A.P.C.'s Jean Touitou on Karl Lagerfeld's Bad Taste and 'Prostitute Fashion' - Elle

Photo: Katja Rahlwes

A.P.C. founder Jean Touitou ^[1] ’s utilitarian-chic empire is growing steadily. Most recently, he added another notch to his Lower Manhattan bedpost: a shop on Bond Street, nice and close to lots of other downtown-kid favorites. Perfect lattes at The Smile, fancy pajamas at Sleepy Jones, and Made-in-America staples at Billy Reid are just a block away. Now, East Siders don’t have to Citi Bike across town to the West Village—or, heaven forbid, SoHo! —to get their hands on A.P.C.^[2] ’s corduroy sack dresses, schoolgirl saddle bags, and legendary raw denim. Last week, ELLE.com dialed Touitou in Paris to discuss the charms of New York. As per usual, he was ready to talk about plenty more than that.

Let’s get right to it: Are you going to your friend Kanye West’s wedding?

If it’s in Paris that would be more handy.

What was it like working on a capsule collection with him?

The one thing that surprised and upset me was the criticism that a t-shirt could cost $120. All those fashion people spend hundreds and hundreds…. He wanted the best quality of t-shirt, and we took so much time on the cut and the neck and everything. I know it’s just a t-shirt, but I found it very unfair that people commented on American television. Nobody’s a critic when they’re talking about a $500 bottle of Cristal. That was the one thing that got me.

Interesting. Well, now that we have the Kanye question squared away, let’s get to the topic at hand. Why Bond Street?

The street looks good.

Photo: Courtesy of A.P.C.

You’ve already got a few shops in downtown Manhattan, though. Have you ever considered Brooklyn?

We tried, but couldn’t find a decent place. So we gave up. Our outlet store was there in Williamsburg for a while, but it was pretty out of the way.

But you like to spend time out there, right?

Yes, if I want to go to a vintage store. Never for denim—maybe for a record or a sweatshirt. I’ve found some great pieces. I go to a restaurant, it’s far away. It’s a pizzeria, and they also have advanced gastronomy.

Roberta’s in Bushwick?

Yes, it’s very unpretentious. When I go to New York I like to go to places that aren’t trendy. It gets on my nerves otherwise. I’ll go to the 2nd Avenue Delicatessen. I don’t want to see [fashion] industry people. I’m looking for average, banal people.

Have you ever thought about opening up a shop on the Upper East Side on Madison Avenue? I bet it would do really well up there.

I don’t feel comfortable in the middle of all those brands. I’ve been so many times looking at places. The obscene prices they’re asking! I’m an independent company. I run this business like a family man, even if it’s getting bigger. The rents up there are insane—insane, meaning insane. They force you to become greedy— it pushes you to be very aggressive with sales. I don’t want to push my staff to sell. Of course, I wouldn’t be ashamed of being next to Céline, where they sell good stuff. But there’s not much poetry up there.

A lot of those stores you’re talking about are in the business of pushing luxury accessories—It bags in particular. At your last presentation you gave away funny brown leather sacks printed with, “Douche: Paris” as a kind of affront to that.

The world is becoming more and more vulgar…you can show on your arm that you can afford a 10, 15, 20k bag. It’s obscene to me. Poor girls would bleed their veins to have those bags. One particular brand is over the top aesthetic-wise. As a man, it turns me off, I can’t stand it anymore. And it’s not me being French and against money. I’m not against money, I’m an entrepreneur!

You certainly say what you think, which is not what I’m used to when interviewing designers. People usually say what they think they’re supposed to say.

We live in a twisted world. I’m not outspoken, other people just don’t speak. I think it’s because there is so much money involved. I run a $50 million company. Those designers who work for billion dollar companies, they cannot speak. I’m sure a lot of them have things to say, but they don’t have the freedom of speech. I wish I had competition. I wish someone would say I was stupid, and that I should say something better. I feel a little alone there. Well, I’m not completely alone. Lagerfeld may not have good taste, but he has opinions. He’s the only one who speaks. And Azzedine Alaïa.

Who do you think has good taste?

From a design perspective, I think Phoebe Philo is doing an incredible job. I think sometimes the wrong customer is buying the bags. It’s tricky. And Miuccia Prada—I have a lot of respect for her all the way. She has built something incredible.

It’s interesting that you mention those two women, because they both design clothes that aren’t overtly sexy—the sexuality is in the power that they give the women who wear them.

That’s the point. I mean, to tell you the truth there’s nothing more sexual than the Prada dresses or the dresses that Phoebe Philo does. If I was a woman of my age, [62], I would be so sad that all those years of fighting for women has come to this prostitute fashion.

What do you mean by prostitute fashion?

Those shoes. Why do women have to wear those shoes? They’re the same shoes from porn movies. I don’t get it. I’m not against heels under certain circumstances. It’s fun to have heels at a party. But there’s a comedy in huge heels, in being exposed. No man exposes his feet. There’s something about male domination there. But you know, I don’t want to sound boring.