Through the Eyes of Pressiat

Vincent Garnier Pressiat

Night Eyes 

Somewhere between bondage and punk glitter, disco vertigo and rebellious feathers, the self-described “night owl” keeps his eyes open, day and night. The designer’s motto: “Fight for fluidity.” 

Vincent Garnier Pressiat, born in Besançon in the east of France, launched his brand in 2020. For him, “black is the happiest of colours.” A statement beyond gender boundaries unfolds in his atelier in the 8th arrondissement of Paris – a party dream merging Pigalle, Studio 54 and folkloric fervour.

This latest collection is entitled “Absolument Pressiat,” a tribute to Belle de Jour, and to every Parisian woman “seen” in the eyes of a beautiful foreigner. Here is high-voltage bourgeois boredom, with slit skirts and thigh-high boots, velvet dresses with leopard motifs, amazon helmets and rings of feathers as though "the pigeon crashed on the Cadillac.” His rock'n'roll Cruellas inherited a Couture tradition. His grandfather was a tailor and his mother a pattern maker, who passed on to him a keen eye for cut and detail. “I've always liked powerful women with strong shoulders and the power to say no,” he remarked. 

Pressiat's eye brings freedom to the night. His accomplices are none other than Victor Weinsanto and Michèle Lamy. If fashion remains his main passion, he puts his talents as a photographer and artist into practice through multiple digital collages. “Today, it's as if there are eyes everywhere. We are all watching each other. The night frees us from the shackles.” Then, he concludes: “We keep fighting to be seen. But it is through invisibility that we will succeed.” Around his mirror, he has constucted a black frame calligraphed with symbols and the sole question: “Who is the craziest?”