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Made-to-measure is the Holy Grail for me, because, after all, measurements are the essence of the cut.
When you find your wife, she's normally made-to-measure.
Kinowear presents
Interview with Hugo Jacomet, founder of Parisian Gentleman
Can you introduce yourself?
My name's Hugo Jacomet, I've just turned 50. I'm the founder of Parisian Gentleman.
I came up with the idea in January 2009, during a night of insomnia, at four in the morning, to be exact.
I didn't have a precise goal in mind, except that I was interested in the art of tailoring.
I'm the son of a bootmaker. My mum was a dress-maker, she's retired now.
So I was brought up around clothing and elegance.
After that, I pursued a long career in broadcasting, cinema, events, and directing.
Since 2009, I've been writing Parisian Gentleman.
As it so happens, my site has become a big, international site...
...and our work is to educate men principally about elegance and traditional style
Why did you choose an educational approach?
I think it's the basis of all our success.
I used to read magazines, The Rake, Monsieur...
...pretty much all of the few magazines that existed on the subject.
I realized that I very quickly reached a limit. Why?
Quite simply because these magazines didn't really have the chance to educate their readers...
...because they had a business model that was linked to advertising.
When you have a double spread devoted to a brand, generally a mainstream brand...
...as that's the only kind of brand you'll see when you open up a magazine...
...it's highly unlikely that you have the freedom of expression necessary...
...to talk about clothing in the right way.
I decided, from a purely aesthetic and personal point of view, initially...
...to start writing and sharing my knowledge on the subject.
We very quickly realized that what people were asking for was exactly that, education.
A piece of clothing tells a story, communicates a personality, a social background, an opinion.
People are extremely interested, more and more so, in this aspect of clothing.
What do you think is the current state of magazines and blogs on men's style?
First of all, there's quite a strange phenomenon going on at the moment.
Credibility is becoming more and more synonymous with real information.
I'm not trying to criticize the written press, but...
...today, credibility is found, oddly, on the internet, on sites like ours
People come to our site for a credibility and a transparency that they just can't find in the written press.
Why? It's not a critique that I'm formulating here...
...but the written press has a business model that's different from ours.
It's based on advertising, and a number of things like that...
...which means that, today, these people are losing speed...
...not because of what they're doing, but because of the credibility of what they write.
At Parisian Gentleman, we're not linked to any brand, we're not linked to any manufacturer...
...even if, of course, there are designers that we protect, we promote...
...and we try to give direct access to the market.
But credibility is the aspect of the internet that's quite paradoxical.
Generally, when you say "internet", the word "credibility" doesn't immediately follow.
Especially with the word "blog".
Absolutely, especially with the word "blog".
What's more, I'm not sure if you find this too, but I've realized that...
...when big designers come to us asking if we can do reports on them, etc., everything's fine...
...but as soon as we start to talk about things that are a little bit more specialized...
...for example, a guide that I'm putting up little by little on the internet...
...called the "PG guide to quality designers", where, in this case...
...there's an exchange of money that our readers are completely aware of, that's quite transparent...
...we realize that there's still a blockage.
The small designers come very willingly to people like us to feature them.
But the big designers are still a little bit reserved, because the blogosphere scares them.
I don't know if you find the same thing at Kinowear. I feel like I'm being kept a very close eye on.
That doesn't mean we're here to criticize everyone.
I don't like hurting people, in general, so people I don't like, I don't talk about.
But there's still a real freedom of tone, a real freedom of language.
Also, people who read Parisian Gentleman and Kinowear, who really go into depth on the subject...
...often find themselves standing opposite someone in a shop who knows less than them.
So, we're on that notion there. It comes back to education.
So, I think, today, despite all the respect I have for the written press...
...that the future of masculine elegance is to be found on the internet.
But I balance that out with books alongside the blog, as I'm very attached to the printed word.
I believe you make printed products too.
But it's not the same kind of writing for me.
I think you have to forget about the format. There's nothing to debate.
What interests me is the quality of what's written.
It can be on a screen, on paper, carved into a stone, on a marble slab, sung, it doesn't matter.
The important thing is the words.
The problem is that the internet has opened a window of freedom.
The big difference between writing for a magazine or writing a book and writing on the internet is that...
...when you write a book, you've been chosen from 1000s of people who can potentially write a book.
You've been selected for the task.
On the internet, you can just sit down in front of your keyboard and write.
That means that, obviously, 95 percent of things on the internet aren't interesting.
At the moment, in the men's clothing sector, you come across them every day.
Especially for the word "gentleman".
I was lucky to be the first person to use it, I really didn't do that on purpose.
Every day, there's a blog... well, I exaggerate...
...every week, someone creates a blog with the word "gentleman" in the name. I was lucky to be the first, I really didn't do it on purpose.
The way I see the future, honestly, the most important thing is the words.
This debate isn't uniquely linked to our sector. It's relevant to every sector.
I think that the written press, by definition, except for extremely specialized things like Monocle...
...who've opened up a bit of an unusual path...
I think the future is, of course, in the internet, but I also think there are bridges being built.
I've written for the press. I've made contributions, I've talked on the radio, I've written books...
...so there's a real fusion there.
Once again, the arbitor, for me, is the quality of the words, the quality of what's being said.
If it's on a screen...
Although, I wrote an article recently on the subject.
There are studies that show that the printed word creates something different mentally to words on a screen.
It's quite simple. When you're reading something on the internet, you're by definition in an open environment.
At any moment, you can escape. At any moment, you can click off the page.
Whereas with a paper book, you're face to face, alone, with something that's written.
At the roots of comprehension are what we call "causal links".
Basically, comprehension is understanding the causality between things.
The word on paper, it's a scientific fact, is much more interesting for really identifying causal links.
You're emprisoned in a one-to-one encounter.
That's why, on Parisian Gentleman, we don't put a lot of links.
We don't put banners on the site. We don't have any advertising.
We're completely immaculate.
I can tell you, exclusively, if you like, that we're preparing version three...
...which will be a fusion between the book and the internet.
We're going to rework the old version, using a font designed especially for us...
...and try to bring elements of the paper book to the screen environment.
But that's not going to be ready for about six months.
Are blogs like yours encouraging men to spend more?
Undeniably. I'm not one of those people who's pessimistic.
Yes, there's a lot of work ahead of us.
At the same time, the statistics don't lie.
The men's accessory market has increased enormously over the last two to three years.
I think we've even made 60% more on little accessories, pocket handkerchiefs, ties.
Tie accessories have made a huge comeback.
You'd have to be blind or stupid or blinkered not to notice that something's happening.
That said, we are a society that, for a very long time, has chosen to go without...
...especially when it comes to men's "fashion" or "style".
You've been kind to me. I very much appreciate that you've used the word "style" and not "fashion".
We wrote an article... Sonya wrote an article... very recently, saying we're fed up of this debate.
It's quite easy to understand that style is timeless and fashion is short-lived.
It's quite easy to understand that style is personal and fashion is dictated, or trends.
That said, for us, there's no potential for antimony.
Timothy Everest is an excellent example.
Timothy Everest is a London tailor, was a student of Tommy Nutter, worked on Savile Row, dressed The Beatles.
Today, he does collaborations with Superdry, with designers that are much more mainstream.
Of course, some times he has more success than others, but that's not the point.
The point is simply that today, there's a kind of fusion.
To reply more directly to your question about men's spending, I think we're making undeniable progress.
We're seeing handkerchiefs, little tie pins, etc. flourish.
There are also people who are helping.
For example, there are places like Pierre Degand in Brussels, The Armoury in Hong Kong.
These are absolutely magical places, where people don't go to buy clothes.
They go to immerse themselves in a world of elegance, share a cigar, drink a whisky...
...and, incidentally, buy a made-to-measure suit.
Is this progress perennial? Yes, undeniably.
I think it's going to last for at least 10, 15 years, because we're really on an upward slope.
Again, everything is a question of education.
My analysis is that we've never experienced this before.
I'm 50, I've got a little bit more experience than you, kids, and I've never experienced this before.
There's really something happening.
But you need to make a distinction.
Because now everyone's claiming to offer tie this and that, and so on.
Even The Kooples, who are...
But, once again, selection will happen naturally.
Today, we're in a free-for-all. Everyone has a handkerchief range.
The Kooples have gone really far, they even do fixed handkerchiefs, and fixed accessories.
They have, for example, small chains... They're fixed.
It's vulgarity incarnated.
What gives me confidence, what pleases me, is when I see enormous investments like that.
When I see Pinault Printemps Redoute buy Brioni, that might seem like bad news.
Actually, it's good news.
Why? Because Brioni is a big name, a real designer.
The fact that Pinault Printemps Redoute are finally promiting and investing in people like that is really good.
So, I think that we're set for 15 exciting years in the men's style industry.
After all, men are essentially the same as women. They just need to be aware of it.
So are men regaining interest in clothing?
I think men have regained interest in clothing.
I think, first of all, there is...
We have to be careful about what we say, first of all.
We have to really understand what we mean by "regained".
We're coming out of two, three decades that have really been catastrophic for men's style.
The 80s were a catastrophe.
The 90s were catastrophic.
In 2000, things started to pick up.
So we're really coming out of three slumps.
But, on the other hand, just before that, the 70s were an absolutely gigantic field for experimentation.
It came from people like Tommy Nutter from Savile Row, Edward Sexton, these are people that are from that time.
We say a lot of bad things about the 70s, but they were very interesting.
The 60s were the end of the real period of men's style in the 40s and 50s.
We still had . In terms of Parisian style, the 60s were very interesting.
So, I think we're in a cycle, more than anything.
That said, the internet has created a real alternative. I'll explain that to you in a moment.
For 30 years, we've been in the easywear, sportswear, streetwear era with this notion...
...that men weren't very concerned about elegance, etc.
That's been the case for about 30 years.
Suddenly, a kind of "de-click" has taken place.
Why? Quite simply because, thanks to the internet, we've had access
You mustn't forget a major factor.
In 1988, if you were interested in men's elegance, where would you be able to read about the subject?
Practically nowhere.
Today, in my opinion, we've started a new cycle, interestingly, with images of the 30s and 40s in our head.
Aster, Cooper, Grant had as much recognition in the last 30 years as they have now.
There are books that have been published about Gary Cooper.
A very good book is Bruce Boyer on Gary Cooper, where he had access to all of Gary Cooper's family archives.
It's a brilliant work that came out in the US. I think it came out in France as well.
So we're rediscovering that period now.
I think that this regained interest comes principally from the internet and the access it gives to information.
I also think that there's a revolution taking place, of gender, a *** revolution, of everything.
Things are really changing, and, today, you can start to dress with style without being...
How can I say this?
I was made fun of all my life because I dressed a bit differently.
I actually quite liked that, because it showed that I had personality.
I think that we went off the rails for 30 years. But it's nothing...
In the cave of Lascaux, on the walls, there are cave paintings that are decorative.
There are figures of people who are well-dressed.
You can see that decoration is very important to humanity, it's what separates humans from animals.
What advice would you give to a beginner?
First of all, I think that the money divide is a false problem.
Today, anyone who's education... that's why education is fundamental...
Obviously, if you have the means to go directly for bespoke, go ahead...
Anyone's who's educated...
...because you'll never be the same again.
No, but I think it has a tremendous impact on personality.
It's almost a holistic process. It's a philosophical task, practically, for me.
But today's average basket size, as I'm sure you've realized, is three and a half times the minimum wage for a suit.
I think that's at the top end of basket sizes, but it's a job that's really important to protect and promote.
But, today, any gentleman, whether he be young or old, who's really interested in the subject...
...via blogs, private sales, eBay, all the possibilities that exist...
...can learn to dress in an extremely sophisticated, extremely comfortable way for a reasonable price...
...if they avoid all the big brands that sell crap.
Obviously, anyone who has the capacity to buy made-to-measure...
...whether that be bespoke, semi-finished or industrial measure...
If you want to know the difference between them, go on Parisian Gentleman, it's a bit heavy to explain now.
Today, you can find industrial measure suits for around 1000 euros.
Obviously, if you have the option of going for that, that's straight away better...
...because you have access to something that gets closer to
That said, today, and it's the positive effect of everything that's happening at the moment...
...the choice available is excessive.
Barely a week goes by where there isn't a new manufacturer of ties, shirts, suits, etc.
So I think that today it's much easier to be elegant. The choice is there, in every price range.
I'm always discovering nuggets.
For example, for shirts, everyone asks, where should I start for inexpensive shirts, etc.
I say, listen, if you want handmade shirts, go into the highstreet.
Okay, they're made in India, they're marked "established 19-something", but still...
When the sales are on, you can have access to four types of collar, three types of wrist...
...different materials, different patterns for 29 pounds sterling for three shirts.
That means you to try them out.
Ties as well. You might ask, is it good quality?
It's the same at Tyrwhitt's, at all English shirtmakers whose prices are extremely competitive.
I often tell young guys who want to dress well, go to the highstreet, order something.
You're not taking any risks.
You're going to order 100 euros' worth of shirts, six shirts.
You're going to try them on and see which ones suit you best, which colors go with your skin tone, etc.
Browse online offers, go into shops, go on eBay too.
It's a shame for me to say that because I'm not protecting brands.
But a kid who really wants to try a suit from Rubinacci or Attolini, he won't be able to afford full price.
If he goes on eBay, he'll eventually be able to find one.
Basically, today, the universe is wide open.
Made-to-measure is the Holy Grail for me, because, after all, measurements are the essence of the cut.
When you find your wife, she's normally made-to-measure. You've chosen her.
Made-to-measure is really this notion of... how can I say this...
...no longer accepting the dictations of a guy who's decided for you what you're going to wear...
...and who's heavily promoted his own ideas...
...and putting yourself back in the minset that, actually, you can have a say in it...
...and that, actually, it's really good to have a say in it. But it involves being educated.
And what do you think of the choice of ready-to-wear clothing currently available?
The choice has very much improved.
The excellent effect of people like you and us is that we twist the arms of a lot of designers.
I've realized, for example, that, for the last few years, we've been seeing lots of things that I've talked about.
The little horizontal buttonhole on shirts.
We're starting to see Milanese-style buttonholes that are a little bit more interesting.
Are they in competition with real Milaneses? No, this is a real Milanese.
But we're starting to see more detail on the buttonhole.
Open buttonholes.
Exactly. Thanks to you and us and many others, we're twisting the arm of these designers...
And, undeniably... I've observed this and I say it without any reserve... we're going upmarket.
I find that the choice available today is of a much better quality, because men are educated.
At Francesco Smalto, they know this.
When you're highstreet shopping, you're still going to buy a suit for 2500 euros, 3000 euros, 3500 euros.
It's an investment.
Beyond 3500 euros, you should get a bespoke suit. It's ridiculous to spend more than that.
But these designers have gone upmarket.
Why? Because the guy who goes into a shop today isn't the same as the one who went into a shop in 2000...
...and even less so in the 80s.
How many sales assistants encounter a reader of Kinowear or Parisian Gentleman, or another blog...
...and are completely lost?
He's going to say, "this shoulder looks like a cross between a Roman and a Neapolitan shoulder".
Obviously, the vast majority of sales assistants won't know how to respond.
So there's a real positive effect.
Under the impetus of people like us, who exist because of their passion, first and foremost...
...designers have been pushed towards higher quality.
Today, if a designer is selling a suit for 2000 euros, for example, and it's crap...
...that reaches the internet in three days.
Through a small number of blogs, forums, etc., we can make or break a reputation.
Now, that opens up another debate, about whether we ought to stay in our places sometimes too...
...but that's another debate that I'm not going to discuss here.
To reply to your question in a global way, I don't think we've ever has as much choice or quality.
There's education. Customers are more and more educated.
And just because they want buy an item for 300 euros, it doesn't mean they want to buy crap.
So I think that the choice available has never been more interesting, for those who know how to pick and choose.
What do you think is the minimum budget necessary for a suit?
My grandfather always told me...
It wasn't my grandfather, in fact, it was my friend Roget who was a wine-maker.
I wrote about him in an article.
He said, "Hugo, it's not possible to make a Bordeaux..."
He was a wine-maker in Anjou. He made little red wines, very nice.
I remember that I was crushing grapes underfoot with him, people did it like that at the time...
...and he said, "Hugo, for less than 35 francs, that's about 5 euros, you won't find a decent Bordeaux".
"It's mechanical. There's a point where, mechanically, you can't make it any cheaper."
It's the same for suits.
Today, I'd say that a suit...
We're not going to go into the debate of fused or canvassed.
What we know is that in terms of comfort, drop, durability, we at least need a canvassed suit.
That means there's a free fabric inside the jacket that breathes, not something that's (squelch).
I made the noise because it's really like that.
Those, for me, are the basics.
Below that, you're really looking at poor-quality materials.
What's more, there will be an impact on the style and drop of the item.
I think that, if you're able to shop during the sales at Timothy Everest's, in London...
...you have semi-canvassed suits, made in Portgual, in a very open way.
Timothy Everett is one of those people who doesn't hide.
After all, he has a very nice house in Portugal.
During the sales, you can buy a very nice suit for 350, 400 euros, from Timothy Everest, in London.
Personally, I think that, for 400 euros, you can start to buy something decent.
600, 800 euros is more the mark where you find something that's going to last.
You have the that Cifonelli used to make.
600 suits with 40 customers.
This year, they made 980 suits with 250 customers.
That says everything. Today, at Cifonelli... at Camps de Luca it's the same...
...they have people in their thirties who come and who've taken out a loan to buy two bespoke costumes.
And they're right.
Most people would say it's riculous to spend 10,000 euros on two suits.
Someone once asked John D. Rockefeller, "Mr Rockefeller, if you only had 1000 dollars left, what would you do with it?
He said, "I'd buy a nice suit".
What advice would you give to someone in their fifties?
It all depends on what interest you have in the subject.
I'm not one of those people who wants to absolutely convince others that you have to be elegant all the time.
As the Americans say, every man for himself.
But, I did write a short piece on elegance for the designer Smalto, which is going to go in their shops.
Smalto are doing a new collection and they ask me to write a guide on how to wear it.
As an aside, that's education.
Even big designers are calling on people like us to educate their customers.
A man who wants to be elegant, who has a bit of money to throw at it...
I'd advise him to take the time to put together a wardrobe.
I'm not one of those people who say you need three suits, and so on. No.
Start off slowly with one or two pieces. Develop your own style.
It's a process that really has to be done like that.
It doesn't take 15 hours per day. Yes, for people like us, but it's our job, we're immersed in it.
I know a lot of men who are interested in elegance.
The only problem is that men...
You should keep this sentence.
When a man is passionate about something, he's 10,000 times more unreasonable than a woman.
A man is uncontrollable when he has a toy.
Even big designers know that. Cifonelli knows that.
There are people who go berserk in front of him, who buy 15 suits.
They go nuts, I'm not kidding, because men are completely unreasonable, much more so than women.
That's a subject that interests me a lot psychologically, because it's quite true.
So, what I would advise is to...
First piece of advice. Never compromise on the cut.
Compromise on the fabric. Compromise on the finishes.
But never on the line.
I would prefer a fabric that's a little bit less classy, but with a real cut.
Secondly, trust your eye.
The sales assistants are there to sell you clothes. You're there to buy something that suits you.
Never trust a sales assistant who tells you that something looks good on you, etc.
Thirdly, start slowly.
Buy one or two nice pieces, wear them for a while, see what suits you.
One thing that noone does, which has always astonished me...
When a woman goes into a shop, what's the first thing she does when she sees a dress she likes the look of?
She takes the dress, she holds it under her chin, and she looks at herself like this in the mirror.
Have you ever seen a man do that with a suit? Never.
It's the first thing to do.
You can see straight away what goes and doesn't go with your skin tone. It's fundamental.
What I would advice a man to do is to take his time. Buy one piece, two pieces.
Determine what suits him. Try things out.
Try double-breasted jackets. Give three-piece suits a chance.
A man who has five suits, a nice sports jacket and two pairs of flannel trousers alreay has a serious wardrobe.
After that, obviously, it's up to you.
I know people who have 250 suits.
There's a mental guy in Paris who has 350 suits, who spends his life doing that.
There are people who are so extreme, it's incredible.
That's what I'd advise. A wardrobe that's simple, progressive.
And, most of all, take your time. It's brilliant.
It's brilliant to take the time to build up a wardrobe, try things on.
Also, read Kinowear, Parisian Gentleman, and others, to choose the designers you're going to browse.
So, take your time, and, for the love of God avoid overhyped designers who sell pieces that aren't even decent.
Is it possible to be overdressed, to look too perfect?
Yes.
I'm maybe not the only one, but one of the rare people who believes that elegance isn't just about clothes.
I'd even say that it has very little to with clothes.
A human being is acceptable and interesting as long as he doesn't become the caricature of himself.
The problem with these people is that, very often, they become a caricature of themselves.
I see people who are overdressed, who are oversophisticated.
And, again, that's why education is important.
For me, men's elegance has something to do with clothes, of course.
It's still easier to be elegant in a made-to-measure Cifonelli than in work overalls.
Without going into the formula, it seems to be that elegance is, by definition, discrete, refined.
One of the phrases that particularly sticks with me at Parisian Gentleman is "learn the rules then break them".
Every day, I notice people who've made the error of being too carefully put together.
It's completely ridiculous when someone is... tie, tiepin, handkerchief, etc..
You can tell straight away that he's made an effort to do that.
What's happening with that person?
That person is exposing his efforts, instead of exposing his personality.
He's really showing others that he's put effort into his outfit.
That can be charming, for example, if you do it for someone, for an occasion.
But in everyday life...
For me, elegance is necessarily discrete. There's no better word for it than "understated".
That's the foundation of everything.
"La sprezzatura", that's a bit of a famous on PG, that was based on another article by Bruce Boyer.
It's about this Italian tradition of put-together nonchalence.
It's about giving the impression that you haven't thought about what you're wearing...
...that you threw on the scarf or the tie that was at the bottom of the pile in your closet.
There is a risk, but it's normal.
Every time there's been a progression in a subject, there have been extremists.
The only thing that I think is totally false, that I don't at all agree with...
...is that people debase concepts like dandyism.
Dandyism is an extremely precise concept that describes something very specific.
Today, it's become a kind of catch-all term that we use for anything and everything.
So, yes, I think there is the risk of being overdressed, and the solution is, once again, education.
Do you ever dress very simply?
I wear jeans quite happily, I wear a fun pair of boots quite happily.
I can dress quite easily in a rock 'n roll style, that doesn't bother me.
My relationship with clothes is... how can I say this...
...it's not a relationship based on constraints.
I'm lucky to be working for myself, to be able to get up when I want...
...or, more precisely, to go to bed when I want.
So, basically, I'm not trapped by clothing constraints...
...like the guy who has to wear a suit and tie to the office because those are the rules.
Plus, clothing happens to be my domain of activity.
I'm a big fan of a nice sports jacket in summer, a nice tweed jacket in the winter...
...even a seersucker jacket in the summer.
But I can wear leather jackets, I can wear t-shirts.
T-shirts?
Yes, you heard it, I can wear t-shirts, although, it's rare.
Four times in two years.
That's not a lot.
I'm definitely not... how can I say this?
I'm definitely not obtuse when it comes to that.
I think that a really nice pair of jeans worn with a...
I own a pair of jeans with varnished vintage boots... I say vintage because it was a while ago.
They're a bit unusual, they're even a bit crappy at the ends, but I like them.
So that's my laid-back style.
I'm really in the domain of patience, education.
Parisian Gentleman's project for the two, three years ahead is to create the first directory...
My real project behind the scenes is to... well, I might as well tell you, exclusively for Kinowear...
...of all the tailors and bootmakers in the world, including those in the most remote areas of the planet.
I think it's an idea that's been bandied about.
For example, I know people in Côte d'Ivoire who make jackets for 10 euros for the poor, real tailors.
I know people in Myanmar who do unbelievable things.
I want to breathe new life into these people.
The idea is to bring Timothy Everest, Cifonelli, Mariano Rubinacci to the depths of Africa to do a masterclass.
I believe that clothing is a vector of beauty, and the way you present yourself to others can change your life.
Giving dignity back to people using beauty is a route that's been completely ignored until now.
For example, I have a massive readership in Africa.
Obviously, there are Congolese "sapeurs", Cameroonians, etc.
But, even beyond that, I have readers, who don't fit the image we have of Africa.
Africa... hang on a moment... is in the process of changing enormously.
Extremely important things are going to happen, even in our sector.
So my long-term project is to make the first, finally, worldwide directory of tailors and bootmakers...
...and, what's more, breathe new life into, reidentify, all these people.
There's going to be a double effect.
Firstly, it's going to reattract attention to these professions.
Secondly, it's going to recreate vocations, because we have a real problem in France...
...we're going to die a death because of it. We have no more tailors.
And even though the art of tailoring is like that, kids aren't interested in it.
Today's kids want to be sociologists or rockstars, basically.
Or perhaps dentists, but it's a less and less interesting option.
It's the parents that are the problem, not the children.
"I love artisans, they're brilliant, I myself am always buying artisanal products...
...but when it comes to my son, I'd rather he be a . Let's not kid ourselves."
We have a real snobbism in France when it comes to that subject.
So, my project is on an international scale, but that's for two years down the line.
I'm not even sure if it's of interest to you.
It is.
I've given myself the mission of working with the art of tailoring and bootmaking, but really do the job well.
I think it's going to take me three or four years.
We've already identified people in 80 countries.
In my opinion, style, elegance, and quality aren't just the result of money.
I have a lot of readers who have incredible style, who don't even begin to have half the means to buy bespoke.
That's what interests me. Beauty interests me.
The vector of beauty, for men, what does that create?
I believe it's a huge subject that's waiting for me with open arms.
We'll have to catch up again in three years' time.
Definitely.
Thank you, Hugo