Guilty Brotherhood is today’s answer to the identikit luxury fashion scene. It is seemingly blurring the line between high-end old school and stifled couture with a much needed injection of contemporary elegance coupled with a rock star attitude to boot. This is a luxury street wear brand that has evolved into the higher echelons of converging urban culture with a sophisticated and decadent edge.
The chief mantra of the Parisian designers behind Guilty Brotherhood is to create a contemporary angle to the luxury end of branded clothing. This contradiction of sorts is embedded within their ready-to-wear collection, the entirety of which is hand-made.
It hasn’t been too long since its inception. Guilty Brotherhood is a two-year-old label. The brand’s pair of young French designers remains intent on developing a dual crossover between an urban edginess and luxury. One of the founders, Kevork Kiledjian, struck a chord with his creative designs that has resonated well beyond the confines of his own homeland. One such convert was young Lebanese industrialist and entrepreneur, Rami Makhzoumi, who bought into the business two years ago. Following lengthy discussions between the partners, a framework was soon established that would govern both the creative and commercial direction of the company.
I met with both sides of the business so as to get the best perspective of where the brand is headed. Appropriately enough, a sandstorm swept through Dubai, as I encountered Makhzoumi. He was a character that epitomises the spirit of risk taking, attempting to organise the company’s resources in new and more valuable ways while accepting full responsibility for the outcome. “It’s about the passion and desire, finding a niche and diversifying your business model, to build up the brand value, which on its own, is a major force. But this collaboration has provided a launch pad to take Guilty Brotherhood to where collectively our sights are met and set.” Makhzoumi brings the business development aspect, and further capital injection into the brand to encompass a shared vision of expansion, with plans underway to open a flagship store in Paris.
There are already Guilty Brotherhood showrooms in both Paris and New York, and currently the main headquarters are located in Los Angeles. But the move to establish the flagship store in the world’s luxury capital is a significant move that plays on the nationality of the founders. In this manner the company will gain an effective identity through which the owners hope to attract larger numbers of clientele looking to embrace a more daring look from a high concept luxury brand. Success beckons.
Makhzoumi explains how he immediately knew he had found a collaborative diversification after meeting with the creative design team in Los Angeles. The dye was cast with the synergising of the design aspect with the commercial vision. The business platform too was set, successfully creating the path on which milestones are being reached even in these troubled times. “We decided to take things to extremes and offer diversity through radical shapes, high quality fabrics and ingenious constructions,” creative head, Kiledjian explains. What we have presented is a collection reflective of today’s modern, romantic woman. Yet, a woman infused with a sense of provocation, armed with a luxury contemporary urban style. And surprisingly it doesn’t fail on any front - this collection has bared its teeth.
Kiledjian, founder and designer of Guilty Brotherhood further explains the concept and inspiration for the first collection. “I wanted, with this first collection, to pay tribute to four cities which are part of my life and particularly dear to my heart: Paris, New York, Tokyo and Los Angeles. My intention was to set and offer, to the Guilty Brotherhood woman, a worldwide playground through a cosmopolitan and ‘militant’ wardrobe. My collections reflect my vision of a sensual and insolent woman who is in control of her life and style.”
Yet with the rise of so many fashion labels today, just how does Guilty Brotherhood measure? Kiledjian responds saying that the reasoning of the brand is to fight against banality in design. If they continued to provide a new edge to luxury clothing, then he believes they will stay on top. “Guilty Brotherhood collections are radical, with a theatrical contemporary style and an avant-garde dimension. We are conscious of the world we are in and the pursuit of its protagonists,” he adds. Kiledjian is eager to exploit the world’s talents too, fully aware of the fact that there exist many gifted artists that have yet to be discovered. However there are some, he says, “Who transcend human condition through their art.”
With such an ultra-modern outlook on fashion, their target market was defined long ago. Their desire is to create a glamorous look for women and an avant-gardist look for men. Kiledjian explains, “Guilty Brotherhood regards the notion of ‘beauty’ as sacred while conjuring images of a conquering man and woman of the 21st century, which controls their looks and their lives.” So far this sense of rebellion in the brand has been extremely well-received, the world over.
Ok, so after the essence of their style was established, one may ask just how collaborative their creative process unfolds. Kiledjian divulges: “When I draw my collections I am very productive and draw an astronomical number of sketches. As you can imagine, not all of them will come to life. Before starting the realisation process, I consult with few people, who are very close to me and discuss with them, which pieces will be part of the next collection and of eventual modifications.
However, even though a team of advisors is on call, all the designs begin with one core vision, which Kiledjian heads. “Ideas grow day after day in my mind to finally materialise, first in sketches, then, after a meticulous choice of fabric, in collection with the talented work of our studio.”
To completely recognise the value of the style of Guilty Brotherhood however, you have to see the collection yourself – a collection categorised by the four cities mentioned earlier. The spring/summer 2009 collection for starters, has a basic colour concept of black and white. The line-up targeted at women, includes sleek lines, with everything from daywear to nightwear, to chic casual wear. In the air, a sense of ‘naughty debutante’ and insolence that encapsulates the embodiment of Guilty Brotherhood as a lifestyle brand. This collection is not a wallflower or a shrinking violet, placid tonal one. The leather collection is one to turn heads. Best described, the pieces stand out as the mainstay of audacious luxury in the Parisian-inspired designs.
Now over the transatlantic we head to New York. The style in this line is rebellious chic, met with razor sharp lines that complement the contours of its wearer. The hemlines are in killer black silk or in slashed satin cuts. The merging of luxury with the urban style in perfect synchronicity is evident. Even the classic black cocktail dress hasn’t just had a make over - it’s been invigorated – made for a bolder, more audacious, passionate woman. And as if that remake wasn’t enough, take the two-piece superfine merino wool suits in stunning white. It’s definitely a look that boardrooms and meetings desperately require, but is just at appropriate in any cosmopolitan setting.
The casual collection of New York upon first look is very ‘underground.’ Yet take a closer look, and once again, it’s that blurring of lines that throws a touch of Paris into melee. Cross country now, we head to Los Angeles that exhibits a slightly subtle, relaxed tone, or so you think. It’s the dash of colours added to simple fashion items that make the difference. Take a mundane black dress with a splash of yellow, or a white shirt topped with a yellow leather skirt - this is really what LA is all about. And so proving that Guilty Brotherhood has the pulse of the scene it has set itself.
Now across the Pacific to Tokyo. If you thought the grunge doll look was what Tokyo is about - this collection will soon put that to rights. This is the real Tokyo collection, with the plunged neckline evening dresses either in silk or leather. This line-up brings to mind one thing - Japanese luxury collections of the 1930s rebooted to this millennium with an added melding of Paris.
The key stroke of the upcoming spring/summer collection is the merger of styles across the major design capitals of the world, namely Paris, New York, Los Angeles and Tokyo. The secret lies in the construction of the design team’s vision, to produce a wardrobe for today’s daring lot. It doesn’t just aim at the apparent fragility of the female form, or the classical simplicity of menswear, but it provides a form of expression where others have merely provided a form of uniform.
