GroomingFrédéric KebbabiHe’s kind of a father figure”
explains Ami artistic director
Alexandre Mattiussi, 38, of his
two-decade-long friendship with
eminent shoe designer Pierre
Hardy. The pair met when Mattiussi began
his studies at the École Duperré art college in
Paris, where Hardy, now 63, taught in tandem
with his design and draftsmanship commit-
ments for fashion houses such as Hermès and
publications including Vogue. Today, it’s as two
of the French fashion industry’s biggest stars
that they reunite at Ami’s elegantly industrial
headquarters in the Marais district of Paris,
studio rails full to bursting with the brand’s
poppy new menswear pieces. The fashion
school imprint is still there – ever the star
pupil, Mattiussi breaks off halfway through
their conversation to sketch from memory a
line-perfect image of a Nineties Hardy silhou-
ette. These days, though, speaking in class is
very much encouraged and there’s much less
talking shop. “We don’t really share references
or work together, we just have a good time!”
says Hardy. Bravo, monsieur le professeur.Pierre Hardy: Our memories of first meeting
are probably very different, because there
were a lot of students at the time and
we were very few staff. At the beginning
of a course you simply see the students as
a big group, but you stood out. You were
quite daring, a little bit cheeky.
Alexandre Mattiussi: I was 18 years old and
I’d just arrived from the countryside. In my
first few weeks at the school you were my
teacher for a course we had for three or four
hours per week. I was obsessed with you
because you were super elegant. I remember
you had this red leather Prada jacket that
we all loved. We were all so happy to have
you as a teacher and I tried to make you
laugh in the classroom. I managed once and
I was so proud!
PH: I didn’t see you for a few years after
that because you went to Dior, then
Givenchy, and you were working with
other designers. It was really when you
started your own company that we beganportfolios and I spotted things I’d done!
There wasn’t so much fashion imagery out
there back then.
AM: When I first started to sketch I was
inspired by your sketches. At that time you
couldn’t research things on websites. I had
to buy magazines, which really inspired
my line. I was always really inspired by
the way you did shoes and by the way you
wore your clothes. Then when I thought
about the kind of clothes I wanted to make,
I thought about the kind of man I wanted
to dress and that’s you.
PH: It’s weird to hear because you’re never
conscious of it. I think I’ve been most proud
of your shows, especially for the menswear,
and some of your more iconic pieces that I
then started to notice in the street. The show
is a moment when a designer is projecting a
vision and yours is always telling a story. It’s
always interesting to follow the narration,
like one novel after another. But I don’t feel
responsible for it. I maybe put 0.01 per cent
into what you create.
AM: If there’s one thing I would love to
see you do, it’s clothing. You’ve been such
a specialist in shoes and accessories and
at Hermès with the jewellery. And when I
think about certain jackets I design, I know
they’re going to fit you. So I would love to
see how you would design a jacket. When I
think of French male style it’s yours. You’re
an iconic Parisian.
PH: You are sometimes so daring it scares
me. I know how well you’re managing
because I have my own company. It
impresses me because you’re so young,
but there’s a real audaciousness about
you. I’m much shyer!
AM: These days I feel very happy
where I am. I try to enjoy each moment
because I was able to achieve a lot in a
short time. But I also feel that it takes
time to build something and find your way.
You still inspire me, you’re on my mood
boards, but when I was a student on your
course I wanted to make you proud. When
I showed you work and you said, “Mmmm,
it’s good,” I was like, “Thank God!”to talk again and saw more of each other.
As a teacher you never know if someone is
going to succeed like you have. Sometimes
you have an excellent student that doesn’t
develop into anything special and other
times you have someone who surprises
you. You just can’t guess.
AM: Twenty years ago there was no fashion
on the internet. My class at Duperré was
one of the final years without computers
and I didn’t have one at home. We worked
with photocopiers at the copy shop! It was
the Tom Ford era at Gucci, it was a strong
time for Miuccia Prada and the end of the
Thierry Mugler era. And the question we
were asking ourselves was “What does it
mean to be a designer?” and we didn’t have
the answer. We knew we wanted to inventsomething new, but I was mainly just happy
to have someone like you who gave me the
strength and the energy to believe in myself.
PH: It’s not at all like a classic “mentor”
relationship. Firstly, because it’s always
been hard for me to believe that I can
“teach” someone something. You remember
things I said that I don’t remember at all!
We do probably share some references in
terms of taste and fabric and colour and
classic masculine elegance. Both of us are
quite “French”.
AM: I remember when you started teaching
me I was already, well, not a fan, but I
knew you had achieved certain things that
I wanted for myself in the future. You had
a very precise taste. You’re very good at
drawing. And before going to school I used
to copy your sketches.
PH: People didn’t know that I used to
illustrate for Vogue, but you did. So
sometimes I was looking through studentPierre Hardy &Alexandre MattiussiFirst as teacher and student at Paris’ École Duperré and now as peers at the top of French
fashion, the shoe designer and Ami artistic director recall a friendship that’s a class apartStory by Jethro Turner Photograph by Arthur Delloye‘ I tried to make youlaugh in class.I managed onceand I was so proud’FASHION MENTORS09-19FeatureFashionMentors.indd 183 26/06/2019 09:51
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