Quest for Cultural Honey.: 30 Jul 2009

Last night I had the pleasure of interviewing Emilie Brunet, head designer for Ready to Wear brand- LA FETE, which she founded in 2008. I first met Brunet at the Musée des Arts Décoratifs one rainy day in Paris. We were both walking around the Sonia Rykiel exhibition, similarly fascinated by the vivid colours, bold cuts and sensational changes that Rykiel had initiated over the years for the fashion world. I was, at the time, wearing some dirty white sneakers that I had purchased at a flea market for ten Euros (I’ve never worn them since) paired with some latex pants and a boyfriend blazer. I asked her to read what the signs said as my tired eyes weren’t quite up to the task. In return for the kind favour, Emilie asked if she could take a photo of my outfit to use as inspiration for her upcoming fashion brand. Very flattered, I agreed and asked what the exact nature of her work was (hopefully, in that reverse order). She said she was passionate about fashion, never found anything that she liked to wear anymore and so had decided to launch her own clothing line in Canada, where the designer is originally from. I gave her my name, we parted and I bid her safe travels back to her homeland.

A year later, LA FETE was born. Now available in five stores in Ottawa and with plans to introduce the line in Berlin, it’s a success story with lots of potential. Androgynous Chic for the modern Man/Woman at its best. The cuts are sharp, yet subtle. The materials are natural like the effortless chic sported by the girls who wear them. The clothes are original from retro dresses to loose t-shirts and the models eminate street cool. It’s hot, it’s new and it’s different. It’s quality clothing with an edge which doesn’t aim to merely replicate high fashion designers.

Brunet started off experimenting with fashion in 2006 as her love of vintage clothes made her want to glamourise second hand clothes. As she started jumping around in the fashion playground, she decided she had too many ideas to merely keep it vintage and wished to design clothes of her own. After taking a sewing course in Spain, she travelled back to Canada with ideas and a new craft ready to start putting passion to fashion. When she got back, she realised the importance of quality and fine tuning made by real craftsmen in the industry. She then got in touch a handful of experienced and dedicated people to produce the clothes, thus ensuring the product was of the highest order. She describes the La Fète style as being “ clean tomboy”, emphasizing the bipolar nature of her 09 fall collection. She loves the idea of juxtaposing a striking white with a bold black, with some of her pieces entirely black in front and white at the back, and vice versa. She sees this contrast as symbolising common attitudes in society, the way in which we hide our personalities, shying away from the pure souls within us. She wants to reflect societal actions and attitudes without faking them. It is this expression that denies superficiality that Brunet thinks fashion should be about. She understands the importance of having a philosophy underpinning the aesthetic nature of the clothes, something which she admires in Muccia Prada’s label.

The La Fète woman is someone who likes to experiment with the joys of life, with a curiosity for novelty and an interest in cutting fashion and even graphics. She doesn’t seek to be different from the man as far as her clothes are concerned. Her sexuality comes across in the way she holds herself, the things she says, how she walks, her inner sensuality, not her clothes. For Brunet, gone are the days when designers did sexy for the sake of it, sexuality comes across in how the woman wears her clothes. Her label is thus challenging and innovative, it removes women the capacity to use clothes as a sexual weapon, the clothes will embellish and flatter, but they won’t allow you to be what you’re not. For Brunet, progress in fashion equates to a blurring of gender barriers and a focus on personality and character more than anything else. Indeed, 66% of the Fall Collection can be worn by men and women alike. Technically, you and your boyfriend could dress the same. As a friend of mine said to me recently, there’s nothing sexier than a girl putting her feminine grace to a man’s outfit (as confirmed by recent fashion trends: boyfriend shirts/blazers/jeans).

Including her love of vintage wear, Brunet says she is influenced by Belgian fashion designers Margiela and London designers. Brunet declares “ they take it to another level, they intellectualize fashion”. She appreciates that the colours used by her favourite designers are striking and this counteracts with the Avant-Garde shapes chosen for the pieces. She thinks these designers make us re-think our aesthetic perception and ultimately our vision of life, the way we view ourselves and how we choose to represent this vision by the clothes we wear. In the same way that a piece of art tells us a story, depicts a particular thought in a precise moment in time, Brunet’s work wants to make us think, she wants to make a statement whist keeping her clothes drenched in a provocative street-smart originality. “I love when fashion is not afraid to be raw” says Brunet, in a subtle attack at the high street stores that act as cheap sweet shops for the greedy who seek affordable fashion, without taking risks.

If Brunet could choose any celebrity to model for the brand, she says she’d choose Caroline from the band Kap Bambino. I had no idea who they were, so I looked them up, to avoid looking like an incult foolio considering I'm supposed to have a small clue. Immediately, looking at Caroline’s clothes and look, it became obvious why she fits the La Fète type perfectly. She radiates confidence, and a tomboyish arrogance combined with a stylish uniqueness and unmistakeable female gestures as she sings her post-punk electro songs. Her short cut, which she often combines with hats, chequered shirts, short shorts and men’s slim shoes could be straight out the La Fète autumn winter catalogue. I don’t think I’d be crossing the line by saying I found parralels between the Kap Bambino lead singer and Brunet herself..

Brunet encourages the democratization of fashion. She wants to see more variety and more exuberant styles out on the streets and not just in high fashion spheres. Ideally, la Fète strives to obtain more tolerance for individual taste. People should be guided by their own stylistic flairs, without following paradigms dictated by people claiming to be gurus. Streets should be filled with a variety of unique styles, from the more conventional to the extravagant, without a need to follow “fashion”. It might seem ambitious that Brunet sees the future of La Fète as reaching a worldwide audience but “ I know there is a group of people in every city who will find something in La Fète, even if it’s just a few” she told me. Well, I’ve definitely found something in La Fète. To be more precise I’m enamoured with the white oversized blazer of the Fall/Winter Collection, the black silk boob tube dress lined with fluorescent green stipe along the top is super hot, and the cropped black nylon jacket is to die for. I could go on.

Brunet’s old flame used to say “C’est la fète” (“It’s party time” ) whenever anything bad happened. I’m assuming it was his way of saying “Who cares? Life goes on. Let's party”. When Brunet spilled wine on the table: “C’est la fète”. There couldn’t be a more suitable name for the label, whose clothes can be categorised as optimistic nonchalance, well apt for the current economic crisis.

So, when I look back at those white sneakers, I wonder why I don’t want to be wearing them anymore. Is it that I’m scared of being judged? They were fun, and they inspired La Fète, so there must be something about them. After all, if someone doesn’t like them, why should I care? I like them. Here's to wearing what the hell you like because... c’est LA FETE.