I met the Belgian Couture Designer Jean Paul Knott through the Artist, Designer, Photographer and Producer Eugene Galles one afternoon in New York City. Jean Paul had just arrived in New York to show his first collection for Fashion Week and he needed a model. Eugene called me and asked me what size I wore, and as I have never really paid attention to sizing and just wear what is comfortable, including often wearing men's tailored clothing, I started to explain the long version of how I dress. He cut me off politely and asked if I had time to come up to meet a friend of his, and that is how I first saw and wore the beautiful couture designs of Jean Paul Knott.
The friendship that resulted from that first meeting changed my life, taking me to Paris for Fashion Week for future collections and introducing me to Artists, Designers, Photographers, Stylists, the highest level Buyers for boutiques and major department stores, and top Editors for every major fashion magazine. For several years, twice a year I'd meet Jean Paul when he came to New York with his new collections, and the way I began to understand clothing and fashion and design has affected the way I shop and dress ever since.
Recently I saw a post on Instagram that Jean Paul has a new store in Brussels. He has been in different locations over the years and has also collaborated in spaces, but there was something about this new store that caught my eye in a way that brought me back to his earlier collections when we first met. Jean Paul is an Artist, and my favorite designs of his are those that are one-off statement pieces, some that I have in my own collection now. His ready to wear is always lovely and striking, with classic lines that take a detour into his creative vision within their simplicity. But it's the true couture, those pieces that I have always felt could be hung on a wall when they are not being worn, that for me are his most exciting works of art.
Beautiful clothing is something to be treasured. The way it feels to be dressed when the material and the cut and the stitching are of the highest quality is an experience like no other. Walking into a room wearing one of Jean Paul Knott's designs makes a statement that wherever you are is the place to be. The touch of the fabric, the way it moves and drapes, draws attention to the wearer in all of the right ways. The clothing is seemingly very simple, but it is the years of experience and knowledge that Jean Paul Knott has that takes the designs to a much higher level. Before starting his own collection he had worked as an Assistant to Yves Saint Laurent, and his dedication and craftsmanship show in every fold and drape and cut and stitch. Clothing like this is wearable art, and it lifts the wearer up to experience it.
No comments:
Post a Comment