𝐁𝐑𝐈𝐀𝐍 𝐌𝐎𝐋𝐊𝐎 & 𝐇𝐄𝐃𝐈 𝐒𝐋𝐈𝐌𝐀𝐍𝐄: 𝐫𝐨𝐜𝐤 & 𝐟𝐚𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐥𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐬

𝑫𝒆𝒂𝒓 𝒔𝒐𝒖𝒍𝒎𝒂𝒕𝒆𝒔!
As I’ve been always fascinated by ‘haute couture’ world, the fact of friendship between Brian and one of the most famous French designers Hedi Slimane used to feel extremely exciting to me.
Recently, I was lucky to find a great 𝐈𝐍𝐓𝐄𝐑𝐕𝐈𝐄𝐖 on fashion, rock and searching for one’s personal style and identity done by Brian Molko, Hedi Slimane and Sylvie Fleury. I’m really happy to share it with you today.

Photo credit: Benni Valsson

Most likely, Brian and Hedi got to know each other since early 2000s. I can’t confirm it, but they might meet thanks to 𝑫𝒂𝒗𝒊𝒅 𝑩𝒐𝒘𝒊𝒆 (see Hedi Slimane’s biography down below).
Brian mentioned Hedi as a friend while telling about his 30th birthday party (2002).
📢“It's a funny story,” recalls Brian. "I was celebrating my thirtieth birthday in London. Until then, I had never had a big party, a big 'surprise party'!
It was the first time, and also the first time that I had enough room. And in fact, we had to end up at thirty! So I was like, 'This time I'm freaking out' and invited Hedi Slimane from Christian Dior. And he came with Neil Tennant [from the Pet Shop Boys] and Etienne [Daho].
(𝑅𝑜𝑙𝑙𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑆𝑡𝑜𝑛𝑒 𝑛𝑜 12, 𝑂𝑐𝑡𝑜𝑏𝑒𝑟 2003)

Looks like Hedi was really generous friend! In the interview, 𝑩𝒓𝒊𝒙 𝑺𝒎𝒊𝒕𝒉-𝑺𝒕𝒂𝒓𝒕 was talking about a great gift that Brian received from monsieur Slimane.
📢“I have fitted Brian in many a pair of jeans, but he doesn't always agree with what I suggest. He has a very strong sense of taste and, being a rock star, he gets fabulous clothes from all over the place. I remember once Hedi Slimane from Christian Dior gave him a truckload of clothes and I was extremely jealous.”
(𝑇ℎ𝑒 𝐼𝑛𝑑𝑒𝑝𝑒𝑛𝑑𝑒𝑛𝑡, 𝐽𝑢𝑛𝑒 2007)
Of course it’s not like Brian couldn’t afford buying designers’ clothes but such a present is always welcomed, don’t you think?😉

Before we get directly to the interview let me intriduce you to the personalities.

Hedi Slimane.  Photo credit: V.R.

⭐️𝐇𝐄𝐃𝐈 𝐒𝐋𝐈𝐌𝐀𝐍𝐄⭐️ (born 1968) is a French photographer and fashion designer. From 2000 to 2007, he held the position of creative director for Dior Homme (the menswear line of 𝑪𝒉𝒓𝒊𝒔𝒕𝒊𝒂𝒏 𝑫𝒊𝒐𝒓). From 2012 to 2016, he was the creative director for 𝒀𝒗𝒆𝒔 𝑺𝒂𝒊𝒏𝒕 𝑳𝒂𝒖𝒓𝒆𝒏𝒕. Since February 1, 2018, Slimane has been the creative, artistic and image director of 𝑪𝒆𝒍𝒊𝒏𝒆.
In November 2018, Hedi Slimane topped the annual list of Vanity Fair's "𝟓𝟎 𝐦𝐨𝐬𝐭 𝐢𝐧𝐟𝐥𝐮𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐚𝐥 𝐅𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐡 𝐩𝐞𝐨𝐩𝐥𝐞 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐥𝐝".
Slimane was born in France to a Tunisian father and an Italian mother. At 11, he discovered photography; at 16, without fashion in mind, Slimane started making his own clothes. He studied Art History at the École du Louvre and completed a tailor apprenticeship at a men's designer house. But early in his career, he wished to become a journalist and reporter.
In April 2002, Hedi Slimane was the first menswear designer to receive the CFDA award for International Designer. 𝑫𝒂𝒗𝒊𝒅 𝑩𝒐𝒘𝒊𝒆, whom Hedi Slimane dressed for his tours, presented the award.
Brad Pitt had Slimane create his wedding suit for his marriage to Jennifer Aniston. Although he never designed a womenswear collection, he dressed female celebrities including Madonna and Nicole Kidman during his tenure at Dior. He furthermore created stagewear for bands such as The Libertines, Daft Punk, Franz Ferdinand, and The Kills [𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝑨𝒍𝒊𝒔𝒐𝒏 𝑴𝒐𝒔𝒔𝒉𝒂𝒓𝒕], and artists such as Mick Jagger, Beck, and Jack White.
Slimane commissioned original soundtracks for his runway shows for Dior Homme, created by artists such as Beck, Readymade FC and bands such as Phoenix, The Rakes, and Razorlight. Slimane is known for working with rock musicians and emerging avant-garde artists.

⭐️𝐒𝐘𝐋𝐕𝐈𝐄 𝐅𝐋𝐄𝐔𝐑𝐘⭐️ (born 1961) is a Swiss contemporary pop artist known for her installations, sculpture, and mixed media. Her work generally depicts objects with sentimental and aesthetic attachments in consumer culture. Out of the tradition of Conceptualism, Sylvie Fleury’s pieces (like her bronze casts of high heels and shopping carts) pointedly critique superficiality, glamour, and luxury products while - at the same time - seeking their affirmation.

Photo credit: Benni Valsson

✨𝐈𝐍𝐓𝐄𝐑𝐕𝐈𝐄𝐖✨
A rock star with make-up on, a stylish designer, a contemporary artist who brought fashion into museums: a surprising encounter between Brian Molko, Hedi Slimane and Sylvie Fleury. Three artists who maintain a strong relationship to clothing, fashion, both as an identity vehicle and final disguise. Together, they talk clothes, looks, androgyny and the influence of rock... Quickly, Sylvie tells about the She Devils on Wheels, her ladies’ club dedicated to big cars and Brian advises to always be ahead of your fans, while Hedi explains why he will "never" put a skirt on a man.

𝐁𝐫𝐢𝐚𝐧: Since I was a child, people have mistaken me for a girl, I had long, curly brown hair. I always thought it was amusing. Later, in London, at parties, I would talk to guys and ask them: "Do you want to give Brian a blowjob?" They would say: "Fuck! It’s a boy!"

𝐇𝐞𝐝𝐢: Same for me. I remember a field trip to Belgium when I was 11-12 years old. Back then, I had long blond hair and didn’t talk much. After five days, they realized I was a boy!

𝐒𝐲𝐥𝐯𝐢𝐞: For me, clothing has never been a heavy element or statement. It has more to do with the pleasure principle. As a child, you love to dress up. Later on, often, you end up in a mould and you tend to dress up less. That’s unfortunate.

𝐁𝐫𝐢𝐚𝐧: To be honest, I only finally understood how to dress five or six years ago. Until the age of 12, I wore baggy pants and very large men’s shirts down to my knees. Subconsciously, I wanted to appear as someone different. I wasn’t satisfied with my family situation, in a very upper middle-class environment in Luxemburg, and that was the first step in the identification process.

𝐇𝐞𝐝𝐢: As far as my parents are concerned, I never had to rebel or protest through clothing. As a matter of fact, I didn’t care about the way I was perceived by other people, I was quite invisible,

𝑯𝒐𝒘 𝒅𝒊𝒅 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒅𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒔 𝒃𝒂𝒄𝒌 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒏?

𝐇𝐞𝐝𝐢: In my family in Italy, there are dressmakers but, to be honest, as a teenager, I didn’t care much for clothes. I was more into going to the park then finding myself between rolls of fabric in Montmartre. It all changed at the age of 16, when I started making my own clothes. I wanted to be a journalist, specialized in international relations. Nothing to do with fashion. It caught up with me later.

𝐒𝐲𝐥𝐯𝐢𝐞: As opposed to Brian, I liked to feel different, like a B movie star who’s landed on the wrong set. During the punk era, I was in a "doctor" period and dressed as a "doctoress". I was working for the Red Cross International Committee in Geneva and I had a collection of items with red crosses on them. My apartment was full of old medical furniture and equipment, dentist chairs, clear blue linoleum, an electroshock machine from the beginning of the century - just a number of awful things really!

Photo credit: Benni Valsson

𝑰𝒏 𝒐𝒓𝒅𝒆𝒓 𝒕𝒐 𝒇𝒊𝒏𝒅 𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒐𝒘𝒏 𝒔𝒕𝒚𝒍𝒆, 𝒅𝒊𝒅 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒉𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝒓𝒆𝒇𝒆𝒓𝒆𝒏𝒄𝒆𝒔? 𝑫𝒂𝒗𝒊𝒅 𝑩𝒐𝒘𝒊𝒆, 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒆𝒙𝒂𝒎𝒑𝒍𝒆?

𝐁𝐫𝐢𝐚𝐧: I remember Bowie when I was a teenager, but he did not influence me so much. For a while, people would think that Placebo was gothic and glam-rock band. But we never felt we were either. I never wanted to create a character either, unlike David Bowie with Ziggy Stardust.

𝐇𝐞𝐝𝐢: My first record was Bowie’s live in Philadelphia, in 1974, during the "Thin White Duke" period. I was 6 years old. I realized much later on that I was stuck on this character. It just became a reference.

𝐒𝐲𝐥𝐯𝐢𝐞: My first record was also one of Bowie’s, Aladdin Sane. I was fortunate enough to have an older brother who was very much up-to-date on such things, because my girlfriends only listened to French pop - Sylvie Vartan, Françoise Hardy... That mix fits me perfectly.

𝐁𝐫𝐢𝐚𝐧: I did a lot of stupid things in public with this androgyny concept. Fashion crimes! And it has taken me quite of few years of dressing like a transvestite to understand that androgyny isn’t really about a man putting on a skirt. It has more to do with a state of mind, a way of holding yourself, a walk...

𝐇𝐞𝐝𝐢: When I work on a collection, since Yves Saint Laurent and up until Dior, I don’t ask myself whether a pièce is for feminine or not. The idea of clearly defining what is masculine and what is feminine doesn’t appeal to me. As a matter of fact, I have no clue what that means.

𝐒𝐲𝐥𝐯𝐢𝐞: In 1999, I made a "Formula One" dress, in silver lining and ignifugé, based on Mika Häkkinen’s McLaren outfit, I love to divert things and I used the imagery of the car a lot, I love 60’s and 70’s American cars and engines. I also created a ladies’ club, the She Devils on Wheels, based on the Crazy Cruisers, a pretty macho American cars club, which still runs... but it is also part of my work as an artist.

𝑨𝒔 𝒂 𝒓𝒐𝒄𝒌 𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒓, 𝒍𝒊𝒗𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒂 𝒔𝒕𝒓𝒐𝒏𝒈 𝒑𝒖𝒃𝒍𝒊𝒄 𝒊𝒎𝒂𝒈𝒆, 𝒅𝒐 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓 𝒇𝒆𝒆𝒍 𝒕𝒓𝒂𝒑𝒑𝒆𝒅, 𝒐𝒓 𝒍𝒊𝒎𝒊𝒕𝒆𝒅 𝒃𝒚 𝒂 𝒄𝒆𝒓𝒕𝒂𝒊𝒏 𝒊𝒎𝒂𝒈𝒆 𝒐𝒇 𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒓𝒔𝒆𝒍𝒇?

𝐁𝐫𝐢𝐚𝐧: I try to reinvent my image regularly. Not as often as Madonna who does so with each new single, but rather with each new album. I always considered it was important to be at least one haircut ahead of the fans!

𝐇𝐞𝐝𝐢: There are overmarketed bands, with a number of publicists, agents, producers, stylists-completely overdone. That’s also true in fashion. Some designers are comfortable with a big team to do artistic direction. As far as I’m concerned, I don’t see the use for that: any work starts with drawing the set, casting models, etc., just to make sure there is no gap with the original idea of the collection.

𝑯𝒐𝒘 𝒘𝒐𝒖𝒍𝒅 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒅𝒆𝒇𝒊𝒏𝒆 𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒓𝒆𝒍𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒔𝒉𝒊𝒑 𝒕𝒐 𝒇𝒂𝒔𝒉𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒕𝒐𝒅𝒂𝒚?

𝐁𝐫𝐢𝐚𝐧: These days, my closet holds has Agnès B, Xavier Delcour and Dior pieces, and some cheap stuff. I tend to mix designer clothing with cheap items, a Dior jacket and a pair of pants I bought on the Highstreets market...

𝐒𝐲𝐥𝐯𝐢𝐞: Sometimes, I buy a piece of clothing that I never wear: simply because it’s beautiful. I look at it as if it was a sculpture, a painting, and sometimes I use them for my films and my work.

𝐇𝐞𝐝𝐢: If I need something, I sketch it and I put it in the collection. For me, the collection is a wardrobe, on a very basic level, a set of pieces of clothing accessible on a daily basis. Designing clothes and never wearing them, that’s not very credible.
(𝐷𝑜𝑢𝑏𝑎𝑛.𝑐𝑜𝑚, 𝑁𝑜𝑣𝑒𝑚𝑏𝑒𝑟 2006)

Post by Olga