Louis Gabriel Nouchi’s affinity for books and storytelling is ever present in his sublime sartorial collections. His Spring/Summer 2022 collection tells the provocative tale of a young girl and an older man, set in French Indochina. “It's essentially how you dress post-coitus: indoor/outdoor pyjamas with a sensual fluidity to every garment,” explains Nouchi. His previous Autumn/Winter 2021 line was inspired by Franz Kafka’s posthumous dystopian novel 'The Trial', in which the protagonist wakes up one morning to find himself inexplicably arrested and subjected to the rigours of justice. Reflecting the book’s mood, the clothes have a darker palette marked by oversized trench coats, distressed tops and heavy wool separates.
It turns out that starting the design process with a book is something that's not just natural to Nouchi, it's also personal. “For me, it’s a thing I do at home, in comfortable garments, which is coincidentally highly appropriate because homewear and loungewear are becoming top sellers for the brand.” As such, relaxed, fluid and easy to wear pieces can be found throughout the SS22 collection, which was, as Nouchi admits, designed for the boudoir as much as the avenue. Yet, there's a complexity to his work that belies any overarching louche tendencies but it's the cultivated effortlessness that has allowed his clothes to appeal to both men and women. "Even if I say the brand is gender fluid and 50 per cent of our customers are female, I'm still doing menswear and conceiving everything with a focus on men – both in terms of fabrics and patterns. I think it’s important but not necessarily determinant. At the end of the day, people do what they want, and I enjoy seeing how the outcome can be completely different from what I had intended. I like giving people possibilities. For example, we do a lot of nude colours for men, but that's generally a womenswear code. Regardless, it's an option I want to put out there so that men can then choose if they want to wear it or not.”
Like his clothes, Nouchi's path into fashion was far from typical. Having graduated from high school at an earlier age than most meant he had the time to try his hand at both law and medicine before he eventually followed his heart and entered the prestigious ENSAV La Cambre (L'École Nationale Supérieure des Arts Visuels) in Brussels. "I always wanted to pursue a career in fashion but I wanted to be completely sure before I gave it my all, as it’s a complicated choice, especially when you don’t have the background or even a family who's into the arts. There are lots of stereotypes regarding our profession.” His first job? That was at Vogue Paris, but it didn't take long before he was off the bench and swinging for the bleachers at Raf Simons. Yet, Nouchi's assuredness in his vision along with his contemporary take on cut and silhouette ended up earning him a place at the Hyères Festival in 2014, where he was awarded the Camper and Palais de Tokyo prizes. And finally, in 2017 Nouchi branched out on his own.
Since then, he has been quietly plotting a wordly path that has seen him collaborate with Joeone (a huge Chinese brand that’s largely unknown in the West), Galeries Lafayette, La Redoute, and most recently the honoured heritage French luxury accessories brand, Agnelle, all while maintaining a high regard for ethics and sustainability. “Having a good supply chain with a well-considered approach to waste and sustainability is key for me and my team. It’s a ladder of innovation for us, not a marketing tool. For instance, we use a lot of viscose instead of cotton because it consumes less. Also, natural dyes work well with our soft palette, so we play a lot with that too. Likewise, using laser for denim, or headstock from our suppliers is part of our creative process.”
Nouchi cites fashion luminaries like Yohji Yamamoto, Helmut Lang and Tom Ford as his heroes but says he's determined to design in his own unique way, for customers who seek comfortable clothes with a designer twist. “The LGN customer – whether a man or a woman – is confident and sensual,” he explains. “Clothes are a way to express their taste for art. They're sexy and intellectual. The brand is very much about working on a fantasy of those stereotypes that we apply to people. The ‘Clark Kent’ effect that no one is fooled.”
