Lyas, can you remember the first time that fashion gave you a thrill?
Oh yes, it was Jeremy Scott’s first collection for Moschino, the McDonald’s collection. I thought it was so clever to incorporate signs that everyone knew from popular culture into something that seemed so elitist. It was a new way to do luxury, and at the same time, it was a commentary on the pace of fashion. It turned this iconography into something beautiful. It was like pop art, drawing on Andy Warhol, it was so interesting. And I remember I didn’t know what to do of these images — I kept seeing them online, on Facebook and Tumblr, I loved it so much, but it was like, what can I do with it? I cannot wear it because I don’t have the money to buy that, and I would be considered as a freak at my high school. But I kept thinking about it and it made me want to be a part of this industry, to understand it better, to be somehow included in it.
And what about today? Do you still get that kind of a thrill now, or has your work in the fashion industry made you jaded?
You know, when I first arrived in the industry, when I started getting invited to shows and things like that, people told me, “Never lose that excitement.” So I made sure I kept it quite fresh. I just don’t look at things that just don’t stimulate me. I want to focus on what’s exciting for me. Right now, I can say that the last really exciting thing for me in fashion is Duran Lantink, the most recent collection he did before being appointed at Jean Paul Gaultier. It was so fresh. It was a bad taste turned into good taste, it should not be working, but somehow it did, and I think that’s how you can tell that something is relevant. I’m very excited about what he will do at Jean Paul Gautier, it’s the first time the ready-to-wear is going to be designed by anyone else than Jean Paul. So I really have high hopes for him, he’s a punk!
“For me, the purest form of emotions that I ever felt was in the intimacy of my room, when I was watching the shows and no one was here to tell me you should not cry…”
Recently you posted a video of your reaction watching the Schiaparelli show and you were so enchanted by it. It seems like despite being a critic of fashion at times, you’re still very much a fan at heart.
It’s pure emotion! I realized, as I was navigating the industry, that showing emotions was not something that was welcomed. With fashion you’re meant to have a resting bitch face. And I kind of never aligned with that. If I feel emotions, I want to show them! It’s also a direct feedback for everyone, and I think that’s good. I’m sure any designer would love the people to love the show, to clap if they want to. But everyone has this etiquette, and I hate that! For me, the purest form of emotions that I ever felt was in the intimacy of my room when I was watching the shows and no one was here to tell me you should not cry, you should not laugh, or you should not scream. So I really try to bring this back with the runway show watch parties that I’m doing. I want everyone to feel free to show their emotions, show how they feel.
They also get to react with their gut without worrying about if other people like it too.
Exactly, and I try to be guided by only instinct. That’s the best advice I could give anyone. It’s hard to follow your instinct, especially when there’s so much going on, something coming up, there’s always news that’s crazier than the last and something that catches your attention, so you kind of lose sense of what that instinct can be. But when you are in touch with that instinct, that I think that’s how the genius can come out of yourself.
Did it take you some time to realize that your instinct is good, to trust your own taste?
Whether it was right or not, I always thought that I had better taste than most people! Not everyone, but most people. (Laughs) I’m way more democratic in my approach now though, I believe that everyone you know is entitled to their opinion. I still think that it’s important to believe that your opinion is the only one that matters in your world. You’ve got to believe in yourself before anyone else does. I was always very delusional, I maybe even had a god complex!
Even though you didn’t study fashion in school, for example?
I’m going to use Paris as an allegory…. But the best people in Paris are the ones that don’t come from Paris. It’s the same in fashion! The people that make the best fashion don’t come from fashion. I like the idea that you’ve got to study everything but fashion in order to be a good fashion designer or commentator. It gives you a perspective.
I’ve noticed that you refer to yourself as a fashion commentator, not a fashion critic.
Well, I don’t really want to label myself. I always want to stay free from a title. But from day one, I didn’t want to call myself a journalist, because I did not study journalism. Even though one might argue that you can be a fashion designer without having studied design. But I call myself a commentator because what I’m doing is storytelling, it is commentating, it’s reportage.
I think it’s also more accessible, like people gravitate towards your voice on social media because you’re simply a lover of fashion, just like them.
Sure, I think it’s definitely plays a role in it, but I think they also might relate to the fact that I’m kind of an outsider while being an insider. I don’t fucking care. I don’t care. I don’t care! I will film what you don’t want me to film, I will show what you don’t want me to show. I know what the people want because I am one of them! I want to see Naomi Campbell’s backstage area at Burberry. I want to see the ashtray there and what did she smoke and how did she get ready in this private area backstage? I want to see that, and I know that other people do as well. I always trust the instinct of what I want to see. It all comes back to instinct.
“If I want to say something, I will always say it!”
An important point, I think, is that you have the knowledge to back up your instinct.
Well, I don’t think there’s a right way to do anything, actually. If people don’t have the same deep fashion knowledge and they still want to comment, go for it. Maybe they have their own point of view that comes from their education, and that’s also valuable. Even if you have no knowledge of fashion at all, it’s interesting. I think we should democratize that!
Do you ever feel like you have to tone down your takes or reign in those gut reactions now that you’re more of an insider in the industry?
Honestly, not really, no. If I want to say something, I will always say it!
I love that your candor also seems to translate to the people you collaborate with. In a recent video with Carine Roitfeld, for example, she shows a more playful side of herself than I’ve ever seen.
Yes, it’s the biggest compliment to make someone feel at ease and feel like they can be who they are. It’s really the best thing I could ever ask for, it’s amazing. When I did a video with Madonna, everyone in the comments told me we’ve never seen an interview like this, she’s never so nice and natural. This is the best compliment. I also never treat the people like they’re untouchable icons. I treat them as my friends, because eventually, that’s how I want them to see me.
Exactly — your behind-the-scenes video with Marc Jacobs at the Met Gala really felt like a fun hangout between friends.
Well, a very important thing that I always do is that I never film people the first time I meet them. I don’t worry because if you meet someone in fashion once, you’re going to meet them again. So I don’t think, “Oh, I’m going to lose the opportunity. Unless it’s Lady Gaga, who only comes out like every decade to a show, you’ll see them again and they’ll ease up the second time, and then we can start doing interviews if they want. I think that changes everything, because people don’t see you the media or this personified being. They see you as you, and it helps them to be themselves. This type of content is a way to open the fashion industry to a new audience, to an audience that a lot of the time feels excluded. I really want to open that up.