Diane Gaignoux on humanising the fashion industry

How was life after graduation? What did you do?

Straight after graduation, I came back to my hometown in Normandy. It is called Le Havre and it is by the sea. I was very tired of London and big cities in general, maybe because of the stress of the diploma as well. I didn’t see myself staying in London, struggling to get a job to pay for a studio space just so I could continuing making creative things. I also felt the need to do other things outside fashion. Being at Le Havre helped me find the time and space to try things, which made me happy. I now have my studio space in there and I split my time between Le Havre and Paris.

“If I did work for another brand straight after school, I wouldn’t be able to find the strength, the energy, or even the desire to go back to making things on my own.” – Diane Gaignoux

How did you decide to keep developing your own work instead of working for another brand?

I have always been interested in the garment as a medium, as well as other types of art and techniques. I didn’t want to focus on clothing only, and especially on the commercial part of it. I thought that if I did work for another brand straight after school, I wouldn’t be able to find the strength, the energy, or even the desire to go back to making things on my own. I was scared of getting comfortable in a stable situation.

Was it a difficult decision?

I think that it was obvious to me, even if I didn’t know what I was going to do. I guess it was difficult in the way that I had to find my own purpose. Knowing what you want to do and what you can bring is quite challenging and not always easy. Also, you have to be the one reassuring yourself.

What is your work about? What are the main values of your brand?

My work focuses generally on the idea of the body as a vessel. I tend to explore the idea of the body as a “container” of projects and mediums such as garments, sculptures, or performances.

« Enveloppes Imaginaires » is a collection of sculpted bodies waiting to be inhabited. I am interested in the history of clothing as a medium that shapes our bodies and the way we look at them. The irregular shapes and the fierce colours echo the women of Niki de Saint-Phalle, as well as the big-shouldered suits of the sculpted ladies from the 80s and 90s. I am interested in the idea of bricolage and spontaneous making, which leads me to techniques that are closed to sculpture. The main pieces of the collection are made of felt. This material is like skin. It models and shapes itself. To me, garments are roles and dressing is a performance! Every look is a character. It is time to dress up, to embody another self! The colours blend into each other and participate in this idea of transformation. The joker monster motifs that run on the fluffs of the outfits are the multiple protagonists that inhabit us.

“The textile is the denominator of its own form and I have to adapt to what has been created as I can’t change its shape anymore. ” – Diane Gaignoux

Can you talk us through your process?

The concept of the collection is linked to the employed technique. The felting process is in itself a practice of sculpting. The clothes are seamless, made as one piece. The making of these pieces goes through several stages that attempt to control and direct the living material: the patterns are prepared at a scale x 1,52, which is the shrinkage coefficient of the cloth. The shape is then preconceived in wool fibres, assembled with a needle felting machine. Each motif is drawn in ink and converted into a machine knitted pattern. Later, the colours are hand-painted. After several days of drying, the garment is put in the washing machine. At this stage, the material reveals its own shape. The textile is the denominator of its own form and I have to adapt to what has been created as I can’t change its shape anymore. The pieces are then polished with soap and finally brushed. The shoes are upcycled, found vintage, and then transformed with silicone. The jewelry is made by using plastic clay and Swarovski crystals.

How important is the notion of craft and the concept of the handmade for you? 

This is the core of my practice. I am trying to highlight the spontaneous process of bricolage where the mistake is part of the development. Each of my materials reveals the irregularities of a manual process. I am interested in developing my own materials, conceiving the garment from its fibre to its shape. I am attracted to materials that respond to a hand’s touch. I am working with a living material that defines itself while felting, regardless of the previous attempts to control it. I like having to adapt to the fabric. This process engages the body, firstly by the size of the preconceived object and secondly by the shaping work requested by the material. To me, this revisited felting technique is an encounter, a play with the material.

What are the biggest hardships in running your brand?

Finding your position and creating the system that suit you. For example, I am not interested in following the seasonal pattern, neither getting into a narrative of large production. Every collection is a project to me and it should happen when it makes sense. This collection is the first one I worked on after graduation. Also, to me, it is quite hard to find a good balance between making sellable pieces and working on new and different creative projects which can take the form of clothing, sculptures, or performances.

Is the thought of creating more commercial work something that creates pressure for you?

It does in some ways. I am interested in conceiving clothes that people would be happy to wear and feel good in. At the same time, I want to continue experimenting and telling stories through my pieces. I am interested in pushing further the material and textile work which usually leads me to more sculptural work. I know it is compatible, again, it is about finding a good balance I guess.

“I thought that all the most creative fashion was in London. I guess it is something that we are taught, influenced by the history of UK fashion and the aura of CSM. ” – Diane Gaignoux

Is the creation of accessories core to your work? Do you make everything on your own or do you collaborate with other makers?

No, it isn’t central to me but I think the accessories are the most concrete pieces in my work. They are also a lot easier to style so they have been used often for editorial shoots. This is why people related to them a lot. I make my accessories myself for now but I have ideas on how I would like to develop them. For the silicone shoes, I would love to collaborate with a shoemaker and translate them into rubber or leather for example. And for the earrings, I am planning on collaborating with an artist in order to experiment with glass.

What are the differences between London and Paris when it comes to young designers?

At first, I thought that all the most creative fashion was in London. I guess it is something that we are taught, influenced by the history of UK fashion and the aura of CSM. But, coming back to France and starting again to get to know the creative people there, I realised that there was a similar movement of people looking at fashion, art, and magazines with a new perspective. I feel that they are even more engaged, maybe because there is a gap between what we imagine being the tradition of high fashion in France and the craft-DIY-inspired practices that are now gaining visibility. So there is a lot to work on which is quite motivating.

“Clothes take a while to create, and therefore they are charged with this gift of time, which is passing from the maker to the receiver. Fast fashion makes us believe that a piece has no value and that it can be made in a second. ” – Diane Gaignoux

Where do you think you belong in the industry? How do you wish your brand will develop?

These questions of where I belong and the status of my work are actually central to me right now. I don’t know if I consider myself being part of the «industry» yet. I am interested in the interval space between the practice of fashion and art. I like to consider this latest collection as a part of my interdisciplinary practice. I am interested in developing pieces that could derive from creative projects and that could be sold as ready-to-wear pieces.

Is there anything in the industry that you don’t think makes sense and should change?

The seasonal system of the collection running every year is quite intense, some brands are making four collections a year, I don’t really see how this makes any sense. They are so many brands now and so many propositions of clothing. I am interested in giving value to the time required to make a piece. Clothes take a while to create, and therefore they are charged with this gift of time, which is passing from the maker to the receiver. Fast fashion makes us believe that a piece has no value and that it can be made in a second. We only have a consumer relationship with those clothes. To me, they could be instead the vessels for another kind of relationship, conscious of the different stages of their process and of the people behind it. It is a way of putting back the human in the industry.