"Wanting to be a girl was my first impression in life...People who don’t know me sometimes call me 'Mademoiselle'." --Olivier Theyskens in the TimesUK. Can someone give him a job? We miss his clothes.
Olivier Theyskens sat down with Into the Gloss to talk everything from designing for himself (as a cool girl), how he learned to accept his appearance as a teenager, and why he loves New York (Hint: manicurists!). Here are the best bits. On his design mentality: There’s been this shift in my mind that I basically…more and more put myself mentally in the place of girls. To imagine girls—would I like this if I was there? Would I want to dress like that? Would I like to wear that jacket? If I had that jacket, what pants would I really like to wear with it to look cool? That’s how I sort of evolved with designing. That’s maybe why—even the way I see my outfits even on the [Theyskens’ Theory] catwalk, they do not look like me as a designer, like I’m showing some impressive design. It’s more like me as I imagine I would like my clothes to be if I was a cool girl. [ed note: That explains the underwear] It’s very different from before, because it’s less seen from outside. It’s less that I look at the girl from outside, as a figure. It’s a mental shift, I think.
If it's hard for you to imagine Olivier Theyskens--he of the Victorian goth gown--designing for Theory, you're not the only one. But whether or not we get it, the former Rochas and Nina Ricci designer will be creating a capsule collection for the contemporary work wear brand, at least according to WWD. While it might be aesthetically confusing, the collaboration makes sense from a strategic point of view.
Full disclosure: not all of us chose to pull all-nighters watching the royal nuptials. Why? This morning, we were invited to the Cultural Services of the French Embassy for their first "Breakfast at 972" panel discussion. Their inaugural guest of honor was none other than Olivier Theyskens--Theory's Artistic Director, former designer at Rochas and Nina Ricci, and a longtime Fashionista favorite. After enjoying coffee and croissants in the main atrium of the gorgeous Fifth Avenue mansion, a small group of (insanely chic, primarily French) guests were ushered in for an intimate chat moderated by Charlotte Sarkozy and Timothée Verrecchia. Theyskens looked totally dapper in a slouchy white Bottega Veneta blazer and a pair of vintage, denim-like trousers he later told us he bought "because they reminded me of the pants the fish vendors at the Les Halles marketplace in Paris wear." Even for a designer with a famously romantic aesthetic, it seems like simplicity is key. Some of the morning's key points:
And with the end of the Fashion Epic, comes the news we all already knew: Olivier Theyskens has officially exited Nina Ricci, as of March 10th, to be