THE BIRTH OF UNISEX COUTURE : RAD HOURANI
Rad Hourani, who showed on the final day of couture shows in Paris, introduced an androgynous collection suitable for men or women. He talks to Misty White Sidell.
On the last day of Paris’s spring
2013 haute couture presentations, a procession of boys and girls paraded
down a narrow runway, swathed in an array of monochromatic, androgynous
looks. The show’s boxy shapes, angular faces, and identical black
bowl-cut wigs made it nearly impossible to tell the girls from the boys.
But that was the point. The show was the work of designer Rad
Hourani—the world’s first creator of unisex couture.
Hourani,
age 30, is a Paris transplant by way of Montréal. Born in Jordan, his
self-taught outlook on fashion is very different from his couture
contemporaries—many of which presented sweet confectionary collections
these past few days—a stark contrast to Hourani’s simplistic, sometimes
even severe look. “Haute couture for me is about luxury and paying
respect to all of the workmanship. It’s a respect for a design and
luxury and quality, like an homage to art or things that have a value in
society,” Hourani told The Daily Beast by phone last week.
Hourani, who also designs a unisex
ready-to-wear collection called RAD by Rad Hourani, is best known in
fashion circles for his neutral outlook on gender. “I don’t understand
why a man has certain things he’s allowed to wear and women have skirts,
and flower prints and high heels,” he said. “I don’t understand who
made these rules.” Instead of attending a typical design school, he
learned his craft by trial and error, taking a full year to
conceptualize a pattern that would fit both men and women. But his
emphasis really lies more in the “grey zone” than alluding to gender
role reversal. “I think the aesthetic I’m creating is not a man going to
a woman’s wardrobe, or a woman wearing men’s clothes. It’s a completely
unisex vision.”
Since
launching his collection in 2007, Hourani’s designs have spread to 130
stores in 30 countries. And yes, his clothes are even designed to fit
women with womanly assets. “I have many woman clients with large chest
sizes,” he attested. His template look, seen on Thursday’s runway, is
anchored within a pair of broadly cut shoulders and an angular
upper-body that typically pipes down into a slim-cut leg. The results
are often cut in black and white with leather accents, and are sometimes
topped by sweepingly long, almost clinical-type coats and vests. For
his Spring 2013 couture collection, Hourani dressed each model in
identical wigs and adorned their feet in a one-gender-fits-all approach
to footwear—choosing slightly wedged sandals and elevated block-heeled
booties for both boys and girls.
However,
Thursday wasn’t Hourani’s first time to the couture rodeo—he presented
his first couture collection off of the official calendar in July. In
France, the world of haute couture is a highly guarded craft that’s
overseen by a government-affiliated body, the Chambre Syndicale de la
Haute Couture. In July, Hourani’s work had not yet been recognized by
the committee, but after receiving a recommendation from Christian
Dior’s CEO, Sidney Toledano, he’s is now an officially invited member.
That makes Thursday’s show the world’s first unisex couture collection
ever shown. “It’s entirely different,” Hourani says of his newly-minted
status, “It’s a huge thing for my career, not anyone can just show and
say they are couture.”
But
more than that, being deemed an official couturier breathes new
enthusiasm into Hourani’s unisex vision. “It’s something that’s never
been done in high end besides maybe a unisex t-shirt,” he explained.
“It’s a language I’m very dedicated to, I think it’s something very
important in our society. Unisex isn’t just a garment reference—it
implies that age doesn’t exist, religion doest exist, and so on. There
are no boundaries.”
FULL ARTICLE FROM THE DAILY BEAST
On the last day of Paris’s spring 2013 haute couture presentations, a procession of boys and girls paraded down a narrow runway, swathed in an array of monochromatic, androgynous looks. The show’s boxy shapes, angular faces, and identical black bowl-cut wigs made it nearly impossible to tell the girls from the boys. But that was the point. The show was the work of designer Rad Hourani—the world’s first creator of unisex couture.
Hourani, age 30, is a Paris transplant by way of Montréal. Born in Jordan, his self-taught outlook on fashion is very different from his couture contemporaries—many of which presented sweet confectionary collections these past few days—a stark contrast to Hourani’s simplistic, sometimes even severe look. “Haute couture for me is about luxury and paying respect to all of the workmanship. It’s a respect for a design and luxury and quality, like an homage to art or things that have a value in society,” Hourani told The Daily Beast by phone last week.
Hourani, who also designs a unisex ready-to-wear collection called RAD by Rad Hourani, is best known in fashion circles for his neutral outlook on gender. “I don’t understand why a man has certain things he’s allowed to wear and women have skirts, and flower prints and high heels,” he said. “I don’t understand who made these rules.” Instead of attending a typical design school, he learned his craft by trial and error, taking a full year to conceptualize a pattern that would fit both men and women. But his emphasis really lies more in the “grey zone” than alluding to gender role reversal. “I think the aesthetic I’m creating is not a man going to a woman’s wardrobe, or a woman wearing men’s clothes. It’s a completely unisex vision.”
Since launching his collection in 2007, Hourani’s designs have spread to 130 stores in 30 countries. And yes, his clothes are even designed to fit women with womanly assets. “I have many woman clients with large chest sizes,” he attested. His template look, seen on Thursday’s runway, is anchored within a pair of broadly cut shoulders and an angular upper-body that typically pipes down into a slim-cut leg. The results are often cut in black and white with leather accents, and are sometimes topped by sweepingly long, almost clinical-type coats and vests. For his Spring 2013 couture collection, Hourani dressed each model in identical wigs and adorned their feet in a one-gender-fits-all approach to footwear—choosing slightly wedged sandals and elevated block-heeled booties for both boys and girls.
However, Thursday wasn’t Hourani’s first time to the couture rodeo—he presented his first couture collection off of the official calendar in July. In France, the world of haute couture is a highly guarded craft that’s overseen by a government-affiliated body, the Chambre Syndicale de la Haute Couture. In July, Hourani’s work had not yet been recognized by the committee, but after receiving a recommendation from Christian Dior’s CEO, Sidney Toledano, he’s is now an officially invited member. That makes Thursday’s show the world’s first unisex couture collection ever shown. “It’s entirely different,” Hourani says of his newly-minted status, “It’s a huge thing for my career, not anyone can just show and say they are couture.”
But more than that, being deemed an official couturier breathes new enthusiasm into Hourani’s unisex vision. “It’s something that’s never been done in high end besides maybe a unisex t-shirt,” he explained. “It’s a language I’m very dedicated to, I think it’s something very important in our society. Unisex isn’t just a garment reference—it implies that age doesn’t exist, religion doest exist, and so on. There are no boundaries.”
RH on reaching the top as an haute couture designer
Blame it on our complacent, laid-back nature, but despite all our talent, only a precious handful of Canadian designers have ever managed to make on the international fashion stage. And not one has ever been invited to show on the official Paris Haute Couture calendar. So when 30-year-old Rad Hourani, a Jordanian-born former stylist, became the first Canadian to present a collection sanctioned by the mighty Chambre Syndicale de la Haute Couture in Paris last week, industry enthusiasts were both proud and elated.
I first met Hourani when he was in his early 20s. His sartorial sensibility bowled me over — boldly avant-garde yet exceedingly elegant. A few years later, in 2007, Hourani moved to Paris to start his own label.
It was a gutsy move, as Hourani had no formal design training. But what he did have in spades was vision, courage, tenacity, and passion. Within five years, he not only managed to create a successful niche business for himself, with his edgy, mostly black unisex clothing, but he also tried his hand at an “unofficial” couture collection last season that was very well received by a host of international clients. This season, with a coveted invitation to show on the official couture calendar, Hourani served up a modern, black-and-white unisex story that was brave, unapologetic and highly sophisticated. I chatted with the designer at the Canadian Cultural Centre, just after his dramatic presentation, about what it takes to realize a dream.
Q: Your work is like nothing we have ever seen at couture. Which is ideal. We want something unique. But it really is such a departure. Did it make you insecure that maybe you wouldn’t be accepted?
A: Never! From the beginning, I started with a high-end unisex line. It wasn’t something that existed before. I never do something for the eyes of others. Do you know the book by Ayn Rand, The Fountainhead? For me, the personality of Howard Roark is the way I see the world. Many people said to me, “You have to read this book. It’s you! You’re in it.” And when I read it, I felt this is exactly what I’m talking about. If you have a vision, you don’t compromise and you don’t exist for the eyes of others. You don’t do things thinking about what others will think.
Q: But surely this is an extremely costly exercise, even to produce just one of these garments. There’s so much work that goes into it. How do you manage to create a whole collection of this magnitude?
A: Last season, when I did the off-calendar collection as a test, I was extremely surprised when we had so many clients ordering these haute couture pieces. We had royal families, celebrities, artists — from everywhere. And they ordered almost the whole collection! This wasn’t something I thought would happen — that someone would pay $25,000 for a jacket, or $10,000 for a pant.
Q: But they do.
A: Yeah. And they wear it, and they send us notes like, “I feel amazing. I feel powerful. I feel timeless, luxurious . . .” Many of them flew in today for the show, too.
Q: From where?
A: Some of them flew from the Middle East, some of them from the U.S. and Canada.
Q: So you know now you have a market.
A: Exactly. But that’s my answer to your question about it being so expensive. If that didn’t happen, I don’t know if I would be doing it again.
Q: Do you feel that this, in a way, is announcing a new age of couture? Because what’s going on here is really so far from being traditional.
A: For me, couture is not just about feathers and pearls. I think couture is about paying respect to the savoir faire and all of the luxurious quality that goes into a garment and the vision that goes into it. And I think couture doesn’t mean you just wear it at night. I think it’s important to me that I create something I can wear 24 hours a day. I have my own language, and maybe that’s why you see it as new.
Q: Like any creative person, I’m sure you are vulnerable to some degree. You’re an artist after all, and as secure as you must be on some levels, we all have our demons. Was there any aspect about today’s presentation that had you feeling nervous?
A: Never. I think I have lots of guts. And I’m very persevering. And very focused. I’m never insecure about what I do in terms of whether it’s going to work or not. Look at my last show — I didn’t know if a client would buy it or anything. I think if you really do what you love and you’re really honest about it and you give your best to it — something will always come out of it. You see what I mean? I wouldn’t be here today if I hadn’t been doing it this same way since I started. I never thought I’d be doing haute couture. I never thought all of that could happen. And selling to 130 stores in 30 countries around the world! I think that’s just something that comes from working hard, being true to yourself, having a very precise vision, and giving it your best. It’s not just about making fashion or being talented.
Q: What has this business taught you so far?
A: To respect yourself and to respect your vision and above all, to have your own language, your own way of doing things. Don’t do it to be part of a group because you need to concentrate on your own thing. One day you can be on top and the next day you can be nothing. I think it’s also important to be honest to your client and to people around you.
Q: How are Canadians regarded on the world fashion stage, do you think?
A: I think there are definitely talented people in Canada. But I think it’s important to travel and experiment, and not sit in a comfort zone. I think Canada is an extremely comfortable country — one of the best countries in the world. I think the reason why I am the first one (to be featured in Paris in this way) is because I was never comfortable with comfort. Every time something was comfortable or established I had to break it all and start again. After five years of styling, I was just bored because nothing was challenging anymore. I think that’s a character or personality trait. I think I have it a lot of that in me.
Q: What advice would you give a young person who was trying to pursue their dreams in fashion?
A: Don’t do it just to be part of it. Do it because you have something to bring to this world and be true to yourself. Be an individual and be ready to persevere and to work extremely hard, because it’s not an easy business.
Q: Do you think you’re in this for the long haul?
A: I think so. I love it. I am enjoying it. We’ll see. I think step by step. And I think everything will happen at the right place and right time and that everything will happen for a reason. My vision is to keep on doing it, and to keep on showing, because I have lots of ideas in my head for couture.
Since I was a kid, I never wanted to be like others, or dress like others. I wanted to create my own thing and I think I’m still doing that.
Le petit prince de la haute couture - LE DEVOIR
Rad Hourani est à la mode ce que Prince est à la pop : unique,
décoiffant, intemporel, inclassable, très libérateur. Il est aussi le
premier designer de mode québécois et même canadien à investir le cercle
très prisé de la haute couture parisienne. Le 24 janvier prochain, il
présentera sa première collection en tant que membre invité officiel, et
pour ne rien faire à moitié, ce sera un défilé unisexe prévu au
calendrier, du jamais vu. Le spectacle, qui promet d’être épuré,
élégant, mystérieux et déstabilisant, aura lieu au Centre culturel
canadien à Paris. Petit prince deviendra grand…
Entrer dans l’univers de la haute couture, le secteur professionnel où exercent les créateurs de vêtements de luxe, c’est exceptionnel en soi. Mais le faire à 30 ans, sans aucune formation liée à la couture et en ayant amorcé ses premières collections il y a seulement cinq ans, cela tient de l’exploit ! Rad Hourani ne fait rien comme les autres.
Très réservé sur sa personne, il observe beaucoup et réfléchit avant d’agir. Sa sensibilité à fleur de peau, sa pureté et son énergie nous happent, laissant entrevoir un artiste pour qui la mode n’est pas une fin en soi. Car Rad Hourani, comme beaucoup d’autodidactes, a soif de découvertes. Il crée sans s’enfermer dans des techniques ou des modèles imposés.
Rigoureux, perfectionniste, toujours en questionnement, il explore, expérimente, déconstruit pour mieux reconstruire. Bref, il imagine un monde en évolution et invente un langage approprié pour l’exprimer de toutes les manières possibles. Et loin de lui l’idée de tout miser dans une seule direction. Ses explorations et ses recherches avancent au fil des 14 collections qu’il a déjà réalisées, des 15 pays qu’il a visités, des 500 vols d’avion qu’il a effectués. C’est d’abord une approche nomade qui alimente son art, l’envie d’évoluer et de s’adapter à un environnement en évolution.
Des supports multiples
Sa démarche lui donne aussi l’idée de réaliser des films, de monter des expositions, d’écrire et de mettre en pages des livres, d’effectuer le design de sa boutique, de collaborer avec d’autres artistes, bref de créer sur des supports multiples et d’avancer avec des oeuvres qui s’enrichissent les unes les autres, comme le prolongement logique d’une seule vision en mouvement. À l’opposé d’un homme qui ne suit qu’un seul chemin, lui privilégie instinctivement l’idée ouverte d’un cycle de la vie.
Le travail de Hourani, cet artiste complet, emprunte une esthétique à la fois graphique, photographique et architecturale, jouant avec les lignes pures et reposant sur une vision noir et blanc du monde, avec parfois quelques notes de teintes classiques.
Son art s’exprime en trompe-l’oeil, en symétries ou en reflets infinis, s’amusant à disloquer et à brouiller les limites des choses, tout ça dans le seul but de nous sortir de notre zone de confort bâtie autour d’évidences pour lesquelles on nous a si bien programmés.
« Le genre masculin, féminin, tout ça n’a pas d’importance, dit-il, pas plus que le lieu dont nous venons, celui dans lequel nous vivons et celui où nous allons. Je me situe ailleurs, loin des carcans, des tendances ou des saisons. »
Voilà pourquoi ses collections portent des numéros et pourquoi ses créations sont faites à partir de patrons unisexes qu’il a lui-même confectionnés, des patrons dont les dessins mis bout à bout ressemblent étrangement aux plans des niveaux d’un bâtiment : « Comme je n’ai pas fait d’études en design de mode, je ne suis prisonnier d’aucune école de pensée, d’aucune technique. C’est ainsi que j’ai développé mes propres silhouettes unisexes et que, pour moi, tout est réalisable. Je pars souvent d’une image qui devient un dessin très graphique et se transforme en une architecture qui sert de patron. Mes patronnistes ne me comprennent pas toujours, mais ils y arrivent, et je travaille aussi avec des couturières exceptionnelles et une équipe en or. »
Il engage 15 employés et possède des ateliers à Montréal et Paris, ainsi qu’un bureau de presse à New York. Ses créations sont vendues dans plus de 30 pays et 130 points de vente.
Derrière ce succès si rapide, il y a beaucoup de recherche, de travail. Rad Hourani propose quelque chose de différent, d’intrigant, d’authentique. Sa vision du monde sans genres, sans frontières, est passionnante, son approche l’est aussi. « Contrairement à beaucoup de créateurs de haute couture, dit-il, je mets un point d’honneur à ce que mes créations restent confortables et portables. Lorsque j’imagine un vêtement, je pense d’abord à ce que j’aimerais sentir sur ma peau. Les vêtements doivent être un prolongement du corps. »
Pour lui, nous sommes des êtres définis par nos sens plus que par des genres et ce qui nous différencie, ce sont les choix que nous faisons et la sensibilité que nous alimentons. Sa vision avant-gardiste interpelle et pousse à aller vers un changement d’attitude face à nous-même et aux autres. À sa manière, il esquisse une autre façon d’exister, beaucoup plus libre.
De Montréal à Paris
En 2007, Rad Hourani ouvre son atelier de prêt-à-porter à Montréal. Cinq ans plus tard, il inaugure sa première Galerie Unisexe Rad Hourani à Paris, qui présente ses expositions photos, des installations vidéo et des pièces de collection prêt-à-porter et haute couture produites en exclusivité pour la galerie. Cet espace est un prolongement direct du travail du créateur : entièrement transformable, avec des portants qui deviennent des bancs, par exemple, c’est un lieu nomade, modulable, qui rejoint toutes ses autres créations.
En devenant un membre de la haute couture, le créateur entre « officiellement » dans l’avant-garde et se donne comme mission de créer des oeuvres qui préfigurent la mode. En France, d’où elle est originaire, la haute couture est une appellation juridiquement protégée. Les maisons de haute couture doivent répondre à un certain nombre de critères : un travail réalisé à la main dans les ateliers de la maison, le nombre d’employés, l’unicité de pièces sur mesure, le nombre de modèles, la participation à un quota de grands défilés, l’utilisation d’une certaine surface de tissu… Enfin, chaque couturier postulant doit obligatoirement être parrainé par une personne influente du milieu.
Pour Rad Hourani, la grande porte s’est ouverte lorsque Sydney Toledano, p.-d.g. de Christian Dior Couture, a décidé de devenir son parrain. Sous l’aile de cet homme d’affaires créatif et visionnaire, Hourani a de beaux jours devant lui : « Rad Hourani a été parrainé par une marque française majeure et élu à l’unanimité par le Comité de direction de la Chambre syndicale de la haute couture, dit M. Didier Grumbach, president de la Fédération française de la couture, du prêt-à-porter des couturiers et des créateurs de mode. « Son travail est rigoureux et singulier ; je pense sincèrement qu’il établira sa marque. »
Le défilé RH#10
Le défilé Haute Couture RH#10 se tiendra le 24 janvier prochain dans un décor classique haussmannien au Centre culturel canadien de Paris et présentera 22 ensembles unisexes portés par des mannequins androgynes qui défileront au son d’une musique composée sur mesure.
Les grandes lignes de cette collection haute couture se composent d’une série d’ensembles trompe-l’oeil : « Je me suis amusé avec les silhouettes une-pièce, dit-il. Elles ont l’air d’avoir plusieurs niveaux, mais c’est un effet de la vue. »
La collection propose une recherche d’épuration, de sophistication dans le noir, le blanc et le détail. Pour appuyer son discours, le couturier se sert de ses tissus fétiches : le cuir, le crêpe, la soie, le cachemire, la laine, le bambou, le tercel et le coton, des matières authentiques au toucher très doux.
En confrontant les contraires, construction-déconstruction, équilibre-déséquilibre et force-fragilité, noir-blanc, Rad Hourani interpelle les mystères de l’âme. Il crée des rêves étranges capables de réveiller l’enfant, ou l’artiste, qui sommeille en chacun de nous. Ses oeuvres évoquent l’abstraction, la pureté et l’innocence qui font du bien.
