by Brooke Varney
As with any show at Fashion Week, backstage at Jean-Pierre Braganza was hectic and buzzing with energy. Even still, I was lucky enough to find a quiet area to have a lovely chat with the designer before his flawless Spring/Summer 2015 collection hit the runway. Although we only had a few minutes together, I found myself mesmerized by Jean-Pierre’s unexpected answers and obvious passion for what he does for a living: Making women look and feel beautiful.
BV: I’ve had a look around and everything looks absolutely amazing! I know your first London Fashion Week was about ten years ago, so is it just as exciting today as it was back then?
JPP: (laughing) Excitement’s a word, yes. It’s just as intense. If anything, it gets more intense, so yeah it’s exciting.
BV: What do you think has inspired your collection for this spring?
JPB: It’s my love of women. It’s really hard to articulate the visuals that I come up with. Certain themes and undercurrents in any collection are inspired by Matthew Barney’s River of Fundament depicting the decay of Detroit, and his episode of Egyptian mythology. It’s just a really stunning, rather intense five-hour epic, but that kind of really fueled me in the visions and the designs.
BV: That’s incredible! So why have you chosen Nair as your sponsor this year?
JPB: You know, it’s a Spring/Summer collection and I love my fine fabrics like silks and the silky-smooth nature of that finish, and what better to adorn work together with that type of fiber than with silky-smooth legs? And with my short shorts, I need legs to be, like, immaculate. That’s my favorite part of the female body, is the thighs, and the calves… I’m drooling here! (laughs) It really is, and I’m just so fortunate to be working with Nair, because Nair really is the leader in beauty for soft skin.
BV: You both really celebrate the female form, for instance with your modern, feminine silhouettes, so is there any piece in the collection without giving me too much of a spoiler that you would say is your favorite?
JPB: I can’t choose out of my children! You guys always ask me, and it’s always like oh, but I’m neglecting the others! They’re all beautiful in their own rights, I can’t choose.
BV: That’s completely understandable! If you could dress any woman in the world, who would it be?
JPB: Any woman existing in the world?
BV: Dead or alive!
JPB: Dead or alive? Grace Kelly would be good. I’ve always had a crush on her… Lady Di? I don’t really know how to answer that, I love all women. Again, it’s the whole, like, choosing the best one.
BV: Who do you feel are your muses and inspirations?
JPB: All my friends; all the ladies in my life. They’re really, genuinely inspiring. It’s a great discourse in the studio. I’m a rock ‘n roll boy drawing crazy pictures, and I have this amazing team of inspiring women that just fuel me, and talk to me about how they feel and what they want to wear, and so I think my muses are really all the women I know in my life.
BV: What do you feel has been the most defining moment of your career so far?
JPB: I think working with one of my idols was really an achievement, and that’s a personal choice. Of course there are many achievements, the brand is accomplished and has won many awards, but I think my personal favorite is meeting Trent Reznor from Nine Inch Nails, and designing his clothes for a tour, and his video, and meeting his band, and just being there. They called me because they knew what I did, and I thought that was such a compliment, and a major moment in my life, so I think that’s a crowning achievement.
BV: That’s amazing! I know a few years ago you were chosen for Karl Lagerfeld’s Protégé Project, and I was wondering if he gave you any advice that you’ve carried with you throughout your career since then?
JPB: (laughing) He told me to slow down!
BV: Really?
JPB: Yeah, I’m quite ambitious, and I want it all, and I want it now. He’s just a very clever man, and he’s a great visualist, but nothing really stands out as far as advice. He’s quite philosophical actually, a really clever man, so we talked about a lot of things other than fashion, which was fun.
BV: So if you were to give any advice to somebody who is just starting out in the fashion industry, and sort of just wanted to get their feet wet, what would you say to them?
JPB: Learn before you start. Learn how to walk before you run. Honestly, I don’t stress that enough. I’m lucky enough to teach at Saint Martin’s (University of the Arts London) from time to time on certain projects, and that’s always the advice I give to students is to slow down; understand the business before you actually create the products for that business. You know, like having that framework of the brand that needs to generate some income, and you need that knowledge and expertise to really function as an artist. A lot of designers don’t really think that way, and only discover it when it’s too late or it’s just really intense and they have to figure out ways. My advice to anyone is to really comprehend the business before you start the product.
Click here for backstage and front row coverage from the show