It’s a matter of ego. More precisely, absence of ego. The members of the Gamut fashion collective, founded in 2018 in Paris, speak with one voice, and wish to remain anonymous. Here, the group wins over the individual. “ There are seven of us on legal status, but other people come to work with us from time to time, during different projects. It’s a fairly open structure ”, explains one of its members, whom we meet in the workshops of Clichy (Haut-de-Seine). Five designers, a graphic designer and a photographer – 3 men and 4 women, all in their thirties – make up the hard core of this happy team. Most of them met on the benches of the prestigious La Cambre fashion school in Brussels.
Their unisex fashion, bordering on the classic codes of tailoring and sportswear, for a time included in the official calendar of Paris Fashion Week, pushes the boundaries of clothing construction to offer a wardrobe. bold. After various individual experiences within fashion houses – where the hierarchy is still very marked – the group of friends finally came together around a common project: “ We wanted to get out of these very hierarchical models, in which everyone has a very specific status, “junior designer”, “senior designer”… When we started the Gamut adventure, it was important that we all be equal. We had countless discussions on this subject! “
No leader but drivers according to the projects and skills of each other. “ We trust ourselves, we must not be constantly asking others to account. I am more comfortable with tailor parts for example, but another is more proficient in technical parts. We work around this complementarity ”, details one of the designers of the collective.
How do you find and maintain stylistic consistency, when so many talents are involved? “It is true that we all have different aesthetics. We had to find consistency, put in place a stylistic signature so that the collections were not just an assembly of our individual preferences. But, if we chose each other, it is because we had common references, and the same requirements. We also all went to the same school, La Cambre, and I think that gave us a common vocabulary. “
Often friends before being co-workers, members of collectives must also learn to deal with their emotions. How not to risk his friendship by telling his four truths to his open space companion? “ This is the sinews of war! We called in a psychiatric nurse twice for group therapy. It has helped us a lot, especially in learning the basics of non-violent communication. We went through complicated times, it was quite difficult. We continue to apply her advice, luckily she came ”, today welcome the members of Gamut.
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