In conversation with two of the French label’s founders, Alexandre Elicha and Nicolas Dreyfus - by Sophie Goulopoulos
Synonymous with effortless French cool, it’s unsurprising The Kooples has earned the reputation of being the most coveted labels since its inception in 2008. During their visit to Australia to launch their exhibition titled ‘Latitudes, Attitudes’ in Melbourne, InStyle caught up with two of the French label’s founders, Alexandre Elicha and Nicolas Dreyfus to talk why they choose real people instead of models for their campaigns.
IS: Why do you think people have responded to your brand so well?
Nichols Dreyfus: The production process is very flexible and we catch new trends and new products all the time. We’ve always had a very high quality distribution and the best locations: we are always in the best locations and the most prestigious streets in the world. We pay a lot of attention to the details to the quality of the fabric as well.
Alexandre Elicha: I would say the last thing and one of the most important things is the district communication. Which is, we all will communicate a lot where we go in each country. We’ve always created for men and women, with both collections in the same store, in the same location, which worked very well in 2008. It was important to a branch to offer with two genders at the same time.
IS: How do you incorporate the concepts of masculinity and femininity into your designs?
AE: Since 2008 it’s really been about two collections. I mean, a men collection and a woman collection. Some women can take pieces from the men or the men can take from the women
ND: Our designers for both collections create all the time together but they don’t see each other every day. It’s interesting because at the end, and every season the two collections match perfectly together. It’ something very important to a brand that we don’t talk to each other every day we don’t work together very close but at the end, it’s perfectly matching.
IS: What similarities and differences can you see between Australian and French fashion?
ND: Now, the line between all the countries is a bit more blurred, and we’re looking more the same. People travel a lot, and with e-commerce, people are entranced by the same brands, the same spirit, because you can see every place I the world with just one computer.
IS: Why do you choose real people instead of models for your campaigns?
AE: We like real stories. We like real people. People feel bad sometimes when they see the pictures and think its only models. With real people and real couples, you can feel it in the picture because they are easier together, and you can feel there’s something happening between them.