At only twenty-two years old, Paris-based Edmond Luu is a art director at Dior Parfums as well as the founder and creative director of Pièces Uniques. Influenced by Japanese culture, music of all genres, and cartoons, he decided to conceive his own garments through a unique gaze. His latest collection, called Sin White, Virgin White & L’Absolu, is devoted to white in all its pure, minimalistic nuances. We talk with Luu about his multicultural background and what can he offer to fashion.
Hi Edmond, could you please introduce yourself? And tell us more about where you come from and your background?
I am twenty-two years old and I grew up in a Parisian suburb. My friends and family are the most important thing in my life. I like food, cooking and travelling all around the world to taste each country’s gastronomy. Also, I like to play piano in underpants on Sundays. I am currently a creative director at Christian Dior Parfums.
Why did you decide to head towards a designer career following your studies at the Ecole Supérieure de Publicité? What did first interest you in fashion design?
As far as I can remember, I’ve always been interested in artistic subjects. When I was younger I drew a lot, photographed everything that I found beautiful, made a lot of movies, and followed a musical course with piano, guitar, music theory and opera. Also, I have always given a huge importance to my clothing style, trying even more scatterbrain styles than others. Teenage years are a life period in which we try to find who we are. There was a real artistic mess lying deep within me, but it helped me build who I am today.
Naturally, I found my way through a field that allowed me to use all my past artistic experiences. The profession of creative director was a good compromise between my hunger for creative liberty and my need to structure my work. I had to learn how to affect and understand people through what I was doing.
Creating a brand was my first goal. I wanted to conceive something with my own hands. Building a brand is like getting into an incredible and exciting adventure with an unknown end. It’s like elaborating a new universe and identity. From my desires is born Pièces Uniques: a project in which I summarise my inspirations and tastes. That’s how I began to unstitch my garments to understand them, to solicit workshops, to get interested in fabrics, etc.
At the same time, I had the chance to seize amazing professional opportunities as a creative director. Thus, I started following two different but converging ways that are not that far from each other. What I learn every day allows Pièces Uniques to grow and establish itself as a more credible brand.
Naturally, I found my way through a field that allowed me to use all my past artistic experiences. The profession of creative director was a good compromise between my hunger for creative liberty and my need to structure my work. I had to learn how to affect and understand people through what I was doing.
Creating a brand was my first goal. I wanted to conceive something with my own hands. Building a brand is like getting into an incredible and exciting adventure with an unknown end. It’s like elaborating a new universe and identity. From my desires is born Pièces Uniques: a project in which I summarise my inspirations and tastes. That’s how I began to unstitch my garments to understand them, to solicit workshops, to get interested in fabrics, etc.
At the same time, I had the chance to seize amazing professional opportunities as a creative director. Thus, I started following two different but converging ways that are not that far from each other. What I learn every day allows Pièces Uniques to grow and establish itself as a more credible brand.
Could you please explain us why did you call your label Pièces Uniques (‘unique pieces’ in French)? Where does this name come from? And what is the message hidden behind it?
The word ‘Pièces’ doesn’t stand for the garments but for the people that wear them because we are all unique pieces.
How would you describe Paris’ fashion scene right now? How did you live your beginnings as a young fashion designer? Isn’t it too complicated to establish yourself among Paris’ designers when you are young?
Paris is a town where creativity has always had its place. We have the chance to live in an open sky museum: an environment where cinema, photography, painting, music – and broadly speaking, art – are omnipresent. I don’t think that there is necessarily a ‘place to make’. The competitive mind, if it really exists, boosts and encourages each of us to assert our originality. There is no animosity. On the contrary, I consider that it’s the role of young designers to be curious, open-minded, enhanced, and after all, to do what they want (and always stay humble).
What advice would you give to young designers who want to launch their own brand within a city known for fashion?
Believe in your ideas. Believe in yourself and be curious. Consider that if an idea sleeps deep in your mind, it deserves to come to life.
“Building a brand is like getting into an incredible and exciting adventure with an unknown end. It’s like elaborating a new universe and identity.”
You’ve been working with the same models for several seasons now. Who are they? Why did you select them? And what plus do they bring to your label? By the way, who wears Pièces Uniques?
The team construction has been naturally made with Bilal, the photographer who’s realised most of the brand campaigns. We needed strong faces and I consider Celia, Sylia, Alexandre, Christophe and Pierre the main actors of a film named Pièces Uniques. Today, they are people who have an important place in my everyday life, they’re like a second family. Each campaign shows us their adventures in new places and landscapes and respects their identities. Today, they shape the face of the brand.
What can we expect from your Spring/Summer 2018 collection? Is it going to follow the tracks of your Fall/Winter 2017, or will it convey a brand new message through a whole new universe?
Pieces from the Fall/Winter 2017 collection are the presages of what I would like to do with Pièces Uniques. As we can see through them, we worked with more noble fabrics, more evolved designs. I wanted to reinterpret iconic pieces to make them unique. This collection turns an important page for the brand; it’s kind of a wind of change. I guess I have unveiled a bit more my universe through this collection but I’m still shy. I would love to show you some more. I don’t know yet what I’m going to do for this summer. We’ll see…
At the same time, I went through your previous campaigns, and more especially the one entitled Wave 4. Why did you choose to shoot several films on the five elements? What do they mean to you?
The five elements mean the balance. The water fights the fire but helps the earth to be fertile. Each element needs the other to survive. It’s like a group of friends, there are good times and bad times, but all in all, we need everyone to build a strong structure. Each element has been affiliated to one of the models’ personality.
What are your main sources of inspiration? How would you define the style of your brand?
I like Hedi’s mindset, how Yohji takes a side for black, Rei Kawakubo’s structure, Margiela’s neutrality and Jacquemus’ shapes. I like Japanese culture, cartoons and comics, but also Chopin’s waltzes, and Hisaishi’s or Sakamoto’s melodies. But all this doesn’t mean that you can’t like American rap, trap, acoustic, jazz or funk music. Music is like a time machine. It evokes pictures and allows me to revisit old fashion days.
Also, I grew up surrounded by people from many ethnicities: being in contact with different cultures made me learn their habits and customs and immerse myself in their wealth. So Pièces Uniques is a mix of all this mess. All in all, I never know what I’m going to do tomorrow and that’s a sensation of artistic freedom that I like very much.
Also, I grew up surrounded by people from many ethnicities: being in contact with different cultures made me learn their habits and customs and immerse myself in their wealth. So Pièces Uniques is a mix of all this mess. All in all, I never know what I’m going to do tomorrow and that’s a sensation of artistic freedom that I like very much.
Pièces Uniques is still young, what can we expect from your label in the next years?
I ask for a joker.
