July 2016

Yacine Aouadi

  • 13'015 on the catwalk
 
 YACINE AOUADI

He's come a long way, from the North Marseille tower blocks to the Grand Palais in Paris where he presented his first haute couture collection last year and now the MuCEM museum and Château Borély in Marseille, where his creations are on show this summer. The five figures of the name are a tribute to his roots.

 

It took a decade for Yacine Aouadi to establish his credentials in the plush world of haute couture. When he did, the name he gave his first collection was an enigmatic number. But a number well known in Marseille, where it's the postcode for the shabby tower blocks in the north of the town. He's added an apostrophe in the middle. "It was meant as a reference to the superstition around the number 13, and to 2015, and to Marseille's 15th arrondissement, especially La Calade where I grew up in an Algerian family. My mother was my first muse. As far back as I can remember I was blown away by her sense of style."

 

The road to success
"My three years studying at Studio Berçot in Paris were especially enriching. A revelation in terms of creativity and stretching my limits. Then I joined the studios at Maison Balmain where I discovered my taste for craftsmanship and the artistic crafts." A few years later Yacine decided to set up his own fashion house, with his own highly personal view of fashion. "I have no particular preferences except that I choose my fabrics first and that choice conditions what I create before I've even put pencil to paper. However, black is to the couturier as white canvas is to the painter. A foundation, timeless and elegant. A fashion design is a catalyst, a means of expression that is nourished by what you are but also by what you do. For example, I love travelling, it's always a powerful human and cultural experience and a source of inspiration."

 

Tribute to a local lad
Yacine Aouadi's 13'015 is on show at MuCEM (in G building, Fort Saint-Jean) until 29 August. The remarkable exhibition design spotlights the 13 haute couture outfits that were unveiled last year in the prestigious setting of the Grand Palais in Paris. The influences here are various: Victorian, Asian, Punk and North African. The exhibition running in parallel at the fashion and decorative arts museum in Château Borély sets the young couturier's creations side by side with those of his masters (Dior, Chanel, Alaïa etc.). "It's really surprising to have a show at a government-funded museum and see the posters everywhere. That recognition boosts my self-confidence and helps me forge ahead." As well as a third collection which he'll be showing in Paris in July, Yacine plans to make a capsule collection of luxury ready-to-wear in the same spirit that drives his haute couture work. "It's a step that requires capital, so I'm actively looking for a patron, a financial partner. In any case, I am now putting all my energy into developing my business. That's a lifetime project and it demands body-and-soul commitment."