When we meet him, Norman Mabire-Larguier seems almost as immense as his talent. The young 26-year-old French designer who now lives in Paris studied fashion design at La Cambre in Brussels, then at HEAD in Geneva, before launching his own house NORMANMABIRELARGUIER. Yes, all glued together, a bit like his aesthetic which sometimes sublimates the idea of an obstacle, what we perhaps endure, before appropriating it to make it a strength.
His fashion, sourced from dormant stock from major luxury houses, deconstructs coats to be worn inside out or as a skirt, questioning clothing typologies and gender codes in the process. His refined and radical approach, accentuated by his obsession with black, led him to be among the finalists of the 38th edition of the prestigious Hyères Festival, while he had already won first prize in another fashion competition, ModaPortugal in 2022. It is enough to suggest that his name will probably count more and more in the industry. And for this to miss decided to meet him, who is about to launch his ready-to-wear line, more accessible than his bespoke tailoring.
Interview with the young designer Norman Mabire-Larguier
To miss. Where does your passion for fashion come from?
Norman Mabire-Larguier. I don’t have a clear memory of the first fashion. I’m fascinated by clothing as such. How is it built? What is it ? Anything that can be conveyed through clothing as an emotion. All the cutting needs, the formal research that can be done. This is what got me into fashion.
How did you start thinking that this could become a profession in its own right?
I have a very concrete approach to clothing, it is never a question of abstraction, nor of pieces of fabric on which we would sculpt a narrative discourse. It was my curiosity about the materiality of pieces that led me to become interested in and want to train in pattern making, pattern making, etc. One of my very first steps into fashion was at Ateliers Grandis, artisan luxury clothing manufacturers based in Normandy. I was in their design office, from where they design for several large houses. This is where I was able to refine my formal approach to clothing.
What was your education before founding your fashion house, NORMANMABIRELARGUIER?
After several internships at Ateliers Grandis, I spent three years at the National School of Visual Arts in ‘La Cambre’, Brussels. There we develop an approach to clothing that is both very creative and very concrete. I subsequently spent a gap year with various internships at important French luxury houses. And then I decided to continue my studies at the Haute École d’Art et de Design in Geneva. HEAD has been really complementary to my years in La Cambre, because there we are much more free and we meet many industry professionals who are there as mentors, tutors, speakers, more or less punctual.
Was it clear from your school days that you would launch your own brand?
Since my school days I began to lay the foundations of my future company, consolidated by missions as a freelance designer for other brands. I attended the 38th edition of the Hyères International Fashion, Photography and Accessories Festival in October 2023 which marked the launch of my brand project. It’s only been three months now that it’s becoming a reality. In 2022, right after finishing my high school studies, I won the Grand Prix for the best collection at the Moda Portugal competition, which allowed me to sign this collaboration with La Redoute released in November 2023, right after the ‘Hyeres’ fashion festival .
Is it because your work feels so autobiographical that creating your own home felt necessary?
When you are really convinced of what you are doing, you may want to give your voice, and not for the big houses that have a different approach, large volumes and many deadlines to respect. Creating my own home was always on my mind, while I told myself it wouldn’t be realistic, not for a long time, or even impossible. But all my meetings and some opportunities have made this more and more possible. After my end-of-studio collection, it was a logical continuation. It’s more of a necessity than a dream.
What does your work in the clothing industry say about you?
For me it is a necessity to translate feelings that I cannot express through clothes. These are unspeakable thoughts, indeed. We find the idea of an obstacle a lot in my work, it is my way of expressing the difficulty of finding one’s place in relation to oneself, but also in relation to society in a more general way. This queer sensibility emerges from the collection, questions about gender, sexuality, their performativity. How can we try to protect ourselves from the outside world, hindering ourselves in the process, trying to be transparent but not completely, etc.?
Your creations sometimes resemble chrysalises from which we are emerging, or molts in progress. How do your silhouettes perhaps also freeze metamorphoses?
Yes, some pants are constructed like coats with the sleeves removed, revealing the raw edges on the shoulder pads. Other jackets appear to be worn inside out, but are specifically built to be worn that way. It’s not about creating fiction, but rather about showing an idea of transformation, of continuous change, that we are never stuck in what we have been assigned. This is perhaps my way of expressing the fact that we can abstract ourselves from the codes of what we consider a skirt, a trousers, a coat or even a gender. To escape from these types of clothing it is necessary to know the codes in order to be able to deviate, deconstruct and reconstruct them differently with one’s own sensitivity. Clothing can also be a sort of cocoon within which we can develop our sensitivity and intimacy. We may want to protect ourselves from the violence of the outside world by creating our own, but at the same time this can limit us to some extent.
Why do you only use black for your clothes?
Black is above all a radical gesture of reduction to the essential, of purity. This also allows us to emphasize the architecture of the garment, to focus on the formal aspect. It is also an indirect reference to a certain idea of couture that Cristóbal Balenciaga particularly loved.
In what ways is being a young designer particularly complicated today?
Being a young designer today is very challenging. We cannot compete with the giants who dictate the pace. It’s tricky to develop a unique writing style, your own style. It’s almost violent. This requires relentless motivation. Especially because there is no need for new brands, we are already overflowing with clothes and proposals. therefore establishing yourself in this sector today is a continuous test, a constant determination. We at HEAD were relatively trained in this sense. We cannot revolutionize the sector overnight, but we can still try to challenge the status quo, offer something new and alternative, as environmentally friendly as possible.
Has your collaboration with La Redoute made you want to create your own ready-to-wear line alongside your own custom tailoring?
The collaboration with La Redoute has taught me a lot, especially how to meet the requirements of cost, models, etc. I had already planned to have my own line (Black Line), more accessible but still very high-end, in addition to bespoke tailoring (Atelier), and it will be coming out soon, in fact. It will not be a simplification of sewing, it will be truly complementary, always with great formal requirements on the design, the choice of materials, the tailoring, the quality of the finishes, etc. AND always a great radicality in my search for purity.
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Source: Madmoizelle
Mary Crossley is an author at “The Fashion Vibes”. She is a seasoned journalist who is dedicated to delivering the latest news to her readers. With a keen sense of what’s important, Mary covers a wide range of topics, from politics to lifestyle and everything in between.
