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THE ONE AND ONLY FRANCK SORBIER

frank sobrier

FASHION

THE ONE AND ONLY FRANCK SORBIER

Text and photo credit: Anna Mar
Photo: Franck Sorbier

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Text and photo credit: Anna Mar

Photo: Franck Sorbier

 

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A few months ago I had the pleasure to meet the French Haute Couture designer Franck Sorbier.

He has more than 30 years of experience in fashion. Franck Sorbier is the only Master of Art among all fashion designers, and he is one of only 14 designers in the world with the title of Grands Couturier.

He welcomed me to his studio, where I had the opportunity to discover his last Haute Couture collection and personally interview him. I was able to enjoy a private view of some of his art works: recycled vases, drawings, collages, accompanied by descriptions from the artist himself.

Franck is a very unique designer. He is the last Couturier of our time who creates with his hands and a sewing machine. He doesn’t betray the traditions of his craft, and at the same time he is a progressive man of our time. Franck Sorbier combined the latest technology and fashion, he cared about the sustainability of his brand before it became a trend.

For the season summer 2022 you create a collection of unique Haute Couture pieces. What was the main idea?

The main idea of this collection was to bring color into our lives. Each dress is a kind of allegory. For example, an allegory of water as the source of life, an allegory of Mother Earth. Everyone has a story to tell and I give everyone the opportunity to reflect and imagine something of their own.

It is also important to note that each piece of collection represents a different craftsmanship.

Your collection comes alive through a film “Ode to Life” directed by talented Bruno Le Page. I would like to mention the wonderful acting of Luc Bruyère, who played the role of the poet “with a wandering spirit”. Can you tell why you chose him? What attracted you to him?

I knew it had to be Luc when I saw him on stage in the theatrical adaptation of The Elephant Man, directed by David Bobée. He was so good and strong on stage, and I said he should play the poet of today.

I have great respect for him as a person. Even though he doesn’t have one arm, he is very versatile: he’s an actor, a model, a dancer, a singer.

Luc once told me that his first challenge was to try to swim. And, you know, he achieved it! He’s unique. Luc Bruyère has no limits. He is a very kind person. And he reminds me of a young Mick Jagger.

What makes your brand sustainable?

We’ve been doing this for a long time. We keep unused pieces of fabric to use later. No waste is an important principle for us. Everything can be reused. You can make a vase out of broken pieces of plates. And small pieces of fabric can become a skirt.

It was a big discovery for me to get to know you as a talented artist. You have amazing sculptures, drawings, and collages. Has art always gone hand in hand with your work as a couturier?

Yes, I was involved in art from the beginning. I can tell you an interesting fact. The very first publication about me in the English magazine The Face was about one of my sculptures. The theme of the issue was about the new forms that would appear in the future. I offered them a lot of clothes, but they chose a sculpture!

What is art to you? And what is most important for you in art?

For me, art is the expression of beauty in different ways. I look for beauty first and foremost every time.

I think what’s important about art is that it’s always in step with society. For example, constructivism reflects the industrial society of the early 20th century, and romanticism reflects the other side of human history, politics, literature, fashion – everything is connected.

Beauty is at the heart of your art, so what does beauty mean to you?

It’s a difficult question. I think beauty is something you can feel. For example, the feeling you get when you meet someone’s eyes, that can also be beautiful.

When you look at clothes, sculptures you get a feeling, an emotion. I think emotion is very important in defining beauty.

Where do you get your inspiration from?

I love photography. It’s a very important witness to an era. It’s something that will remain in history. And I also love to draw. Every season I like to express new inspirations in drawings. I am from the old generation of designers who draw on paper and don’t use a tablet.

What do you think about the digitalization of fashion?

New technologies have always intrigued me. In 2012, we did a new version of Charles Perrault’s tale “Peau d’Âne” (“Donkey Skin”). The model on stage wore a large white dress, which was a projection screen on which the 3D mapping system projected various images and simulated ultra-realistic effects.

Back in 2012, you had a premonition of the direction in which fashion was going to move. Do you think fashion is always a reflection of an era?

I think that fashion always reacts to its era, to the needs of its time. For example, in the 1920s, we wanted to be free. Dresses were not tightened at the waist, hair was cut. After the war, Mr. Dior came with a new look. Big puffy skirts, body in a corset – it became the opposite. In the seventies, people were once again free. Times change, so does fashion.

In your opinion, what is the future of haute couture after the pandemic?

A transformation must take place. I think Haute Couture needs to think broader, to be more than just expensive dresses for events. It has to become more cultural, to express the reality of the times and become more and more exceptional.

If it doesn’t go that way, then I think only the big houses will be able to continue Haute Couture because they can sell perfumes, ready-to-wear collections, accessories, but for designers like me, we have to be really different.

At the end of our interview, Franck gave me one of his drawings, a portrait of a woman. That was a very kind. This is Franck Sorbier! The only one of his kind in the world.

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