Few expected it. During the last edition of Paris Fashion Week the presentation of Rochas, which showed the first collection of its creative director Alessandro Vigilante - in his two decades in the industry he has worked for Dolce
It showed that, in addition to a good name, Vigilante has an incredible capacity for attention to detail. Also that he can be calm and nervous at the same time. “Now I am completely immersed in the creative stage,” he says a month after his debut. “I'm excited, on the one hand, but on the other hand, sometimes it scares me. When you have a lot of ideas you have to find the right one.”
How was your arrival in Rochas?
Philippe Bénaçin (CEO of Interparfums, owner of the house) and I turned out to be on the same line from the beginning both in my vision and in going step by step. It has been easy.
This “step by step” is not very common, it is common for designers to be pressured to understand the brand, the woman and the direction in which the market is moving.
I try to keep my feet on the ground and come back to both myself and what Marcel did. That's why I started with the archive, and there are many people who don't know about it. He was very close to women and very attentive to their needs.
Have years of experience helped you?
And also the fact that I was a contemporary dancer, the body technique that I learned and its need to express itself are what I want to bring to this firm. The dance is inside me. I understand very well how the body wants to move and how it feels free.
The collection has received good reviews. Do you think she was also understood?
It seems to me that this first step has not been enough. I am very happy with the collection, I don't know if everyone could see what I wanted to convey. It is difficult to create a language, which is my goal. Whoever came to the presentation got very involved because of the music, the atmosphere. Also thanks to the models. We wanted a personality, an attitude for each look.
So each model was a person rather than a mannequin.
I hate that idea of mannequins. Fashion is not clothing, fashion is what people wear when they live and clothes must adapt to that life.
Why presentation instead of parade?
It has to do with not doing too much too soon. I have done many shows and presentations in my life, but this beginning in a brand that has changed its aesthetics and creative directors so many times is better done step by step.
Are there looks that have not seen the light of day?
The collection reached 150. There were not many changes in the garments in terms of silhouette. It was hard to edit it, we did it with the help of stylist Robbie Spencer.
That silhouette is strong, but so is the use of color and materials. Despite that burden, no look surpassed the woman who wore it.
I like to work like this, sometimes the result is not so good. I put many things together to create something new, I mix elements and references. In my mind it may work perfectly, but from the outside that chaos may not be understood. This time we found balance.
What worried you before the premiere and what worries you now?
I was very calm until the previous three weeks. There were many things to do and I was afraid of what the press would say. It was hard. The reaction of clients and buyers was also important. Respect the brand, the people who work here. Now I'm comfortable, ideas come all the time and they have a lot to do with the world of the house. It's funny because I also have my own signature, which has more to do with the erotic, with the sensual.
There is some sensual content here.
Less obvious. We are human, we are sensual.
What role do you expect Rochas to take on in the industry?
I think we don't have much competition, it's very feminine with delicacy. He is not romantic, erotic or sporty. There are women who want to wear it because it is well made, the attention to detail is extreme (we made many invisible, anatomical cuts, to improve the figure)... People's response has been very positive. The clothes respect the personality. That delicacy eliminates limits, it allows you to play.
That “everyday fantasy” that I mentioned in the presentation is what makes it different.
That was the goal. Be unique and recognizable. It is not easy to achieve it, but we will continue working on it.
