The Flamboyant Son – An Interview with Xénia Laffely

26-year-old Xénia Laffely entered the competition at this year’s Festival International de Mode et de Photographie in Hyères with her collection titled ‘Tu n’aura pas d’autre icone que moi. Et tu mangeras ton père’, trying to free herself from the constraints of having been haunted by male figures all her life and in the process conceiving a flamboyant son.

Harald: What does it feel like for you to be showcasing here at one of the most prestigious newcomer festivals in Europe?

Xénia: I feel very honored and touched because I had a real crush on the festival three years ago when I came for the first time. I really like the vibe, as it’s really special. It’s been one of my goals with this collection, so that’s an achievement.

H: During your presentation to the press and jury you said that in your collection you tried to design a third character between your father in the suit and the Holy Spirit. What was your motivation to do so? Could you tell us what characterises the third character?

X: I was trying to emancipate myself from the masculine figure that has always haunted me in a way. In all my past work, I was always concerned with very classical things. But for this project, I wanted to try and liberate myself from that and create something really new that looks like my drawings and research book.

H: Where did the need to emancipate yourself come form? You said you felt haunted by a masculine figure…

X: I don’t know. It’s just that I don’t like the feeling of being locked in on something, so I wanted to feel completely free with this collection. And it was really the best stages of the collection to be feeling completely free. Also as regards the gender aspect, I didn’t really follow the rules. I just tried to play with it, so it definitely was all about freedom.

H: Does this mean with this collection you have broken free and are more liberated now than before?

X: I hope so… We shall see with the next collection.

H: Talking about your collection and religion, what do you have faith in?

X: I have a lot of respect for religion, but I’m more into the iconography and its visual and aesthetic aspects. I don’t think I can say I have faith.

H: It doesn’t have to be religion, it can be faith in something else.

X: Yeah, that’s true. Well, I have faith in life. I’m very lucky and things always work out.

H: Just quickly returning to the image of your father in the suit. Do you know the fondest memory of your dad wearing a suit?

X: Yes, I think he’s wearing a suit only during religious ceremonies, like at Easter for example. I think it’s those kinds of memories I have of him.

H: Has your dad seen the collection? What does he think of it?

X: Yes, he has, but I don’t think he understands everything and I think he is a bit embarrassed about the title.

H: Could you translate the title into English?

X: ‘You won’t have any other icon than me and you will eat your father’. Yeah, I don’t think he likes the title, but he’s alright; he’s here actually. He went to the show so I think he’s really proud and happy.

H: That’s all a dad wants to be.

X: Yeah of course, that’s true.

H: Completely unrelated question, how do you like your eggs?

X: My… ?

H: Your eggs. Breakfast, lunch… ?

X: Oh, I don’t know what the word is in English, but when the yolk is still uncooked but the white is cooked…

H: Sunny side up?

X: And you can just dip bread into it, yeah.

H: You’ve got the sun in the middle.

X: Sunny side up, yes, that’s funny haha.

H: You’ve talked about this briefly, but the first thing that strikes you when you look at your collection is that there is so much colour, print, detail – what was the motivation behind that? Like ‘more is more’?

X: Yes, freedom! It’s just that I didn’t want to be limited, so I tried to do everything I wanted and just did it. Also, I decided at the beginning of my collection that I wanted to take a risk and surprise myself. So it wasn’t really about, “Do I find this nice?” It was more about, “Is it sincere?”

H: What’s your biggest fear as a designer at your stage?

X: I don’t know, there are so many; I feel a bit overwhelmed. But at the same time I feel excited. I just like the idea of following the flow, so I don’t really think about the future.

H: Not even about the immediate future?

X: Well, yes, I do because I’m leaving for New York next week where I’ll be doing an internship…

H: Where are you interning?

X: Phillip Lim for the prints and embroidery, so I hope that will be nice. I already know what I’m going to be doing next month, so it will be alright.

H: Thank you so much.

X: Thank you.

Interview: Harald Weiler