Jérôme Dreyfuss is in the arms of one girl out of two in Paris. Designer of handbags for 15 years, he is the reserved husband of Isabel Marant in his private life and especially the one who understood the women. If he is the designer of the bags that make them dream, it’s because he wants to understand them, he observes them, values who they are, or just loves them the way they are. ‘We all need a girl best friend’ Jerôme Dreyfuss told us during the interview, on our side we think that we do need more designers like him. A mix of honest talk and sincere commitment that make this kind of feel good people.
La Grande Boutique. Do you follow Fashion Week?
Jerome Dreyfuss. Not at all ! I think that nothing is interesting any more in Fashion Weeks… except for “it girls” so basically people who do not do much, who are given free clothes and are there to have their picture taken. What’s going on at Fashion Week? There is no longer this excitement that previously existed… I may speak to you like an old man but I am referring to a time when there was a real dialogue about work and crafts. And I feel that it does not exist anymore.
La Grande Boutique. What interests you in fashion then?
Jerome Dreyfuss. I’m interested in the girls, the customers, the real world. What are your problems and what solutions can we provide? I like to chat with other designers, but not during Fashion Week. It’s not a cool thing, don’t you think? There are some 70-year-old women dressed like 20-year-old girls and we would like to make young girls believe that that is what beauty and success are. This world does not exist. I do not think we need to pay so much attention to physical appearances otherwise I think we are feeling very bad, and it is not for me the purpose of fashion. Fashion is about respecting women and making them feel good. Feminism is everywhere right now, don’t you think that these disguised women destroy a little the image of women? I’m disturbed by this image conveyed that make women think they are never good enough. I am not surprised that guys are not attracted to this kind of women, and actually very often these women are single. Sorry, but we do not like to consider women as objects. We like nice girls, and we love when they have bulges and it does not matter at all. What is the example for today’s girls? Look at the American starlets that have become famous by doing nothing but acting like w****, it’s so sad.
La Grande Boutique. How did you come up with the idea of being a bag designer? For the sake of women?
Jerome Dreyfuss. It is a total and absolute accident! I was at a dinner with girlfriends who all arrived with bags a little rotten and they explained to me that they found nothing else than bags at the flea market or promotional bags … It was 15 years ago, at the time, there were only the big houses that made leather goods, and the pieces were very structured, a little heavy, not really adapted to the women’s bodies. At first, my idea was to help them. The bags were very heavy, they had back pain, the materials were rigid, so I sought to reconcile lightness, smooth and soft leather skin … I simply responded to a request. In fact, I just tried to seduce by doing something very simple. We must listen to women, take inspiration from the street and dress the street. That’s what makes me dream.
La Grande Boutique. According to you, what is a well-dressed woman?
Jerome Dreyfuss. I see so many of them in the street! Well-dressed women are the girls who feel good about who they are, that’s it. It’s the only thing that matters, you have to be good about yourself. Do not believe that if you buy armor, you will feel better. You have to feel good and then any armor will be great. We must teach women to fight, and we must not turn women into objects of desire. They can be super desirable when they are strong. But as we wanted to put women below men in our societies since the dawn of time, it makes them believe that the way they look is the key to everything, but I do not agree with that. The attitude of a woman, her intellect, sense of humor, her way of being, etc. everything matters!
La Grande Boutique. Can you tell us a little bit more about your green approach?
Jerome Dreyfuss. Ah, that’s an interesting subject! It’s the core of my job! This is typically where and why fashion might be interesting. In fashion, there is the worst, and the best, and that is perhaps the best side of it. For example, in the 90s, fashion has done a lot against AIDS and this is the kind of fashion I like : the vision of fashion that Alaïa, Mugler, Montana and Jean Paul Gaultier had. These people fought for charity causes, they used their access to the media for a cause they believed in. There has been a colossal amount of money raised for the fight against AIDS, and it is extraordinary. I speak so hard about some aspects of fashion like Fashion Week just now because I know that fashion is also capable of the best. And environmental problems are a major issue, simply because fashion is the second most polluting industry in the world, just after the oil industry. This is where younger generations have a role to play. (soon to come, discover our next article on Jérôme Dreyfuss’s green approach and actions)
La La Grande Boutique. You help women, but what about men? You never wanted to create bags for them?
Jerome Dreyfuss. Men do not need help, ma’am! (laughs) We have our pockets! I started making bags for men for my mates, for approximately the same reasons as when I started to make women’s. I am always with my best friends, they are an architect, a photographer and a skateboarding champion. They wanted bags too. I made them and then put them on sale. But the problem is that a guy keeps his bag for 15 years. It’s not very interesting … It’s been 30 years since I’m dressed the same way. I have a pair of jeans, a navy sweater and a pair of sneakers. And honestly, I have a lot more fun with girls. I can go in fantasy, it’s a real work of seduction. When I design a piece I think of a girl and I try to seduce her, to make her laugh. It’s less the case with my friends!
La Grande Boutique. Will you one day do a collection in collaboration with Isabel Marant (note: his wife)?
Jerome Dreyfuss. No, because we’ve been doing a ‘collaboration’ for 22 years already! Our collaboration is our son. Actually, it never came up, we never thought about it. It would be something that justifies that, but for now I do not see what it could be. Collaborate on an ecological project? Why not. I think we just don’t want to put our energy in this given that we are already putting it in what really matters to us and that is more important. I want that everything I do always come from my heart and do things in a honest way. I’ll keep going that way.
Go and find all the bags from Jérôme Dreyfuss on La Grande Boutique
La Grande Boutique. Do you follow Fashion Week?
Jerome Dreyfuss. Not at all ! I think that nothing is interesting any more in Fashion Weeks… except for “it girls” so basically people who do not do much, who are given free clothes and are there to have their picture taken. What’s going on at Fashion Week? There is no longer this excitement that previously existed… I may speak to you like an old man but I am referring to a time when there was a real dialogue about work and crafts. And I feel that it does not exist anymore.
La Grande Boutique. What interests you in fashion then?
Jerome Dreyfuss. I’m interested in the girls, the customers, the real world. What are your problems and what solutions can we provide? I like to chat with other designers, but not during Fashion Week. It’s not a cool thing, don’t you think? There are some 70-year-old women dressed like 20-year-old girls and we would like to make young girls believe that that is what beauty and success are. This world does not exist. I do not think we need to pay so much attention to physical appearances otherwise I think we are feeling very bad, and it is not for me the purpose of fashion. Fashion is about respecting women and making them feel good. Feminism is everywhere right now, don’t you think that these disguised women destroy a little the image of women? I’m disturbed by this image conveyed that make women think they are never good enough. I am not surprised that guys are not attracted to this kind of women, and actually very often these women are single. Sorry, but we do not like to consider women as objects. We like nice girls, and we love when they have bulges and it does not matter at all. What is the example for today’s girls? Look at the American starlets that have become famous by doing nothing but acting like w****, it’s so sad.
La Grande Boutique. How did you come up with the idea of being a bag designer? For the sake of women?
Jerome Dreyfuss. It is a total and absolute accident! I was at a dinner with girlfriends who all arrived with bags a little rotten and they explained to me that they found nothing else than bags at the flea market or promotional bags … It was 15 years ago, at the time, there were only the big houses that made leather goods, and the pieces were very structured, a little heavy, not really adapted to the women’s bodies. At first, my idea was to help them. The bags were very heavy, they had back pain, the materials were rigid, so I sought to reconcile lightness, smooth and soft leather skin … I simply responded to a request. In fact, I just tried to seduce by doing something very simple. We must listen to women, take inspiration from the street and dress the street. That’s what makes me dream.
La Grande Boutique. According to you, what is a well-dressed woman?
Jerome Dreyfuss. I see so many of them in the street! Well-dressed women are the girls who feel good about who they are, that’s it. It’s the only thing that matters, you have to be good about yourself. Do not believe that if you buy armor, you will feel better. You have to feel good and then any armor will be great. We must teach women to fight, and we must not turn women into objects of desire. They can be super desirable when they are strong. But as we wanted to put women below men in our societies since the dawn of time, it makes them believe that the way they look is the key to everything, but I do not agree with that. The attitude of a woman, her intellect, sense of humor, her way of being, etc. everything matters!
La Grande Boutique. Can you tell us a little bit more about your green approach?
Jerome Dreyfuss. Ah, that’s an interesting subject! It’s the core of my job! This is typically where and why fashion might be interesting. In fashion, there is the worst, and the best, and that is perhaps the best side of it. For example, in the 90s, fashion has done a lot against AIDS and this is the kind of fashion I like : the vision of fashion that Alaïa, Mugler, Montana and Jean Paul Gaultier had. These people fought for charity causes, they used their access to the media for a cause they believed in. There has been a colossal amount of money raised for the fight against AIDS, and it is extraordinary. I speak so hard about some aspects of fashion like Fashion Week just now because I know that fashion is also capable of the best. And environmental problems are a major issue, simply because fashion is the second most polluting industry in the world, just after the oil industry. This is where younger generations have a role to play. (soon to come, discover our next article on Jérôme Dreyfuss’s green approach and actions)
La Grande Boutique. You help women, but what about men? You never wanted to create bags for them?
Jerome Dreyfuss. Men do not need help, ma’am! (laughs) We have our pockets! I started making bags for men for my mates, for approximately the same reasons as when I started to make women’s. I am always with my best friends, they are an architect, a photographer and a skateboarding champion. They wanted bags too. I made them and then put them on sale. But the problem is that a guy keeps his bag for 15 years. It’s not very interesting … It’s been 30 years since I’m dressed the same way. I have a pair of jeans, a navy sweater and a pair of sneakers. And honestly, I have a lot more fun with girls. I can go in fantasy, it’s a real work of seduction. When I design a piece I think of a girl and I try to seduce her, to make her laugh. It’s less the case with my friends!
La Grande Boutique. Will you one day do a collection in collaboration with Isabel Marant (note: his wife)?
Jerome Dreyfuss. No, because we’ve been doing a ‘collaboration’ for 22 years already! Our collaboration is our son. Actually, it never came up, we never thought about it. It would be something that justifies that, but for now I do not see what it could be. Collaborate on an ecological project? Why not. I think we just don’t want to put our energy in this given that we are already putting it in what really matters to us and that is more important. I want that everything I do always come from my heart and do things in a honest way. I’ll keep going that way.
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