Ludovic de Saint Sernin
France
If you want to get along with Ludovic de Saint Sernin, don’t call his clothes ‘unisex’. “I hate that word!” says the 28-yearold. “Why? Well, because it cancels out the idea of sex on either side, which is exactly the opposite of what I do .”
De Saint Sernin’s clothes might be better described as ‘anysex’, ‘omnisex’ or ‘flexisex’. “My clothes are about celebrating potential and identity, not disguising it. Whatever you do with them to interpret yourself is your choice.”
Before founding his line 18 months ago, he spent several years working under Olivier Rousteing at Balmain as a designer of embellishments and textiles, “which meant I was working in the atelier on the hand-made couture pieces – an extraordinary job.” Despite this, de Saint Sernin felt an urge to strike out on his own. And that urge became an imperative when he saw Joe McKenna’s documentary on Azzedine Alaïa. “Alaïa was saying – and proving – that it is possible to start something on your own, to be independent, and to be successful.”
Thus, with the blessing of Rousteing, he left Balmain and set about building a business funded only by his savings plus a small family contribution. De Saint Sernin had always worked on womenswear, but that shifted when he dressed some of his earliest pieces on a male model named Raphael. “When I put them on this guy, I thought, ‘You know that looks really cool.’ From then on I didn’t question whether it would be menswear or womenswear.” At his first presentation in Paris in June 2017, de Saint Sernin showed a Mapplethorpe-inspired collection designed to enable a multiplicity of sexualities – a moment he says acted as a coming out not just for his design identity but also for his personal one. For A/W 18-19, his collection questioned the surreal and explored the sensual potential of his aesthetic in a freshly playful way.
De Saint Sernin’s urge to launch his own line was vindicated when he won the 2018 ANDAM Prize. “It’s a big relief that people in the industry think this is going somewhere, and I’m really grateful. Now I want to continue to tell this story, to grow, and stay true to myself.”