After getting an opportunity like designing costumes for the 2024 Paris Olympics, you’d forgive anyone for being a bit starstruck.
Not so Kevin Germanier, always a canny realist despite his penchant for glittering multicolored extravaganzas. While the city basked in the closing ceremony’s golden glow, he was busy getting materials back and tallying what he’d learned from the experience.
“My previous shows were driven by the materials I’d found but what the Olympics taught me is the power of storytelling,” he said.
So for spring, he spun a tall tale dubbed “Les Désastreuses,” to play on the word disaster and an old-fashioned French term for stars, inspired by the zodiac. “It’s a bit cheesy but you don’t get anywhere if you balk at a theme you’re unfamiliar with,” he said.
Don’t look for any of the Paris-based Swiss designer’s lovely knit sets or his beaded denim. This was pure, unabashed spectacle of glamour and that’s exactly how he wants it.
“It’s fashion’s trash heap and what you can do with it,” he said.
The options included a flurry of unwanted Havaianas sandals; giant misprinted holographic sequins reworked with Richard Quinn’s London-based printing studio and turned into a mermaid dress — for Pisces, of course, and a sun-themed finale of “cheap tinsel wrapped on a plastic mannequin” that certainly warranted a “constellation prize” in terms of glamour.
It might feel light on product for a collection shown during the women’s ready-to-wear season, but that’s something Germanier readily embraced.
“All this is a creative vision but the bread and butter is the purses,” he said, pointing out the beaded shoulder bags that came in 12 different designs — one for each star sign.
And this isn’t the last Paris has seen of Germanier, least of all this week. On Sunday, he is showing “Prélude,” his rework of deadstock and unsold products from houses owned by LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton.
After that, he’ll be taking over the Galeries Lafayette’s holiday windows and designing the Christmas tree that hangs under its famous cupola from Nov. 14, for the department store’s 130th anniversary.
Given that he’s firing on all cylinders, particularly with the French luxury group, is Germanier gearing up to sell his label?
“Never,” was his knee-jerk answer to journalists backstage. “But put me at the head of something creative and I’m in.”
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