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After the After Party at Ouest Paris

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Behind a car dealership in the tony 7th arrondissement, Arthur Robert transformed a two-storey abandoned supermarket into a hidden rave location for Ouest Paris’s Fall-Winter 2024 collection. Against the sparkling shimmer of morning light, the designer wanted to conjure the party’s embers trickling into the following day. Some late night revelers continued to dance with reckless abandon while others prepared to embark on the journey home. It’s a thrill, he said, that he has not experienced in a long time.

Although this party was brief, Robert imbues his clothing with a “shot of energy” that suggests the pleasure-seeking lifestyle. A continuation from last season, he expanded on the urban workwear that has become synonymous with the Ouest Paris world. He elaborated on the wardrobe with a sexier and edgier slant: clothing is styled to look slightly off without ever being too disheveled. In fact, Robert intended to achieve a more elevated feel, delving further into the codes of denim and working with various Parisian ateliers to give it a more rarefied feel. It’s a tension he balanced carefully, like the location of the abandoned supermarket rave in an upmarket locale.

“The presentation is where we tell the story because it can’t exist solely through the clothes. We had a great response to the collection at the previews but people wanted to see the vision and story behind it. This brings everything together,” the designer said, over the phone.

By Paul McLauchlan.

What would you like us to know about the new collection?

[Fall-Winter 2024] is a continuation of last season which was about a rave with an outdoorsy vibe. I loved the shot of energy that I got from working on that presentation so I wanted to continue the story. This time, it’s the after party. It’s time for some to put their coat back on but others are still dancing. I wanted to hold the show in the morning because it’s like after a party when you walk through Paris and you see the haze of the morning. That feeling is very unique.  I’ve been working so much over the past few months that I don’t really get the occasion to party so I wanted to convey it here.

 

How does this installment fit into the Ouest Paris world?

At Ouest Paris, we’re developing our wardrobe which is ready and tough for everyday life. It’s clothing that you wear to work and then to go have a drink in and maybe go to a party. It’s an idea of a 24/7 wardrobe. This season, I wanted to have influences from evening wear and tailoring. There are those big beautiful coats for winter that you throw on when you get out of the club with tailoring and some sexier and edgier pieces. 

 

What is your favourite aspect of designing a collection?

The development of the collection is always my favorite part of the job. We created some new denim washes and we worked with various ateliers in Paris to give the pieces greater attention to detail than, say, the usual workwear wardrobe. We’ve also played with the codes of denim so there are a lot of denim rivets on pieces that contrast with more tailored and clean looks. It was exciting to have this more elevated feeling contrast with the established codes of workwear.

 

What is one wish you have for fashion in 2024?

Ever since I launched [Ouest Paris], I keep hearing that it’s not the right time to launch a brand. But two years on, we’re still here. It’s not easy in this climate for the small players. It’s all about the concentration on the bigger players having more power and bandwidth to communicate in the whole space of fashion. But there’s lots of brands coming up in Paris and elsewhere that deserve light shed on them. It’s not even about myself but the industry in general – there are cool designers and we should hear more from them. At the end of the day it is an industry. [For young designers,] you have to be cool but commercial, easy but disruptive. It’s like fitting squares into circles. But we’re seeing talent so it’s quite exciting.

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