WWD Series: Thomas Tistounet
-What are you most excited about this season?
I am excited to start feeling that we are able to go back soon to real physical fashion weeks. It’s so important to meet the designers, to see the collections, touch the garments, try some pieces (even if I am size XL), meet the industry, buyers and journalists from all around the world. I am very excited about getting back soon to what we knew as a “normal” Fashion Week, but at the same time I am worried that some of the new digital ways of working and behavior will remain in the future and minimize the importance of physical meetings and exchanges. I hope that fashion shows will continue to be the “mass for fashion professionals” and that they won’t become an elitist circus for influencers and rich celebrities only.
-What trends do you expect to take off?
I am not that much into trends, at United Legend we are always looking for a relevant and honest creative process, trying to refuse opportunism and hype which have invaded a very large part of the proposition. We are looking for creative processes that are detached from trends and hype actually. Of course we are always interested in new and emerging approaches. For example, we have been very active with the emergence of outdoor in fashion for many years. But I prefer to consider outdoor as the whole positioning that it is, rather than a disposable trend as streetwear and luxury brands might do.
-How have you changed the way you select brands?
I try to promote artistic approaches that transmit a cultural message in order to fight against excessive and mind-numbing ways of consuming. On another level, I also try to promote the right prices in order to reconnect with the reality of our local customers and the European market.
-How have your shoppers’ priorities shifted?
It’s a bit more complicated to promote new designers right now because our customers are looking for more reassuring and timeless pieces from more established brands which is absolutely understandable given the period we are facing. That doesn’t mean that at United Legend we will change our emphasis on promoting new creation — on the contrary, the fashion industry needs more than ever to be challenged by new energies!