Meet Alphonse Maitrepierre, Burgeoning Paris fashion designer and Former Assistant to Jean Paul Gaultier

photo: Courtesy of Alphonse Maitrepierre

It's tough to trust that Alphonse Maitrepierre is barely 24 years old. His résumé reads like that of a more-dependent dressmaker, having labored as a stylist, assistant, and advisor within the studios of zits, Chanel, and Jean Paul Gaultier after graduating from La Cambre in 2016. He's additionally acted in a few independent French films and dabbled in costume design.

Maitrepierre launched his namesake label late final 12 months. His clothing are crafty—"somewhere," as he puts it, "between prêt-à-porter and couture." His Fall 2019 collection includes items like a gold satin bubble-hem skirt and extra-huge-leg pants, a marble-patterned fuzzy knit cropped jacket, and a blended-print uneven slip costume with mismatched bead straps, all of which have been impressed through the Beale ladies from gray Gardens. "I believe this film showed a extremely modern way of dressing, basically," Maitrepierre explains. "although they lived in isolation, far-off from the true world, the Beale girls would take all of their historical clothes and reuse them. they would proceed to restyle them and make whatever new, and that turned into very inspiring to me."

The concept of upcycling is vital to Maitrepierre; he works with discarded leather-based, silk, and lace from French luxury items properties. He also finds it crucial to collaborate with distinct artisans in Paris—sculptors for his quirky shoes and sunglasses, and printmakers and illustrators for his whimsical prints. Gaultier's leather-maker is assisting him with his geometric-shaped luggage.

inner his small Montmartre atelier, Maitrepierre will also be discovered hand-knitting pants or experimenting with substances like plastic and plexiglass. He's at the moment engaged on his Spring 2020 assortment, which he plans to reveal right through Paris fashion Week. "I did lots of analysis studying the archives of Balmain, Balenciaga, and Carven," Maitrepierre says. "in particular, I regarded to the 1940s and Nineteen Fifties, when the designers at these properties would drape at once on the mannequin." He provides, "I started to think about this type of technique and how we are able to practice it to our work today. I recognize the conception of construction and deconstruction, the manner that every little thing has stream or can be blended and matched."

Discussing his work, he notes, "there's always distinction. It's the push-pull of something very ancient school and old and something new, digital, and extremely modern. i really like when nothing is mounted."