Interview with Nicolas Ghesquiere for Balenciaga

 

Here’s an interview I found of Nicolas Ghesquiere, head designer for Balenciaga, being interviewed by the famed Suzy Menkes for the International Herald Tribune.

One thing I have to say about Suzy. God knows she’s a brilliant writer and she may as well be queen of the fashion editorials, but jesus…it is SO painful to watch her talk on video. She’s so stiff in asking people questions, is it to hide something she does when she talks? I imagine Ms. Menkes gets nervous in front of the camera, but still…I cringe when I watch her. I guess not everyone is cut out to be a television/video personality no matter how brilliant their writing may be.

Back to Balenciaga, I liked the part where we’re shown a constructed piece of his Fall collection, and Nicolas seems like a pretty pleasant chap to talk to. I personally would love to see how this man works on constructing his designs, how does he create those shapes? What does he use? How does he come up with them? I personally love his crazy sense of shoe design and wonder what his thought process is in creating these shoes.

This is one thing I really wish we’d get a glimpse of, seeing designers at work doing what they do best. How does one prepare a collection for the world to see at one of the most coveted fashion weeks twice a year? How long does it take to make the patterns, getting the fabrics, the embroidery, the jewelry, the shoes, and the accessories? Which companies do they employ and why are those companies chosen? These are some of the things we don’t get to see or know about unless you’re square middle into the industry. I know designers don’t want to give their secrets away obviously for counterfeiting reasons, but I’d love to see a sort of “How It’s Made” type of show behind the fashion scene. Cause I’m curious like that.