Interview with Ines El Mundo

We could say that age has given Inès de la Fressange the pass to speak bluntly, but the truth is that the former model and now designer and living fashion icon has always gotten knee-deep in the mud. And she does it gesticulating without reservations, showing wrinkles that simply don't matter to her: they are just there. She prefers that over lack of expression. "Today we talk a lot about women, protecting women and their image, and about naturalness, but suddenly, we see all these influencers with huge lips, full of Botox and Instagram filters; exactly the opposite image of what is generally being discussed, right?" she reflects quickly sitting in her office at Roger Vivier in Paris. "That's what I've learned after so many years in fashion: you can never imagine what will come next."

"It's not the only lesson she draws after a whole life in fashion, being close to Karl Lagerfeld and being behind Roger Vivier for several decades. "I had never thought about it, but yes, this [the one I have with the brand] is the longest relationship I've ever had", she laughs. "When I arrived here, I was alone with my assistant and the designer, and I was in charge of everything: decoration, packaging, answering the phone, opening the store door. Actually, I did everything, and now it's a huge company with offices all over the world," she comments. "So much so that this morning I came back from the Chanel show and the girl downstairs asked me if she could help me, and I had to tell her I work here."

"Although it's easy to sense the embarrassment of that girl, the truth is that anyone who doesn't really know her would only see another stylish woman crossing the doors of the store in central Paris. One of those you keep looking at, simple but special, charming and not fitting the stereotype of a fashion designer. She also didn't fit the model stereotype when Paolo Roversi discovered her in the 20th century and the luxury world fell in love with her. Perhaps, with her burgundy corduroy pants and impeccable black sweater, saying that instead of salad it seems they served her cow feed, she fits more the writer stereotype, since in her bibliography there are quite a few works that have become hits trying to unravel the mystery of the French 'je ne sais quoi'. Luckily, the cliché she also escapes is that of impostor syndrome:she knows how to proudly recognize her achievements, and in a world full of false modesty, it's refreshing."

"Now there are no luxury brands launching like Roger Vivier did", she says. "But I am very happy to have gone through it and with what exists now, even when nothing is really new: Roger Vivier already existed, stopped, people forgot about him and the brand and we had to redo everything again. And when I now arrive, for example, in China and see Chanel, Hermès, Yves Saint Laurent and Roger Vivier all together, I say 'I did this!' For people it's normal, but for me, it's a success." And even though, at the beginning of this journey, she once said a wonderful thing: "You gave me a Rolls Royce, but please, now give me a driver."

She doesn't seem to need it. She never has, even when in the early 90s her relationship with Lagerfeld suffered and then was fixed years later: Fressange has always been a free spirit. When she could have collaborated with any brand in the world, she chose to design, besides for Vivier, for the well-known Uniqlo. While she could have been a typical influencer, Inès chose to create her own newsletter, La lettre d'Inès, in which every week she talks about restaurants, brands, and books she loves. "It can be an old book, just that I have read it during that week," she clarifies, showing, by the way, that she is not subject to fierce editorial novelties either. And even if she doesn't intend to (or maybe she does, in a way), she sets trends. 

"Some brands write to me to say that since I published them, many more people have visited their website and discovered the brand, and that makes me very happy. I'm very proud of that, in fact, because I love my job and I like talking about my world and what I do, but also about others." It seems others like it too, because she already has about 60,000 subscribers who listen to her recommendations with almost sacred interest. The important thing? That she feels free.

"Luckily, I never have to drop a brand because it's an advertiser, and that's a freedom magazines don't have", she says. "Nowadays, magazines only focus on famous brands and it seems there's no room left to discover and protect talent. But talent always exists. And it's a shame, because at one time, Azzedine Alaïa was a young talent, for example. I'm sure there are some small brands in Spain that also experience this, and it's tough for them; it's a miracle they can exist, because nowadays between luxury and the big high street market distributors... It's hard to be in the middle."

She usually isn't, because half-measures don't seem to fit with this Frenchwoman. That's why, when you ask her what she thinks is the key to Roger Vivier's success, instead of giving the long answers others would, she replies confidently: "I can explain it to you." Let's see. "First, there is an exceptional heritage, because he was a researcher and visionary at the same time. And the product is good, it's creative, practical, and unique. And then there's the whole part of the distribution chain, the commercial side, quality, and all those things. If you combine those two ideas, that is, that the product is good and the business is too, everything is done." She states that another very positive thing about Roger Vivier and its investors is that they understood what is usually not understood nowadays: that the success of dizzying figures doesn't come in three seconds.

Another good thing she attributes to Roger Vivier is that "you can find things, your mother too, and your grandmother. Or your nieces or little sisters," she explains. "For example, my daughters, aged 23 and 28, and I, who am 65, find things at Roger Vivier." Certainly, those girls have been raised with an exceptional eye for fashion and beauty, so it's inevitable to wonder what Inès de la Fressange has repeated most to them (and while we're at it, to get some advice). And the one she gives is worth gold: "The best beauty product is toothpaste". Exactly that.