Kevin Germanier: “People have a preconceived idea what ethical fashion is”

Printemps: Why did you choose a career in fashion? 

Kevin Germanier: It's a classic story. I think it's something I always wanted to do, since I was very young. There are photos of me at three draping fabric around my sister's Barbie.  

What was your journey like? 

I did my year of preparatory studies in Switzerland and then I went to Central Saint Martins. Louis Vuitton offered me a job but I always promised my mother that I would finish my studies...so I finished and they waited for me. I didn't even have my diploma but I already had a job and that's real security in the fashion world. 

What did you learn at Louis Vuitton? And how did you go from accessories to clothing? 

Louis Vuitton was the best school. It was very varied. I would say that what I learned there was attention to detail, the little things that make the difference between a quality product and others. We often think that a fashion designer is someone who draws and makes little dresses all day long but we create beautiful and good products. I always pay attention to detail. I have always made clothes. I finished at Louis Vuitton and then I went home. Some people go see their friends, or go out for drinks. Me, I made clothes.  

Tell us about how you're fighting to change the vision that the world has of ethical fashion. 

Already in 2018, people would roll their eyes at me wondering what I was doing. “Ethical fashion? That's weird. What's upcycling?” Today, everything is sustainable. Your shampoo, your pizza, your vacation in Greece...we dress it up in all sorts of ways. I will be honest. I will stop being Swiss but it's starting to bother me a bit! It's not because it's ethical fashion that we need to present it in front of a green backdrop with plants. People have a preconceived idea what ethical fashion is, while what's important is how your source, if your women employees are paid as well as the men, if everyone finishes work at 6 :30 or if everyone is overexploited.  That's being ethical. It's your way of treating people, those with whom you work, the buyers who make you false promises... Us, we don't have inventory. We produce only what we have sold. My goal is to ask why I need to nourish this false image of ethical fashion as boring when, personally, my style is flamboyant, glamourous, colourful?  

Where and by whom are Germanier pieces made?  

We have a hand in everything. Bags, sequins, knitting, prints...we have several production sites, In Paris, it's more what Lady Gaga, or Michelle Obama wears, those kinds of pieces that you have to make quickly. My agent is here, too, so it's easier for any celebrities. Knitwear is in Switzerland, in Valet, where I grew up, and it's produced by my family. And then we're in Shanghai for sequins, and for bags in the Philippines because that's where the pearls are. We do what we can to produce where materials are sourced. For example, for knitwear, the wool is sourced in Switzerland and therefore we produce in Switzerland.    

Your mother and grandmother work in your ateliers. How did that happen? 

My mother's been working with me since I launched Germanier. The deal was, “If I launch Germanier, I really need my parents behind me”. My mother manages 16 knitters now. They are Swiss and include my grandmother, great aunts and my mother's yoga teacher. It's a community of women. Originally it was my mother who was looking for work. She had put her career on hold to raise her children and when she wanted to return to work, people told her, “Madame, you're too old”. At 42. It's the same for my aunt who lost her husband. These are women who have issues going back into the workforce. It became a community of 16 women and it may continue to grow.  

You use a lot of upcycling. Have you noticed a difference since it is legally prohibited to burn unsold stock? 

No, it's always been a catastrophe. We're not going to change the world in two seasons. Now, everything is supposedly sustainable. Since when is it up to fashion to save the planet? People are not aware of the mass of waste that's out there.  

Why did you turn to upcycling? 

Because it was always less expensive for me. Central Saint Martins College is very expensive. And when I went, it was easier to buy a bedspread in a thrift store than white cotton... I'm Swiss, so I know how to manage my budget. It wasn't to save the planet, it was just because it was less expensive. And then, when I went to work in Hong Kong, I was able to source materials that also opened my spirit. I said to myself, “I can have sequins, pearls, very beautiful things sourced in an ethical way”.  

Talk to us about your silicone embroidery technique. 

It's a technique I developed when I was a student. It's my own technique so I won't say everything! But basically, it's to produce more quickly. Because at school you have three months to produce 6 - 8 looks. If you use glue, of course, it becomes hard, but silicone allows you to maintain suppleness and lightness. It allows me to have a couture finish but with an extremely rapid technique. And the idea was also to rethink embroidery.