“This photo, in which I am seen between two Italian boys, was taken in 1996, in Cammarata, Sicily. I was then in CM2 and I left with ES Villiers, the football club of Villiers-sur-Marne. It was the first time I flew, the first time I left France, even before going to Mali, the country of my origins. Until then, we never went very far: the holidays were with our cousins, in the 9-3, in La Courneuve, in Aubervilliers, in Aulnay-sous-Bois. When we went beyond Ile-de-France, it was to go see family in Blois.
In Sicily, I liked the setting, the streets, the landscapes, the sun. Everything had charm, from the traditional costumes to the decorated horse-drawn floats. The pizzas were delicious and with our last liras, my friends and I, we treated ourselves to cornetto con crema [des pâtisseries fourrées]. The Italians may have been cunning, but playing against them was great. With my friend Franklin Anzité, who has become a professional footballer, as soon as we returned to Villiers, we wanted to find money to go back to Italy.
“In the neighborhood, if you have the soccer ball, you’re the king: it’s like having the codes for nuclear weapons! »
Two years later, we returned to Sicily with the club, this time to San Giovanni, in the province of Agrigento. There, the Italians were made to believe that he was the son of George Weah [le Ballon d’or libérien] and me that of Jay-Jay Okocha [le Nigérian, alors au PSG]. I was trying to emulate his signature dribble to hold my legend. Not everyone believed it, but a referee bowed down to Franklin anyway!
I started football when I moved from Paris to Villiers, around 5 or 6 years old. At first, I found it boring when my father commandeered the TV for his matches. But I loved Olive and Tom [un dessin animé japonais sur un jeune garçon qui veut devenir champion du monde de foot]. And then, in the neighborhood, if you have the soccer ball, you’re the king: it’s like having the codes for nuclear weapons!
Afterwards, I got into it all the way, as a striker: in the summer, we played all day. We dreamed of being Deschamps or Franck Sauzée. But the one I preferred was the Croatian Alen Bokšić. I remember the 1998 France-Croatia semi-final very well: I was saying my evening prayer but I was distracted, I was thinking about the match, because I was the only one in the whole neighborhood support Croatia. Frankly, I had tears in my eyes when Thuram scored twice…
After the fourth, I was less into football and I chose fashion. In high school, I met two mentor friends who taught me how to do stupid things and steal clothes from department stores. I discovered everything there: Trussardi, Cerruti, Gentleman Farmer, Levi’s… The day I came back with my first 501, I put it on my bed and couldn’t stop admiring it.
In the neighborhood, the guys made fun of my look and called me “Johnny”, but two years later they were all wearing the same clothes. For me, this photo is the first trip, the click, the beginning of my openness to the world. Italy and India remain my best destinations. I try to go there once a year. And in my workshop, in Villiers, the closest collaborators for my brand are three women: an Italian, an Indian, and a Frenchwoman passionate about India. »
In Mossi mode, documentary by Ségolène Chaplin (1h15). To see on Canal+ Docs on August 22, at 8:55 p.m., or on the MyCanal platform, from August 17.