The Courrèges man next door
“This is my first men's collection! Of my life!" exclaims Nicolas Di Felice, the artistic director of Courrèges. Well, for a first, it's a masterstroke. Another. Already last spring, the press, unanimously, had hailed the very first show (woman) of the Belgian designer, passed from the shadow of Nicolas Ghesquière (he officiated in his design studio at Balenciaga then Louis Vuitton for nearly twelve years) in the light of the catwalks after his appointment in 2020 as head of style for the André Courrèges brand. 
Read alsoCourrèges, the rebirth of a French national treasure
This men's closet, tight - about fifteen silhouettes only - and devilishly effective is in line with that of this new Courrèges woman all in legs, molded in a trapeze mini-dress, sexy, pointed and popular. In the video unveiled yesterday on the internet, the same corner of an open-air white cube as the decor, the same catchy electro as the soundtrack, the same accuracy between couture perfection and standardized shapes. “These archetypes are dear to me, specifies the thirty-something. The first look, precisely. This parka looks simple, but in fact it's a reinterpretation, in a generic fabrication, of a beautiful coat from the archives with a gusset and kimono sleeves. This season, I wanted to focus my research on the outfits of the public at festivals. I wanted to offer clothes to continue dancing even when it rains.
On his moodboard, amid a trance of youth in the concert pits, a black-and-white snapshot of André Courrèges from 1962 in a checkered double-breasted pea coat, immaculate undershirt and trousers, posing in front of his shop. An overcoat that the designer simplified and slipped over a zipped track jacket. “I like clothes when they are very simple but full of couture details and finishes.” Like this “triangular” line of the shoulder which makes the middle ergonomic, used in the collections of the founder in the years 1960-1970. 2022 version, the Courrèges boy wears the iconic sleeveless vinyl jacket, slightly flared 5-pocket trousers and a pair of sneakers.
According to him, making the founder's retrofuturism universe desirable today would be child's play. “It was not my ultimate dream to become DA, he continues when he is complimented on the strength of his message in just two collections. There are very few houses that I would have felt legit for. But the simplicity of the subject, of the form as well as of the content, of Courrèges resonates in me. So it's true that I knew very quickly what I wanted to do.
Nicolas Di Felice therefore unrolls the thread of his arty and accessible fashion, now adapted to men. To all the men that they like uniforms or non-gendered clothes. "I read a very nice sentence from André Courrèges: I am inspired by sport - he was passionate about sport as we know, active wear but above all, I am working on making clothes that will give the 'the impression that the boys who wear them are free boys'. This freedom is embodied today in this fluidity of genres. So he didn't hesitate to rework the ribbed knit jumpsuits, the mesh tank tops or the scalpel cutouts on the girls' chests. And unveils a male version - in any case ambiguous - of the small square black Courrèges jacket, launched in the 1960s.
