Swiss born designer Camille Kunz, got the Chloe Award from Hyeres Festival, in July 2013. Unique colours, extravagant patterns and inspiration drawn from her childhood are showcased in her latest work.
Even though you are a menswear designer, you won the Chloe Award by designing a single woman’s outfit. Any plans for launching a line of womenswear in the near future?
Of course my formation was to design for men, but I’ve always done womenswear before and for myself. The challenge is to design new things, for men and for women; it’s all the same in the end!
In your opinion what is the most important garment in a man’s wardrobe?
Trousers! They have to be cool, with nice pockets and a nice crotch.
The Boy Vanishes is a very intriguing title for a collection. What was the main idea for the concept?
I love the concept of trying to melt one material into another (like the silicon in my collection) and, also, to erase parts of clothes. I myself also wanted to vanish into my brothers’ world.
Hence your collection was an attempt to blend into your brothers’ clothes. Do you consider them your muses?
I love the daytime banality which surrounds me; people, places or public transport. For this collection, I was intrigued by the way my brothers were getting dressed, and how ordinary that could be.
How do you imagine yourself in 5 years?
Hopefully with a good job!
The finger-tips of the models were painted grayish green. Was that in order to create a contrast with the brown garments, or did it have a different meaning?
That was in relation to one of the very first mood pictures I had, of a half dipped hand painted in blue. That was the starting point for my research.
Were you a tomboy?
Yeah, but I was dreaming of becoming a woman fast.
Interview: Danae Terzakou
