Marc Le Bihan

{France}

Marc Le Bihan is a rigorous conceptualist, creating timeless fashion rather than transitory trends. Even though his collections don’t portray important differences from one another, including pieces that are repeated or updated, he doesn’t consider his work as aiming at creating a collection, but as a complicated process. Beacon pieces of his work, like the  dancer dress  or the Man Ray suit  come back each season, but always reinvented, allowing each time the rediscovery of the garment. His work includes and revolves around the  influence of fashion on fashion, since an important part of his process concerns the deconstruction of vintage garments, and the use of vintage fabrics.

 Having worked as a weaver at the Manufacture Des Gobelins in Paris, Marc Le Bihan has great appreciation for handmade textiles. His approach toward the ‘vintage’ style, a major current fashion trend, is completely different from most vintage-inspired designers. He has great interest in the history of the garment or fabric, creating exquisite, delicate and sensual clothes that hover in space and time. The artisanal production of the garments in the designer’s Parisian workshop, guarantees delicate and diligent results, in terms of craftsmanship and attention to detail. Inspired by equally sophisticated designers, such as Yohji Yamamoto, Rei Kawakubo and Martin Margiela, Marc Le Bihan uses a restricted color palette, mainly of near blacks and almost-whites, exerting frequently fabric dyes. In addition, he  combines heavy materials, such as rugged leather, with light ones, such as chiffon or light cotton .

His collections are mixed, consisting of fundamentally identical pieces for both sexes, which are modified according to the figures. Through his work, a distinct identity of each sex is portrayed, against the same frame. This coherence that characterizes Marc Le Bihan’s work, renders his designs unique, because of their specific forms, textures and styles, through time.