about being a designer right now? I think that as a designer, it’s always how we challenge an accepted idea of beauty that is the most interesting. Whether it’s about a type of pattern that people thought was tacky or an accessory that couldn’t be worn in a specific context or ideas about our bodies and how we should look, what we should wear. It’s challenging these ideas everyday that’s the most interesting part of being a designer to me.
Do you think fashion is heading for a more sustainable future? I think fashion HAS to be heading for a more sustainable future because all things have to nowadays, if we want our dear planet to last. And the fashion industry, as we all know, is far from being the greenest. Also, most of what we call fashion today is superfluous, so if it’s not green, all of the things we love about it, the fun, the creativity, the shows, the glamour, it’s all bound to disappear. Not to mention working conditions in factories… As a young designer, I wish to have a label that creates as little waste as possible and only work with factories that have good working environments. I really wish we would stop mass-producing clothes because it’s not green and feels out-dated nowadays; the mass-produced garments become uniforms instead of enabling us to express ourselves. I believe most young designers and graduates today are very aware of these issues and intend to help change the fashion industry towards a greener, brighter, craftier and more sustainable future.
Why does fashion matter to you? Fashion allows me to combine all the things I love and make it my job. I don’t think I could do anything else with my life, even on the days when I hate it, I still know that I wouldn’t want to do anything else. It’s hard to explain why, I also have days when I doubt myself and think I should have used my brain cells for something more important. But somehow, I think fashion is important, in it’s own way, even if it’s not a life or death matter. If nothing else, I think it makes people happy, dressing is one of the very first things one does, every single day; that must count for something.
How did you know you wanted to be a designer? I can’t remember when I decided I wanted to be a designer; I was probably born that way. When you know, you know. ;-)
Which designers are exciting to you right now? Richard Malone, Molly Goddard
