Jean Jacques Picart

Fashion Brand Consultant:
Jean Jacques Picart

No Place for amateurs in this world!

JEAN JACQUES PICART, THE MAN BEHIND WORLD FAMOUS BRANDS, BELIEVES IN TURKEY. BUT HE DOES ADD, “YOU MUST BE VERY PROFESSIONAL WHILE OFFERING THE TURKISH CULTURE TO THE FASHION WORLD, BECAUSE THERE IS NO PLACE FOR AMATEURS IN THIS WORLD!”.


As an expert, when you look at the Turkish ready-to-wear industry, what do you see?
This is actually an easy question for me, because two years ago İTKİB (Confederation of Istanbul Textile and Ready-to-Wear Exporters) invited me to Turkey to consult on fashion. On this occasion, I met designers during a whole week and gave conferences in Istanbul. I met people from the industry and learned of their views. At the end of all this, I can easily say that Turkey is currently at the key junction of transition from production to design. Ten years ago, priority was naturally on production.
Leading brands in the world, such as Ralph Lauren and Donna Karan, found the quality they have been searching for, here in Turkey. This still continues, but it is clos to its end.
The Turkish producer is now concerned about combining fashion design with manufacturing, and producing products of very high quality. Maybe the designs are not easy to wear, or easy to sell, but bringing these products out to market and offering to the world will greatly enhance Turkey’s international image. That is why you need fashion.

Do you think making our voice heard is dependant on creating unique designs?
You get close to couture when it is unique. But Turkey must now get to the point where she can compete with Italy, Spain, and France in the European market. That means Turkey can produce what Italy can, at least as well as the Italians. In other words, you must sell creative products at prices that are not cheap. When creativity and production get together, you can be a competitor to these countries.

Turkey has come to this point within 15 years. So how many years does it take us to reach the position where we produce brands?
You also need about ten, fifteen years for this, but it can be faster, too. This depends on how strong the partnerships will be between the Turkish producer and designers. You need more than courage for this, because the manufacturing businessman already possesses this courage; that is how he came to this point. Business risk and design risks are different. Buying new equipment and building a factory are risks, but they can be calculated. However, a producer can invest in a designer for ten seasons and still not get the financial returns. Even if this is not a satisfactory investment from a sales perspective,it is a good investment. His company now has a stronger image and prestige, and sales increase due to this prestige. Like a cycle, both support each other and in the end, both win.

We are constantly talking about Turkey developing and getting stronger in ready-to-wear. What about our competition, are they standing still?
Of course they are developing as well, but you will bring a fresh breath to the fashion world. Fashion is not only jackets and pants; it is a culture. Turkey is very rich culturally; she also possesses a lot of things for us to discover. We in the world need every culture more than ever, because we have reduced everything to technology. We speak with every corner of the world, we take pictures, with a small mobile phone. A new Turkish brand against Japan, Italy, France will be interesting for everyone. You must, however, not do this in an amateurish way; you must do it professionally. When a Turkish designer has a fashion show in Paris or Milan, he has to be professional, at least as much as an Italian or French colleague.

Do you think Turkish culture will receive the attention it is seeking in Europe?
We Europeans, as different from the Americans, are very cultural. America was born out of Europe and has a very short history. America is a very young country, and Turkey is just as young. We not only need techno music and movies, but also more sensitive things. This comes with culture. Culture brought by Turkey and others.

Where would you go when Turkey does not seem new to you anymore? Where is the last station?
Perhaps, we will start exploring the Arab or Indian world after Turkey, I do not know. A very capable Arabic generation is emerging from fashion schools. There is no last station here; discovery is a never-ending process. Change is a permanent element of fashion. Perhaps in fifteen years, France and Italy will not even come to mind when somebody mentions fashion. Countries such as Turkey and Portugal will lead in this area. Portugal for me is like Turkey of twenty years ago. They just started production, just like Turkey did in the past.

Which Turkish brands do you consider as having the potential to be a global brand?
I do not know in detail, but I see a potential with Mavi Jeans. Maybe they will be the first international brand of Turkey. Being a brand has to do with appeal. I do not know which stage Damat-Tween is at, but they also promise hope. They can be a young Hugo Boss; but I am really not sure.

Why are you not sure?
Perhaps, you need a bit more sophistication and be more provocative in your designs. That is what I mean with appeal. Something that will draw attention to yourself. It is not enough to do what you do well and be happy, you must always push the people. This push can only be made to happen with a designer.

What kinds of characteristics have you observed in Turkish designers? Were there any designers, among the ones you have met, who come to mind?
They are very young; most are under twenty-five. This is a young age to do business in a real way. But most of them have good education and are supported well by the industry. They have people and material at their disposal, I think something may happen. I am talking about the youngsters in Istanbul, not Dice Kayek and Hüseyin Çağlayan, who have already proved themselves.

Do you not consider Hüseyin Çağlayan or Dice Kayek as Turkish designers?
Of course they are Turks, but they live in Paris or London. They are inspired by those cities and are affected by the life there. This is very natural, of course, but to call someone a “Turkish Designer” in the true meaning of the word, that person must live in and feed off Turkey. Currently most of the famous Turkish designers live abroad. OK, they reflect the Turkish culture, but the newspapers they read, their friends, the movies they see... All these are in Paris and they are affected by their environment.

Turkish is a difficult language; is this a disadvantage for Turkish designers?
No more than it is for a Chinese or a Japanese. Besides, the names Hüseyin Çağlayan and Dice Kayek are fairly easy to say. So is Rıfat Özbek, but honestly, I am having difficulty saying Atıl Kutoğlu.

Rifat Özbek was really one of our most talented designers. Where did he disappear all of a sudden?
I do not know where he went, but Rıfat Özbek was like sunlight, he was special. He was a huge talent. In fact, he was the most talented in my opinion. Rıfat could mobilize something within me or other people. I remember that he used the dervishes and their white outfit in one of his fashion shows in Paris ten years ago.
My God, it was fantastic! Of course the models were not dressed as dervishes, but there were designs which were inspired by the Mevlana philosophy.

How does one establish the name of a brand?
I believe it first has to be easy to say. At the creation stage of a new brand, the name must definitely have a story. It must tell a story to people by reminding them of a unique thing.

In your book “Tomorrow’s ABC” there are known headings as the headings of your philosophy such as A-Art, D-Design. What does N-Never correspond to?
Never say never! You can be enjoying and doing something you used to hate years ago. This is the most important rule of fashion. You say, “I hate black”. Then you find yourself in black. For example, ethnical costumes; nobody used to like them before, now they are used frequently. There is no such thing as never in fashion, everything, but everything is possible. I do not know why, but we may love things that we hated yesterday.

Fashion is a part of our life, and what we wear has a huge meaning for all of us...
We all have means of communications outside of words. Dressing is one of the most important ones, I believe. Fashion is a language at the same time, a process of give and take. We not only dress, we also try to say who we are by our dresses, we decipher how we want to be perceived. In fact, it is sometimes misunderstood; sometimes we say what we are not. With the entry of technology into our lives, our speech-based communication has become too monotonous, so alternative means of communication such as dressing became more prominent. As we continue to talk on the phone more and more, we shall need different garments to express who we are. Talking on a mobile phone is very short and monosyllabic; everyone uses the known and insufficient elements of the same universal code, because it is faster. As a reaction to this, we are going to need more outfits and make up, to express ourselves. To say this: “Hello, look at me! I am not like you, but we can share some things. Look how I am dressed, maybe this will tell you something.”

Fashion and fashion design are a sociological phenomenon, really...
Yes, the designer must understand and follow sociology and politics. Politics is the first and strongest expression of a country. A good designer cannot work all by himself, within a room outside the daily life. If he does, his creations do not mean anything to anybody. A good designer watches television, walks the streets, and meets people. He observes what the youth wears. Fashion is politics and politics is life...

What happens when fashion designers come from China? They already are a threat because of their prices; what would we do if they also start producing fashion?
Fashion needs freedom and is fed by freedom. Freedom across a whole big country is only possible with a free media. That is why fashion cannot be created in places where freedom does not exist.

Do you believe fashion is borne out of power? In other words, does being strong in political or cultural sense constitute an advantage in terms of defining fashion?
Did the French dress like the Germans during the Second World War? No. On the contrary, German women wrote to their soldier husbands and sweethearts letters that said, “Bring me lipstick and dresses from Paris”. I believe appeal is the most important element in defining fashion. #



Jean Jacques Picart
Jean Jacques Picart was born in France in 1947. He has been involved with brands like Thierry Mugler, Cacharel, Shiseido, Jil Sander, Hermès, Jean-Charles de Castelbajac, Kenzo, La Redoute, Chloè, Daniel Hechter, Newman, Levi’s and Helmut Lang between the years 1970-1980. From 1981 to 1986 he devoted all his time and talent to the Christian Lacroix brand by working together with Mr. Lacroix at his couture office. He has been working as a consultant for young designers like Hedi Slimane (Dior Homme), Jose Enrique Ona Selfa (Loewe), Jean Paul Knott; for senior executives like Bernard Arnault (Lvmh); or for large producers like Charles Jourdan from 1999.


Concepts of Jean Jacques picart
Art: Some of the measures of fashion creation have some common points with art, however, fashion is not an art form. Fashion can only be an applied art form, at best. Validity of fashion creation is in the selling of the garments. The best dress, if it is not sold and worn by someone, loses its reason for existence. Fashion, just like a banana, must be consumed at the right time. A fashion idea presented too early is like a green banana, nobody would want to consume it. Conversely, a fashion idea offered too late would be treated like an overripe banana and would not be preferred, either.
Creator: Creator is the person who thinks he/she owns the keys to a more beautiful and different world. The belief in a more beautiful future and aesthetics provides the power to real creators. This perception and anticipation is very personal. The difference between creators and stylists, i.e., designers, lies here. The first have a vision, the second group creates the clothing we desire. This word was proposed in 1975, to underline the difference between great tailors and designers such as Yves Saint Laurent, G. Sherer. Generally it was used for Thierry Mugler, Claude Montana, Jean-Charles Castalbajac, Jean Paul Gaultier. Today there is a new category: Young creators. They gravitate towards creating exceptional models, instead of industrial garments.

Desire: The only engine of fashion is desire. Creation of desire is the biggest skill of creators. Because the before and after of desire is excitement. Excitement when you see an outfit, excitement during the purchasing process, excitement wearing it, excitement remembering it… This excitement is magic. One can create a frenzy for this excitement. When a creator can awaken this excitement, this desire that is when he gets closest to an artist. This is the magic of the people like Galeano, Yves Saint Laurent, Semien Clemier, and Yamamoto.
In and Out: In and out are very personal, relative criteria. What is meant here are trends that some categories of people adapt or abandon. For something to be “in” may mean that it is “out” for others. “In” and “out” are the most useless values of our profession. These words must be taken out of the fashion dictionary.

Why: Why did this idea achieve success and not the other one? You should never ask this question. There is no logic, no rule that can explain fashion. At most, there are some principles and recipes that are mostly used to calm one down. Fashion in reality is the reflection of the boredom and orientation of a society at a certain period. Once they only used to show the dresses of a collection in fashion shows. Then fashion shows started telling the universe of the creator and now each piece of garment acquires meaning as part of this universe. This is called a show. Special effects, semographies, stage designs, and stage directions are used. This way, the attention of the world media is being targeted. But sometimes it is not possible to bring these outfits to life, however, these outfits lead you to dream, they excite you. With this excitement you enter through the doors of the boutiques where you can find dresses that can be worn.

Style: Having style does not mean only having new ideas; it is beyond that. Style is the creation of continuity for a creator. It is creating, at every season, what is in harmony with the trends of the time, with a specific identity. For example Miss Chanel has a style, so does Yves Saint Laurent. Names like Greta Garbo and Grace Kelly created their own styles. For me, style has a magical side. To me it seems that style can stop the passage of time, because, it is very difficult to specify a time for some creators.

Skill: Skill is the difference between an ordinary life and an extraordinary life. The skill of an artist shows life in a different way; it gives a new flavor, it is magic. Skill by itself is not enough. One must know how to use it, to protect it. One must ensure developing it; continue to grow it. One must not waste this talent and do all this honestly.

Zero: A collection does not depart from zero. A creator with the most freedom is not totally free to do what he wants. He has to take into account his own style; he has to consider the best sellers in his previous collection. He has to consider the expectation of the buyers and the press. It is not really hard to guess these. I believe in a good collection, 35% of the models must be recognizable, 40% must be from new ideas, and 15% must have some risky propositions. This way it will be possible to develop these in the next season. The rest, the 10% must really have outrageous, scandalous products.