They say from “every ending comes a new beginning” and those words couldn’t ring more true for the exiting Jean Paul Gaultier from ready-to-wear and the Paris Fashion Week debut of designer Léa Peckre. Wemet the 30-year-old Parisian just minutes after showing her spring / summer’15 runway collection to talk sleepless nights, career-turning points and – ahem – why she prefers London Fashion Week.
Your first Paris Fashion show just took place here inside the Paris City Hall. How does it feel?
I’m still kind of high from the stress! It’s quite hard to come back down to Earth and the stress doesn’t seem to go away – it’s annoying! Showing my collection during Paris Fashion Week is a hell of a milestone for me because I’ve been waiting for it for quite a long time and it’s all just happened very quickly. It’s a real challenge too because now I will have to do even better season after season.
What were your inspirations for this season’s collection?
I’ve been over-inspired this season: a lot of ideas came to me and it was a bit out of control. I started to play with the denim to try to make it look sophisticated and take it to a whole new level by bringing out the beauty of a woman’s body. I worked with some soft denim and some very structured ones. For the tulle pieces, my starting point was a man t-shirt that I deconstructed to reveal the body, but not in a very drastic way as I used to do before but in a more subtle way, which played on translucence.
Léa Peckre Spring/Summer ’15
Credit: Getty
Which outfit presented today are you looking forward to wearing the most next spring?
I really like this very long green tulle dress that looks like a very stretched t-shirt. I also love the grey structured jacket in the spirit of a kimono that opened the show.
Léa Peckre Spring/Summer ’15
Credit: Getty
How were the very last days before the show?
I didn’t sleep a lot, that’s for sure. But I have a great team by my side who helped me a lot on the logistic side and the tailoring. I need a lot of hands to help transform the sketches into an actual piece of clothing.
In 2011, you won the very coveted Grand Jury Prize of the Hyères International Fashion Festival. Would you say that this was a turning point in your young career?
Inevitably it was, but especially on a personal level. That prize made me live a journey with my own self. It happened the year I had completed my studies: it was like the Grand Finale after five very hard years at La Cambre fashion school in Brussels. It was the end of a story and the beginning of another one.
Léa Peckre Spring/Summer ’15
Credit: Getty
You showed your collection on the first day of Paris Fashion Week. What shows are you looking forward to seeing the most over the next few days?
To be honest, I’m much more excited by London Fashion Week than the Paris one… I think the designers are more free there. At the moment, Paris is a bit boring for me.
What does a young fashion designer wear on a daily basis?
A pair of black jeans, black jacket and a black t-shirt.
What style advice would you give to our readers?
I go by one rule and one rule only: feel good in your own skin. You can wear whatever you like but for me it’s all about the attitude.
