A letter to all those who enjoy exceptional couture and haute couture clothing and to the young fashion designers
When did you realize you wanted to become a fashion designer ?
From childhood, I started to draw nudes of famous painters and I made outfits on dolls. Around 13, I discovered Vogue and I redesigned Yves Saint Laurent models, photographed by Richard Avedon and Helmut Newton.
What are the qualities required to be a designer and a couturier ?
If there is, in my opinion, an essential quality, it is passion. Then there is the question of developing his intuition, his creativity, his knowledge of the trade and the technique. For the designer, knowing how to draw seems essential to me and also developing a sensitivity to colors and shapes. Anticipate future trends and desires. For the couturier, knowing the technique, the relationship between the cut and the fabrics. There are things that I will manage to express through drawing and others through molding and cutting. Getting used to being alone is also an important quality, creation requires a lot of loneliness.
Any great fashion designers that you particularly admired ?
My references are above all historical and date back to the beginning of the 20th century. At the very beginning of the history of haute couture and fashion. Paul Poiret in 1900, he removed the corset and freedwomen with his cuts, some of which were inspired by the Moroccan caftan. With Paul Poiret, I have in common a passion for the Orient and cultures.
Madeleine Vionnet and the bias cut that I particularly like Gabrielle Chanel who invented the wardrobe of the modern woman in the 1920s by lightning and adding comfort thanks to her technique, her cuts and her way of using materials. At Cristobal Balenciaga, I like the way he sculpts and plays with matter. At Elsa Schiaparelli I love fantasy. At Yves Saint Laurent, I like poetry, sensuality and the magic of colors. He is the big brother, a passion and a great story of heart. After Chanel, he continued the modernization of the female wardrobe which still continues today, particularly with the male female. I also have a passion for the pioneers of Moroccan Haute-Couture Zina Guessous (1925-1998), Naima Bennis (1940-2008), Zhora Sebti (1928-2021) and Tamy Tazi (born 1930). They revisited the traditionalMoroccan caftan and honored the crafts and embroideries of the different regions of Morocco.
How long have you been doing this job ?
At the age of 17. My first experience was an internship with Karl Lagerfeld and at 18, I met Yves Saint Laurent who brought me into the fashion house.
What was your training ?
I had the chance to start working and learning very young with great fashion designers. At the same time, I regularly took technical training to develop my knowledge and improve my skills. I also worked with great photographers for the magazines “Vogue” and “Harper’s bazaar” as fashion editor. I discovered photography and another angle of the stylist profession. Recently I took a course in digital marketing. All aspects of the profession interest me and also its evolution while keeping a traditional approach.
How would you describe your creative process ?
My creative process always starts with an emotion, then there is the technical part, the drawing and the cut. I anticipate the movement, how the person will move and how the materials will react to the body and to the light.
What are your sources of inspiration ?
Women, fauna and flora, art, cultures, travel. I was particularly inspired by a trip to Japan which changed my way of designing clothing. In Japan, I understood that Western designers work the garment vertically while the Eastern ones work it horizontally, as for Kaftans, Saris and Kimonos. Sometimes it’s the fabric that imposes its law on me.
How do you proceed when you lack inspiration ?
I always have desires, ideas or drawings in advance. It’s more about channeling my inspirations. What can happen to me is to saturate, to need to empty myself in order to be able to find desire and spontaneity in creation. We can also sometimes be blocked by technical problems such as the dimensions of a fabric. This is also creation. Working on canvas allows me to find new cuts and play with volumes and drawing allows me to let my mind express itself.
Why did you choose women as a source of inspiration ?
My Muses, my models and certain artists, are great sources of inspiration and creation. Women are very important, their personality, their way of moving, of speaking inspire me. I can suddenly forget the concept I’m working on regarding the body and personality of the woman that I’m dressing. I particularly like to work directly with the fabrics on the body.
Do you mainly work with individuals ?
It depends on the times, but my way of working no longer corresponds to what the industry demands today. This would rather tend to cut me off from my imagination and my enthusiasm. I am an artisan, I like rarity, excellence, exclusivity. I create unique pieces and I offer small series of my emblematics pieces. I’m the complete opposite from fast fashion and luxury supermarkets. Creating for a particular person is what I prefer.
Who is the JeanPhilippe Tourigny woman ?
The women who wear my creations are women who are looking for refined pieces, most often created for them and tailor-made for important moments in their lives, and prestigious events.
How would you describe JeanPhilippe Tourigny style ?
Elegant, refined, poetic, modern, timeless and above all which highlights the silhouette and the woman who wears it while bringing well-being and confidence.
What difficulties do you encounter in your job ?
This is several jobs at the same time… You have to be, a creative, a manager, a communicator, an administrator etc
Do you have to make yourself known too ?
I think that first and foremost you have to develop your creativity and your identity. Some people are determined at a very young age, YSL and Mozart, that for me is genius. Others need time to come true. You have to make a difference, stand out.
What do you like most about your job ?
Using my hands and my mind to create.
What’s your best memory in fashion ?
A tour in Japan with several shows, in Tokyo, Kyoto and Okinawa.
and the worst ?
A collaboration with Madonna for Globe magazine
The things you hate the most in fashion ?
The fast fashion, its working conditions, the exploitation and the devastation on the planet that the textile industry causes. It is one of the most polluting industries. On finding the same products everywhere and especially sneakers and t-shirts made by children and sold overpriced. Luxury supermarkets that have distorted creation and know-how to make way for marketing and sell bags like those of a famous luxury brand made in polyvinyl chloride and sold more expensive than precious stones.
The evolutions of the profession since the beginning of your career ?
Since the beginning of my career, the job has changed a lot. There are many ways to do this job.I know artistic directors of very large and famous houses who do not draw and who do not work on the cut. Today it’s about art direction. When you take over the artistic direction of a very large house, you can work on the DNA and the archives of the house. Today it is a lot about marketing and image. There is also the technological developments, for example, 3D and the laser are in the process of developing and changing the way of creating and doing this job.
the best advice you’ve received from someone in the trades ?
The editor-in-chief of a major fashion magazine once told me “above all, don’t lose your kindness”.
What is your main mission?
Create emotion, bring well-being and happiness.
What are your professional aspirations ?
A “Lifestyle store” project, a place that will bring together my “salon de couture”, accessories, jewelry and home products (linens, crockery, glassware, etc.). And also a place for creations exposure.
What do you want to leave as a legacy ?
Sharing and transmitting values, a taste for excellence, my knowledge and my experience.
If you weren’t a fashion designer, what would you be ?
Interior designer, which I like to do at the same time.
What are your other passions ?
Cinema, photography and music are essential for me, they convey emotions and help me in my creative process. art, history, fauna, flora, architecture and poetry are also sources of inspiration. The poetry of an image, a movie, a place, a person or a writing.
What is your favorite movie ?
“The beauty and the beast” Jean Cocteau
What movies moved you ?
Color purple of Steven Spielberg
A woman under the influence of John Cassavetes
Who are your favorite singers ?
Nina Simone
What luxury item would you splurge on ?
Precious stones
What is the most important thing for you in life ?
Friendship and love, friendship is love without sex. The people who love you and who you love, are what really brings you happiness in life.
What makes you happy every day ?
wake up and have breakfast with birdsong, create and spend time with the people I love.
Your favorite hobbies ?
Gardening and cooking
Destinations where you dream traveling ?
Crossing Marrakech to Occidental sahara
Travel to India and Egypt
The person you admire the most ?
The astrophysicist Stephen Hawking
Your favorite Virtues ?
humility and loyalty
If a genie offers you 3 wishes ?
To see again the people I love and i have lost
A more empathetic world
A clean planet
If you had a superpower ?
The gift of ubiquity, being able to be in several places at the same time
Fight for a global cause until the end of your life ?
Underprivileged children
Your favorite quote ?
There is no elegance without elegance of heart. Yves Saint Laurent