Symphonie Barbare
Tor the Romans, any people who did not speak their language and
were not part of the Empire were considered «barbarians»: a word derived from the Greek ‘‘barbaros’’ meaning foreigner.
Their names were: Goths, Ostrogoths, Visigoths, Franks, Burgundians, Vandals, Lombards, Celts, Bavarians, Angles, Saxons, Suevi, Lusitanians, Huns, Normans and many others … Their invasions extended over several centuries, the 4th, the 5th, the 6th, the 7th and the 9th.
But why this story?
I have a weakness for paradox.
Can a symphony be barbarian?
The old classics would surely have called Erik Satie a barbarian or, today, Philip Glass, Michael Nyman or Hans Zimmer, to name but a few.
Franck Sorbier
When I entered Couture in July 1999, I did not specify my intentions. I had found this new technique: Compression.
A garment made entirely by machine is an act of barbarism. At the heart of a silent world where the thread, the needle and the hand are one.
Despite everything, I had invented my signature, my vocabulary and I had slipped into each creation a small diamond offered, at the time, by De Beers.
I remembered this man who worked leathers for Alaïa and who told me when I left school: ‘‘Young man, in life, we only have one idea and we must never depart from it.’’
The day this glimmer arrived, I recognized myself as a craftsman who plays with his imagination, his intuition and his know-how.
There was no more lateral, horizontal sewing … We no longer knew where the creation had begun and where it had ended, as long as a Haute Couture dress was, one day, accomplished.
It took me, however, time to tame this ‘‘savagery’’ because, behind me, there were hours and hours of virtuoso hand finishing.
I learned finesse by associating with my creations, purely Haute Couture pieces like bias-cut sheaths, molded on the mannequin by our friend Kanaé Taniwaki, a former Bunka employee, an incredible talent, an extraordinary character.
Isabelle, present from the beginning, in addition to her expertise in color, pattern and materials, has taken up lace, macramé, lirette … and many other things … This set of techniques and know-how honored me with the title of Master of Art in 2010.
For us, versatility is essential.
The sound creation, for example, was developed by Bruno Le Page, he is a creative with many talents.
This season, Haute Couture shows its fangs, reveals the animal that lives in us. Legends often surpass reality. The materials mix organic with metal, bark with rock, black with black, armor with muslin. Everything is ruffled, torn, crumpled, jacquards recut or reembroidered, flat fabrics take on relief.
But, beneath this violence done to materials, there is only one motivation: creation.
In January 2005, I became a Grand Couturier, a permanent member of the Chambre Syndicale de la Haute Couture Parisienne, today called the Fédération Française de la Couture et de la Mode.
Despite the trials, the House has held its rank thanks to the determination of Isabelle, my passionaria.
Janie Samet said that I was the Bernard Palissy of Haute Couture.
First, we should know who this gentleman is.
But enough about me.
Four years ago, Israeli and Palestinian women created an informal movement: Women Wage Peace.
In 2022, there were tens of thousands of them from all political backgrounds and origins.
They are the warriors of peace.
A documentary film was launched two years ago to make them known to the general public.
This collection gives me the opportunity to pay tribute to them, to echo them and to tell them that I am with them wholeheartedly.
Because in the end, it is always Peace that will win.
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