Louis Gabriel Nouchi

My name is Louis-Gabriel Nouchi, I am 35, French, and I have always known that I wanted to work in fashion. Lacking a clear entryway, however, this world seemed unattainable to me… So I started by studying medicine for two years, then obtained a bachelor in law. Something completely unrelated! But fashion eventually caught up with me, and after an internship at Vogue during Carine Roitfeld’s time, I joined La Cambre in Belgium.

The school is highly demanding and it requires a lot of work, as it offers a well-rounded programme covering all aspects involved in the creation of a brand: students are in charge of funding their graduation fashion show, finding sponsors and models included. Over these 5 years, our collections got developed and more precise in terms of looks, and now that I have my own brand, I realize just how formative this work has been. We learnt all the steps in the process of transforming an idea into a garment, thanks to a Belgian-style teaching method, which means rigour and a jack-of-all-trades approach.

Yes, absolutely. Although I’m often referred to as a French designer, the truth is that I was taught by Belgians and Italians, which deeply shaped my approach to design and the creative process in the broadest sense. As a matter of fact, it was this very same approach that allowed me to work in prestigious houses like Raf Simons, where I did pure “tailoring”.

I took part in the festival right when Lætitia Jacquetton, then head of brands at Galeries Lafayette, introduced the idea of collaborating with the finalists. She’s an extraordinary person, just like the many women who have accompanied me throughout my career. I could mention, to name but a few examples, Pauline Duval, my brand partner, or Clarisse Reille, President of Défi. Perhaps there is a recurrent pattern in there: I’m helped by women! In any case, what the festival gave me was, first and foremost, this meeting, and the opportunity to work on such an important project even before I had my degree.

Instagram is an astounding tool, especially when you have your own boutique. It functions as a storefront, a catalogue, and a way for the public to delve into the brand’s essence. That said, I have chosen not to display my face too much on social media.

It’s quite a natural choice, I don’t like being in the spotlight too much, and I feel like the brand is already personal enough as it carries my name. You don’t want to steal the spotlight from the clothes.

Each collection is based on a book, so the creative process is like constructing a library around a single character, a hero or an anti-hero. I have always had this creative process, which is highly instinctive and makes the label something of a therapy. I like menswear because it is subject to many constraints, not only in societal terms but also in terms of price, colours and materials.

I’ve always done menswear because I think there’s still a lot to do. While women’s wardrobes are full of offerings, men’s wardrobes are quite limited. From a technical point of view, the design process is also simpler, because I can try on the pieces myself. In fact, the whole team tries them on, women, men, young and old, which explains the diversity of the brand’s cast.

It’s important to stress that literature is not just a decorative element. That’s the principle of the Belgian school: nothing is done without a purpose or intention. The whole team reads the book and then we use the context, the story, the writer and even the reception of the work to build the collection. That’s why we work with pieces that open up for debate on relevant topics, whether the book is contemporary or not.

We’ve been working around the theme of masculinity for 3 or 4 seasons, and with that collection in particular we really hit the nail on the head with something interesting. It had a big impact and I think it was a real turning point for the brand and the way we position ourselves. Nevertheless, I also think that SS21 was what really got LGN off the ground. It was our very first fashion week and we had to do a video instead of a physical show. We had no more fabric, nothing left. This unusual context pushed us to think about the essence of the brand, which is composed of three things: books, people and clothes. As simple as that. 

I think we are the only ones addressing it as such in Paris, which is something I’m quite proud of. We are inclusive at every level: in terms of age, skin colour, body type, anonymity or celebrity of the models who walk the catwalk – who are, in fact, clients of the brand. This heterogeneous character ends up creating a very coherent whole.

I work differently depending on the feeling that I want a piece to have. For instance, marbled pieces are made in a variety of techniques, including lace, jacquard and print. I like to transpose the motifs from one technique into another one and our fabrics are all developed in-house so they are as personal as possible. Since the opening of our boutique on rue Oberkampf, the quality of textiles has gained even more importance. LGN is about touch, physicality, and change. Most of our fabrics are sourced in France and our supply chain is in Europe. Sometimes it’s hard to see from the outside, but what you see on a catwalk as a “simple” white T-shirt over jeans is actually the product of many people’s work. That’s the beauty of fashion, it’s a network where people with different skills converge.

What fascinates me the most, is the social dimension of clothing. Let me explain what I mean by that: you can endlessly rework a look – a white T-shirt over a pair of jeans, for instance – by investing it with different social connotations each time. Why is it worn, and how? Therefore, it does happen that several men wear the same look on a catwalk. The look is different depending on the person who models it. We get a lot of requests in this area, and customers are increasingly well-informed. The same applies to pricing, we look for the right balance to create a beneficial circle, particularly in terms of traceability.

It all depends on the customer and the market. Americans don’t talk about it much, for example. We try to keep our feet on the ground, but there are many factors to take into account when it comes to analysing a brand’s carbon footprint. For instance, the materials used, such as cotton, which is natural yet requires an enormous amount of water for its production. We manage to be a zero-waste label by estimating our sales quantities and producing timeless pieces that sell both in summer and winter. It’s all about working nimbly, without big logos and using the brand’s simple signature: a neckline that reveals the skin.

I love this soft revolution that recalls literature. For me, my reading moments are as intimate as a garment, it provides both comfort and a place of escape. You can read the same book at different times in your life and experience a completely different reading each time. The same goes for a piece of clothing, you can style it differently, while still sending a conscious message about yourself.

Sensuality, not sexuality, yes. While it’s easy to talk about sex, the notion of sensuality is harder to tackle. The subject hasn’t been explored enough due to social conventions that often lead to stereotyping. I see LGN as a platform for discussing and challenging these conventions: it’s an invitation for debate that starts from the book chosen for the collection. It’s also an invitation to feel and experience emotions through the clothing itself and reinterpret our own realities. The important thing is to avoid being aggressive so that genuine dialogue can take place, think of it as a safe space.

It started out as an answer to a need, but it quickly became an it-product. It’s a very intimate way of getting to know the brand, through a product that is accessible, universal, and builds loyalty. Underwear belongs to a whole different world, it’s a bit like leather goods, highly technical. Since it is such an intimate piece, it has to be perfect. This particular garment also made me think a lot about the tone that I wanted to set for the label: what are we trying to say when we put a naked body and undergarments onstage? Should we make it very commercial or very niche? With the Tank-Top/underpants look we presented, we examined once again male sensuality by exposing skin.

Well, that’s precisely what I don’t know! What I can tell you, however, is that the Belgian mentality is very radical in terms of creation. It is a genuine artistic lab and everything I built and developed there is reflected in what I do today. The Belgian school teaches us to be rigorous while knowing how to take a step back: fashion doesn’t save the world, quite the opposite.

In my opinion, we need to be intellectually honest about one thing: a fashion show is, first and foremost, about selling. A label doesn’t function like an art gallery because clothes have a concrete function. It’s great to be able to convey emotions through the pieces, but I don’t want to be required to create a whole discourse around them so I can sell them.

I don’t think these are the same frames of reference. Do I consider myself an artist? I don’t know. What I’m sure about, however, is that I don’t like to put things into boxes. Can we really compare a photographer and a painter? How should we talk about dance, writing, or journalism? What I can conclude is that what is particularly interesting about clothing is the constant change. The process of adaptation that comes with living in this world is an integral part of the discipline.