After fifteen years at Balenciaga, Nicolas Ghesquière quietly left his post as creative director last November.
NEW TYPE #32: ALEXANDER ROYS INTERVIEW
June 26, 2018 4:00 PM
"Introducing an innovative Men’s designer to inspire you with the visions of future and the rise of technology."
Born and raised in Germany, Alexander Roys launched his eponymous ready-to-wear collection last season. His biggest inspirations are Kraftwerk (the German electronic band from the 70s and 80s), Science Fiction, Utopian Futurism and Technology. His brand's core concept is the exploration of humanity's role in an ever more technologized world. TWELV Magazine is happy to share images from Roys' new SS19 collection and excerpts from our chat with him:
------ALEXANDER ROYS INTERVIEW------
1. Where are you from originally? Please tell us your brief background.
AR: I was born in Munich, Germany where I spent my childhood. It is a great place to spend a safe and unworried childhood but very quickly as I grew older I wanted to leave this place in favor of more inspiring and vivid surroundings - which I did.
2. What led you to become a fashion designer after majoring in fashion economy? How did you learn fashion design techniques?
AR: Starting my own brand as a platform for my creations is something that I have imagined for myself early on as a teenager. I decided to gain the necessary knowledge about the business side of building a brand through my studies in order to use this knowledge and put it together with my creativity to start creating collections.
3. Your main brand concept is the Utopian Future and Technology. What influences your style/design?
AR: I am fascinated by the recent technological revolution that we see ourselves confronted with now, how it affects human identities and how this is all reflected in the current zeitgeist. We are living in times of great change with the future being a concept that feels very closely attached to the now through all the novelties and advancements in various fields. This moves and inspires me and I want to express my views and feelings which I have towards this through my clothes.
4. Why did you choose to focus on men’s clothes? Do you plan to design for women as well?
AR: It is a very simple reason. I am a man and therefore I can best relate to men's clothes. I know exactly what I personally would want to wear, how it should fit, how it should feel. Doing menswear just feels natural and very intuitive to me.
For the moment, I do not plan to design womenswear collections as well which could, however, be the case in the future.
5. Being a designer is one of the toughest jobs. What was your biggest struggle when you were putting together your first collection?
AR: It indeed can be very challenging to create your first collection. I suppose the biggest challenge is that you first have to start building a proper infrastructure starting from the sourcing of materials to production, sales and press. Doing all this from scratch can be very demanding at times but seeing ideas and concepts that once only existed in your head becoming reality is so rewarding and fulfilling that it is worth taking some challenges.
6. How do you spend your day off? Please tell us your secret spot to relax!
AR: It is really important for me to spend my days off with my family and friends. This how I relax best - being surrounded with the people I love. The spot is of secondary importance then.
7. You use a lot of red in your SS19 collection. What was your design inspiration? Did you have a particular muse in mind?
AR: I mainly used the rather neutral colors black, white and silver-gray in the collection which for me transport this feeling of modernity with a futuristic allure in a fantastic way. I introduced red into this color palette in order to bring some human touch into this nearly robotic color range and to create an ensemble that is not only clean and futuristic but also emotional.
8. Are there any designers/brands that you would like to collaborate with in the future?
AR: When making a collaboration, for me it is always important to collaborate with a real person, rather than a brand or firm. It's the close personal interaction that creates the energy which is in the end also translated into the outcome of a project. There certainly are a lot of people from different backgrounds - not only fashion or design - that I would love to collaborate with.
9. What are your goals for the next ten years? Do you have a particular message or target in mind?
AR: My goal is really to create something that is meaningful for people. Delivering something for them that makes them feel good and they appreciate. For me, fashion and the way people dress is a very emotional thing and being able to create a dialogue with people through my clothes is the biggest goal and possible reward for me.
INTERVIEW BY URAN INOU, MAKIKO ASADA
EDIT BY KAREN FRAGALA SMITH
PHOTO CREDIT ALEXANDER ROYS
PHOTOGRAPHY BY MICHAEL ULLRICH
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