April 20, 2020 |
Hype can be a dangerous tool in the hands of an emerging designer. If not handled properly, it can permanently damage or even erase a creative from the face of the earth (or at least the fashion-week schedule). But sometimes, more rarely, hype can also be an incredibly powerful springboard on the way to world domination. Marine Serre, of course, falls into the latter category, having gone from an obscure thinker with radical ideas to being one of the most well- respected names in the industry in just over two years. When she speaks, everyone listens – including the 10 or so people that make up her universe, as seen on the pages of Issue 64 of 10 Magazine. Today on her birthday, we spotlight the creative polymath that is Michèle Lamy.
Michèle Lamy defies roles, in every way possible. She doesn’t want to put a title to her job – and rightfully so. She’s an entrepreneur and a cultural trailblazer, an artist and an artist’s muse. Widely most recognised for her marriage (both creative and legal) to designer Rick Owens, Lamy lives and breathes rebellion. It’s what feeds her creativity and encourages the multifaceted artistic expression. She designs sculpture-like furniture under Owens’s label and curates a whole range of projects with the theme of her favourite sport – boxing – through Lamyland, which first launched in 2018 with a residency inside Selfridges’ Corner Shop.
The latest project under the Lamyland umbrella was What Are We Fighting For?, a collaboration with different artists on nine punching bags, auctioned at Sotheby’s, with all profits going to London Community Boxing, a charity using the communal qualities of the sport as a vehicle for personal development and social cohesion. In fact, community is a big focus in all of Lamy’s work – it’s never about a singular idea executed by just one person. Sharing the view of the world as a global village, with cultural tribes mixing and melting into each other, Lamy is something of a kindred spirit of Serre.
As part of the extended Dover Street Market family, Lamy first met Serre when Adrian Joffe invited her for dinner when celebrating the Marine Serre installation at DSM New York and then took her to her AW18 show. The spiritual mother of rebellious souls that she is, Lamy recognises the importance of what Serre’s brand stands for in today’s world – a different idea of fashion and looking at doing things in ways that don’t surrender themselves to any old norms. With constant newness and reinvention, there is an electric energy between these two. Lamy’s favourite piece from Serre’s collections is one bearing her signature – a bodysuit printed with the moon logo. “Not on me, but it looks so beautiful on my friend and stage partner Jean- Biche,” says Lamy.
How did you first get your start?
“With innocence, hard work, good luck and a lot of sunshine in LA.”
Who inspires you on a daily basis?
“Music of poets.”
What makes a talented fashion designer?
“A vision.”
What do you predict for Marine’s future?
“Lots of love and support.”
What would you fit into a Marine Serre Dream Ball bag?
“Perfume and cigarettes.”
What do you never leave your house without?
“Perfume and cigarettes.”
Collage by Patrick Waugh. Taken from Issue 64 – BEST, FOOT, FORWARD – which is on newsstands now.
