Brett Foxcroft, possibly Yves Saint Laurent reincarnated, chats to us about Parisian life, fashion and his goals for the future. 



 

 

interviewer|gabrielle greet

photography|aneta kawecka and felik wong

Tell me a little about yourself. Who is Brett Foxcroft in a nutshell?

I am originally from Durban, South Africa and I lived there for most of my life, went to school there and all that jazz. In August 2012, I moved to Paris, France to study. Interests, hmmm, mainly fashion, which takes up most of my time. I think it is important to combine what you love into both your professional and non-professional life. Originally I wanted to be a lawyer, but I thought it was too boring and I would only end up doing it to make money. I wasn’t passionate about it at all. I also love art, architecture, and music (I have music playing 90% of my day), normal teenage stuff I guess. I don’t know a lot about these things but I just like to take the time to appreciate them. I love travelling and learning. I think those are the two most important things people must do. I love to experience new things and different places and cultures too. Part of getting into the fashion industry is meeting everyone you can and getting your name out there as much as possible so the more people you meet and places you see the better it is.



What are you up to at the moment? Where are you living?

Now I live in Clichy, one of the Parisian northern suburbs. Well, that’s where my student residence is. I don’t really spend that much time there, so basically I live most of my life in Paris. My school is in the 9e arrondissement and I like this area so I spend more time here than in Clichy (Clichy isn’t very pretty and I like to surround myself with pretty places and people). I spend a lot of time in the 3eme and 4e arrondissements, in the area called “le Marais”. It is an up and coming art and fashion area and there are loads of amazing stores and places to go there. Place des Vosges is there too, that is probably my favourite place in the whole world. It reminds me of something out of a Tim Burton film. I am studying Fashion design at ESMOD International School in Paris. It is one of the oldest fashion schools in the world. It’s pretty awesome.



What does fashion mean to you?

Everything



How would you define South African fashion? What are the differences you see between Parisian and South African fashion? How would you like to see South African fashion progress?

I think the main difference is the whole “Fashion Culture” and fashion awareness that the French, but mainly the Parisians, have. Paris and France have been the capitals of fashion and beauty since Marie Antoinette was Queen. People here, even if they aren’t anyway directly involved in the Fashion Industry, still know what it takes to be considered a Haute Couture brand and make more of an effort to know fashion. They take more pride in their appearance and how they dress. A friend of mine described fashion to the Parisians as Pasta is to Italians (please excuse this cliché, but it is the only way to describe what I am thinking right now); it is deeply cemented into their culture. In South Africa, on the other hand, it doesn’t play a part of everyday life. Even at the universities and colleges in South Africa, they are gearing you more towards working for a brand like Truworths, Woolworths and Mr. Price instead of becoming a fashion designer. People say it is because of our economy or whatever, but that isn’t true. On the Metro on my way home, I see women from North Africa that live in the worst areas of Paris and they still look absolutely beautiful. There is no sense of what it takes to construct a beautiful Bespoke suit or bead a dress entirely by hand in South Africa, everything is for the mass market and for Prêt-à-Porter (ready to wear). That is also why I decided to move to Paris, because the industry was born and governed from here, whereas the fashion industry is so tiny in South Africa. I would never get to the place I want to be by staying there.



When did you realize you wanted to become a fashion designer? Have you always loved fashion? How did it all start?

When I was younger I would do sketches, mainly of women’s wear, but most of them were very bad. Then in my ‘awkward teenage years’ I didn’t care much for it, but it was always in the back of my mind. When I was 17, I came to France on an exchange program and I was introduced to a whole new side of fashion I had never seen before. Growing up in South Africa, we aren’t really exposed to many of the great designers, apart the very commercial ones, and no one knows what Haute Couture REALLY is. On my exchange program, I spend two weeks in Paris and it was only then that I was even introduced to Maisons such as Hermès, Lanvin, Goyard, Jean-Charles de Castlebajac and many more. Before then, I only knew of all the common brands, such as Louis Vuitton, and I barely knew about the 4 brands of Burberry. But now you can’t get me to stop talking about them.



 

photography|darren palmer

Who are some of your favourite designers and why? Who would you name as your fashion idol?

I love French fashion the most. I love the classic aesthetic of it and I feel that as a designer, the market I would want to appeal to is the French. For me, the Italian industry is geared more towards the “Mucho Men”, you just have to watch a Dolce &Gabbana runway show to see what I mean. The New York based industry is too commercial, personally (sorry to sound like a hipster). The French for me just ooze sophistication and class and it inspires me the most. My favourite designers include Vivienne Westwood, Riccardo Tisci (Givenchy), ReiKawakubo (Comme des Garçon), AlberElbaz (Lanvin), Jean-Charles de Castelbajac, Véronique Nichanian (Hermès), Jean-Paul Gaultier, Juun J and Olivier Rousteing (Balmain).
However, my fashion idol is undoubtedly Yves Saint Laurent. I not only love the brand, but I feel like I can connect with him on a deeper level. After reading and doing research on him, I felt like we had more in common than just loving fashion and shared a more unique version of what is considered beautiful. Even though he isn’t alive, I would consider him as a mentor, if that makes sense, but I know it so totally doesn’t.

What are some of your favourite clothing stores/fashion blogs /websites/magazines?
Well, for brands I wear the most, I would consider The Kooples, Zadig& Voltaire (Those two are my favourites), Eleven Paris, Topman, Zara, Kenzo, Sandro, and ami. With regard to the brands I mentioned under my favourite designers, I like to go and visit their boutiques to get inspiration. I am a student, so I can’t afford to go out and buy a Givenchy T-Shirt every other day. Colette Paris, Galleries Lafayette, Printemps, and Le Marais area in Paris’s 4e arrondissement are where I do most of my shopping. Online shopping is also good. Websites such as MrPorter.com and ASOS are amazing when it comes to variety. I love the brand Lonely Kids Club from Australia so their website is also a good one to check out.
Printed magazines, I love Schön (I met the editor-in-chief when I was in London earlier in the year, which was really cool. He’s a nice guy.) I also love FIASCO and FIASCO Hommes (I write online for them). They are good for younger, more artistic people. 1883 is also good for this. For more serious fashion followers, L’OfficialHommesand Vogue International Hommes are also amazing magazines and Vogue International Hommes Japan is probably the best menswear magazine available with regards to fashion editorials.
Some amazing blogs are My Portis Wasp Says, Bryan Boy, Fashion Foie Gras, Tokyo Fashion, Homotography, Cinder & Skylark (Michelle, the blogger for this blog is really sweet too. She photographed me one day when I was in Cape Town), Karl is My Uncle, Tom Ford is my Dad, The Blue Eyed Boy and Eliott and the beati. I also have a blog, that’s a hint ;).

What do you believe makes an article of clothing unique? How do you select items when shopping?
In most of the case, it isn’t a piece of clothing that is unique. How you wear it and what you wear it with will make it unique. A scarf is just a scarf, but if you suddenly change the scarf into a cumberband, then it is something new and unique. It just requires thinking out the box and not being scared. When shopping, I mainly spend money on accessories and stuff I can mix and match into my existing wardrobe. You shouldn’t really spend a lot of money on something you can only wear like one specific way or things that you will look back on in the next fashion season and thing like “Why the fuck did I get this?”. Yeah, fashion and being fashionable and trendy is fun, but it can only get you so far. You should create a unique look for yourself and incorporate trends into it.

Do you consider yourself an artist?
Not yet. You need time to develop as an artist. I still have a lot to learn before I can even consider myself as an artist.

How would you define your personal style? Give us a taste of an everyday outfit of yours.
Ha ha, people ask that question a lot and I simply don’t know how to explain it without sounding cliché. Basically, I dress the way I want to see other people dressed. Usually I decide on a piece I would like to feature, such as a nice pair of pants, jersey, shirt, etc, and then choose pieces that complement the look. I think that my style changes depending on what I am doing that day, but at the same time it is important to make yourself look good no matter what you are doing. When I was still in Durban, I was working at a waiter and every time I saw a guy walk in for dinner wearing shorts and sandals I wanted grab him by his unwashed hair and force him to read Vogue International Hommes. But, just some advice for guys out there – you can never go wrong wearing a white shirt, sleeves rolled up if it is hot(please never wear one of those short sleeved white collared shirts), with fitted pants or jeans and a pair of cool brogues or sneakers. Most of my outfits involve a white shirt. It is a good basic for all guys to start off with.


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photography|aneta kawecka and felik wong

What are some of your fashion goals?
At the moment, I just want to get through school and work as hard as possible to do well. I would like to take things further with my blog and work more with magazines and styling work. I’m just trying to experience as many things as possible. Eventually I would like to become creative director for Yves Saint Laurent (Or Saint Laurent Paris as it will soon be called. But, when I come to power, it will change back). But that is still far away. I just need to mature a bit and just get out there I guess.

Any advice for budding designers out there?
Fashion isn’t for the faint of heart, so whatever you do - just never, ever give up.

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Where can readers find out more about you?

You can follow my blog at brett-yves.blogspot.com, and twitter @BrettYves. I have Instagram too, so you can follow me and my life in Paris (I try not to be too Paris Tourist cliché in the pictures I take) and my name there is BrettYves. I also write for FIASCO online (www.fiascoplus.com) so just search for Brett Yves or Brett Foxcroft in the search box.|