FASHION

AZ FACTORY/ LUTZ HUELLE FOR CRASH 100

By Armelle Leturcq

Driven by a desire to create clothes for women of all ages and body shapes while working within a collective, AZ Factory was founded by Alber Elbaz in 2019 with the support of the Richemont Group. Following the designer’s death in 2021, the collective decided to enlist various talents for each collection, including Ester Manas, Thebe Magugu and Lutz Huelle, who was recently appointed as the label’s recurring designer. In this discussion, Mauro Grimaldi, head of AZ Factory, and Lutz Huelle explain how they intend to weave the guiding thread and future of AZ Factory, an unpretentious brand that is constantly reinventing itself in a rapidly changing environment.

Mauro Grimaldi AZ Factory is a project based on the idea of its founder, Alber Elbaz, to create a collective of creative personalities and bring them together in a somewhat unpredictable way – like an entity that is constantly changing entity based on its desires, techniques and opportunities. The selection is based on a phrase coined by Alber Elbaz: “It’s smart fashion that cares.” It’s a theme that Lutz and I both cherish, just as a great mutual friend of ours, Maria Luisa, used to talk about thinking fashion. This means providing intelligent solutions pertaining to the production, creation, marketing and communication of fashion. AZ Factory offers fashion “content” that goes beyond the mere utilitarian idea of clothing. We believe that fashion is first and foremost about satisfying women’s needs, not just creating runway shows considered as abstract concepts. “That cares” contains two ideas: that of paying attention to finding “sustainable” solutions, and that of creating working conditions with people we love, by creating relationships that are not only professional, but also based on trust. We have the pleasure of working only with people we like! And the luxury of being able to choose who we work with.

Armelle Leturcq That’s a tremendous luxury!

MG The structure of AZ Factory grew out of conversations we had with the management team, who were thinking about how to create this incubator linked to independent design. I outlined three critical factors facing independent designers. First: the team. Most independent designers have a small team or no team at all. Second: the money needed to finance and produce a collection, a distribution network. And, most important of all, the talent. Without talent, there’s no point in thinking about the rest.
Sometimes we see designers who produce a beautiful collection, invest their own money, but have no structure to distribute it and find themselves at a standstill. We are fortunate to be working with the team recruited by Alber, a team of the highest caliber that includes design, a workshop, product development and all functions. This team works on behalf of independent designers. In addition, AZ Factory finances the collection and handles distribution. We therefore offer designers the opportunity to live out a complete experience, right down to the end customer. At the very beginning, the project was based on the notion of “young designers”. Later, I replaced the notion of “young” with that of “independent”. The fundamental nature of the project is extremely inclusive. Designers are chosen for their talent and for how their work resonates with the idea of “smart fashion that cares” as championed by Alber Elbaz. We don’t force them to pay homage to Alber. At the same time, we have to admit that this homage does exist in practice. But this is not a fundamental selection criterion. A genuine creative exchange takes place between the designers in residence. Because, in reality, AZ Factory is a residency in which our creative team is involved. There are other industrial schemes that are meant to finance designers. Of course, we do finance collections, but it’s born of an exchange between the designers and the in-house creative team. This is the beauty and uniqueness of our project, in my opinion. The result produced at AZ Factory will be different in every way from an in-house result. The blending of inspirations, techniques and sensibilities results in a product that is unique to AZ Factory. For me, this is the most important aspect.
AZ Factory is not a legacy company. “I don’t want to repeat what I’ve already done,” Alber said at the start of this adventure. So we don’t use any academic codes and we don’t want to. Our selection criteria will have more to do with the project’s talent and resonance with the notion of intelligent fashion, especially in its capacity to attend to everything implied by that creative process. Ultimately, we function sort of like an art gallery that specializes in fashion. We select creative people and we commission them. We promote them. And sometimes, as can happen in an art gallery, some artists stay on for several years, while others only have one exhibition. The main value of AZ Factory lies in its ability to endure, to always choose people and projects that are interesting, without repeating a process. No two projects are alike. They’re all different, just like at an art gallery, where it makes no sense to sign two painters with similar approaches.

AL Why did you decide from the outset not to enlist any single Creative Director?

MG For two reasons. The first is that Alber’s departure was so sudden that the pain was too strong, too fresh, to consider centralizing the business around a single person again. The second is that the AZ Factory brand is not a parent brand. When Alber disappeared, it was still an emerging brand – we were just one and a half collections in – a brand with values but not yet its own codes. That is why we decided to initiate our experimental posture, especially in the first year. There were two reasons for this: first so that we can experiment with solutions, and second because I personally wanted to play on the contrast between mourning and creation. I thought the best thing to do was to highlight Alber’s taste for surprise, hospitality and a joyful approach to fashion, all while starting out from serious premises.
We work a lot with recycled materials, “left over”, without making any seriously committed statements. We try to do our part, but always with a joyful approach to fashion. Especially in times like ours, we feel it’s important for fashion to continue to bring joy to everyone’s lives. Dressing up is not just about wearing clothes, it’s about expressing something.

AL But you still needed a unifying thread, and that’s why Lutz was brought in as the house’s recurring designer?

MG He’s a bit of a guiding light when it comes to choosing projects and working with different designers. The fact that Lutz has become a permanent collaborator is very much in line with our idea. The project was also born first and foremost to enable the Richemont group, which has a strong reputation in jewelry and watches, to extend its network of influences to the world of fashion. Meeting someone like Lutz, who we get on well with and who has a strong commercial track record, immediately and unexpectedly gave us the idea of asking him to work on the brand founded by Alber Elbaz. This move was very well received by the press. At first, it seemed like a bit of a contradiction, but in the end, everyone agreed that it was a coherent move, even though we weren’t necessarily looking for it.
AZ’s fundamental mission is to support independent creation. So when we come across someone talented, who is driven by a strong idea that resonates with our brand values, and that person perhaps needs a helping hand to take things further, then we look to support that project, or even become a real platform for their work. Perhaps Lutz will be the first of a series of permanent collaborators. Or maybe he’ll remain the only one, if we never come to such an understanding with anyone else? But whatever the case, this is the start of a second chapter in which some of our collaborators may become permanent contributors. With Lutz, we’re beginning to build a permanent story, like in an art gallery, through a process that is certainly different but still coherent with the designer’s own work.
The collection is the result of a creative dialogue between Lutz (in Lutz’s case) and the studio. We’re fortunate to have a powerful studio with a wealth of experience, an infinite vocabulary and a strong point of view. Therein lies the beauty of the project. It’s not just about financing a collection, it’s also about nurturing a creative process. The collective emerges from a genuine creative intuition between many hands.
The other function of AZ Factory, especially for young designers, is to teach them how to work with a collection strategy and how to turn aesthetic intuition into business. We work closely with Lutz on the collection strategy, the chosen positioning, the functions of the different looks in a collection, etc.
Another part of the job is to turn an aesthetic idea into a business. As soon as Lutz becomes a permanent member of AZ Factory, the label enters a second phase, with ambitions for economic success. This is a trickier objective to achieve when the creative team changes every season. With Lutz, we’re starting to consider another network and to think about setting up semi-permanent retail outlets. And we’re no longer looking six months ahead, but several years ahead in terms of our objectives.

AL So a more long-term vision is starting to take shape.

MG Exactly. It’s a vision in which AZ Factory is becoming less and less of a brand, and more and more of a space. The room given to Lutz is steadily increasing, just as AZ is positioning itself more and more as an art gallery.

AL Lutz, how do you feel about the collaboration? You’ve done a lot of work for other houses yourself, without it necessarily being officially in your name. Your approach has always been based on incognito activity. How do you feel about working with AZ Factory? You’re more in the spotlight. It’s different.

Lutz Huelle First of all, I had infinite admiration for Alber. That’s the first thing I have to say! So when Mauro contacted me, I was flattered and delighted. It was a pleasure to work for a company that shared so many of the same values as me, and was founded by a man I totally admired, and it was even more of a pleasure when I actually started working, because everything went so smoothly. The team is great and the atmosphere is good. As a result, the collection was built under ideal conditions. Our work went very smoothly. I thrive when the atmosphere is right. I give my best in a climate of trust. I dread unpleasant atmospheres. It’s impossible for me to work in pain. With AZ, it was like a chemical reaction. It went really well. It was a pleasure.
When Mauro told me about AZ Factory’s ideas, which were perhaps a little different from what Alber had done at Lanvin, it was astonishing for me to see how we had the same point of view on many things: the idea of dressing people because you love them, the interest in the human side of fashion. It was a perfect match for me. I didn’t know Alber very well personally. We’d seen each other two or three times at cocktail parties. But we had never spent hours together. So it was interesting to see how similar we were in our approach to fashion and thinking, yet how different we were, of course, in our styles. I was much more inspired by the street and the mundane side of everyday clothes. Alber, on the other hand, evolved much more in the world of luxury and Haute Couture. People were surprised that I was chosen at all! But for me, it wasn’t so surprising in the sense that I’d already worked in this vein for other brands, without anyone knowing about it. The public knew about my personal work without suspecting that I’d worked for other labels. It was a great experience, and when I heard it was going to continue, I was delighted. It’s nice to work with cool people!

AL Yes, it’s not easy in fashion, as many people have egos that are not always easy to manage.

LH That may be. However, I’ve always been lucky in this respect. Because if an atmosphere is unpleasant, I don’t stay. At least whenever I can afford not to. That’s one of the great freedoms I personally have in fashion: being able to choose where I want to work. It changes everything! I’m a hard worker. I love to work. But I want it to go well. Because it’s only through continuity that you can produce beautiful things, otherwise you feel the suffering in things.

AL When you arrived at AZ Factory, there was already a studio in place with some highly skilled people. It must have been great.

LH They’re extremely talented people and we got along very quickly. As a result, this collection was easy to put together in a good-humored, fun and joyful atmosphere. I think this is reflected in the clothes. That’s why I think it sold well. You could feel the positivity.

MG I think it’s important to add here that the creative process also has its own workshop, a “house”, with endless technical capabilities. That makes all the difference. Because the challenge is not only to work together on a creative idea, but also to realize it together. Many houses, even much larger ones, don’t have in-house workshops.

AL You have a studio at your disposal, as well as a workshop.

MG A high-capacity workshop. As a result, ideas from the creative side can be realized and analyzed within half an hour. That automatically enhances the depth of the work.

AL What do you think of the status of Creative Director in the fashion world today? There have been a lot of changes in fashion houses in recent years. The status of Creative Director has become a bit volatile, with frequent changes between houses. It’s interesting to observe how you are changing the very notion of the Creative Director by setting up collaborations. Other houses, such as Lanvin, are now preparing to shift away from having a single Creative Director in favor of multiple collaborations. How do you both see the role of Creative Director today?

MG Let’s just say that every project is different. From the outset, we positioned ourselves a little differently, because we deliberately didn’t want a Creative Director. It’s easier that way! We all work together without having any official status.

AL So it’s anarchy! (laughs)

MG That’s right! (laughs) We could be compared to a few similar cases (the most obvious being Jean-Paul Gaultier, and now Lanvin… The big difference is that we position ourselves less and less as a brand, and more and more by giving visibility to guest designers. We invite people, not brands. And we don’t just invite superstars. Sometimes we do, and other times we invite designers who are “unknown” but, in our eyes, potentially “bursting” with talent. Other times, we invite designers fresh out of fashion schools,
or people who’ve been in the fashion business for thirty years. We’re not a star gateway. For the moment, we’ve done a few experiments, but our idea isn’t necessarily to contaminate fashion by inviting singers, for example. That’s not what we’re about.

AL You’re also not in the “collab” business like many brands…

MG For the moment, our idea is to support independent creation. Our focus is on creation, not branding. We don’t act on the basis of a marketing idea, but on the basis of a creative idea. We want to place creativity back at the heart of the industry. And I think that for a major group like Richemont, investing in a comprehensive team (workshop, studio, product development, production, communications; a full company dedicated to discovering new talent, or existing talent that you may want to showcase in a new light) is a fairly innovative approach. That’s the beauty of the project. Other brands work with several designers, but we’re very attached to the term “factory”. If Alber wanted us to call it that, then we have to keep it that way. So we place a lot of emphasis on the “make beauty” aspect. The conviction that fashion is even stronger when it strips itself of certain protections is very important to me. Perhaps we don’t need to talk about fashion being automatically associated with luxury. I think there’s a modernity in thinking like that today.

LH Regarding the role of the Creative Directors in fashion houses today, I’m realizing that it’s all ultimately based on Creative Directors having a precise idea of what’s going to happen. They feel it. It’s this notion of instinct that makes a designer successful. Yves Saint-Laurent, Coco Chanel and Karl Lagerfeld all had incredible instincts. All the great figures of the fashion world, like Alber Elbaz, did too. It’s a question of intuition, and I think the true talent of a Creative Director lies in this notion. Feeling things. Designers need marketing, but marketing shouldn’t be the source of creation, but a complement to it. Marketing is essential on that level. But the Creative Director is there to sense and anticipate trends. This notion may be getting lost, and that’s very dangerous because if it really does get lost, then the notion of “surprise” in fashion will fade forever. We run the risk of only living off ideas that people liked in the past. The good thing about AZ Factory is that this reshuffling of the cards is not the overriding factor.
Of course, there are constraints imposed on certain details (dress lengths, etc.), and that’s quite normal, but there is trust placed in the designers, and this contributes to a sense of well-being at work, as well as a form of plurality. Perhaps I couldn’t have said all that ten or fifteen years ago. But now I know there’s this instinct that certain trends are going to emerge. And it’s irrational, inexplicable. I think it’s important to underline this, because with everything that’s currently being grafted onto creation, this aspect of the business is being lost. Creativity is not something that can be quantified. In any case, applying such a process unequivocally would be dangerous.

AL There was that idea of “collective” when Alber launched the brand.

MG That was the idea behind Alber’s concept and the basis of the project. In Alber’s mind, he himself had to evolve in the midst of this collective. He didn’t want to create a brand under his own name. Nor did he want to build on what he’d already achieved. The “Factory” was a place to experiment, with a strong sense of how to show creations. We’re very attached to the idea of our products’ value. For example, we present most of our creations at the Fondation Cartier. It’s our home, an inspiring place, a very beautiful setting but not necessarily about “marketing”. We like the idea of placing aesthetics and beauty back at the heart of the fashion industry.

AL It’s a luxury to be able to work without marketing or market research. It’s not the marketing teams who are going to determine the predominance of the color red, for example, for this or that season, or anything else.

MG Quite the opposite, in fact. Marketing is an important department for us, but we use it in reverse. First we think about an idea, and only then do we think about making it “marketable”.

AL So it’s a different way of working. It’s not marketing that fundamentally drives the business.

MG Creativity prevails. It may be seen as a type of creative “curating” that finds its expression in the collections. In time, some of these collections become permanent, taking on a life of their own as they become established over time. In the background, professionals from all our departments produce, design, communicate and sell items born directly from a creative idea.

AL Do you see any difference, Lutz, between what you create for your own house and what you design for AZ?

LH To tell the truth, it’s minimal, but these two creative poles are perhaps aimed at slightly different women. The notion of wardrobe, of clothes that are easily wearable, usable, designed to make people more beautiful, happier, etc., is common to both poles.
It’s true that the first collection I proposed for AZ was a blend of what I like for myself and what I had sensed in Alber’s work. The second collection was much more based on the principle of wiping the slate clean and asking what AZ could be. It was no longer a question of thinking of a Lutz + Alber emulsion at AZ, but of asking what the future direction might be. Who do we want to dress? Which woman? With what idea? That’s why, for me, this collection was Collection 0.

AL You mean the Fall-Winter collection coming out next fall?

LH Yes, I was wondering what AZ could be like from now on. For me, it’s not a question of age, body or hierarchy. But rather a question of beautiful clothes, sometimes surprising, not necessarily obvious at first glance, but in the end quite direct and clear. I’ve often been told I’m too conceptual, too intellectual. But deep down, I’ve never understood why. I never was! My high school teachers would be the first to marvel at the fact that I’m now given that label! I wanted something wearable, in the positive sense of the word. Just like Alber did. Something useful for people who don’t necessarily go to official events, but instead go to work, do their shopping and go out for drinks in the evening. It’s always been my way of thinking, to look around me at what my friends are wearing, how they live, how they see things, what their needs are, and to take these observations as a starting point. This new collection was an opportunity, as a zero point, to lay the foundations and define what AZ is.

AL In any case, this collection is a good balance between Alber’s style and yours.

LH I’m glad you pointed that out because it proves that I’ve succeeded in doing what I wanted to do. I didn’t just want to use the designs Alber had created in the past or the codes he had set, which were very strong. But above all, I wanted to understand and respect the spirit and reasons behind his approach and use the same principles to continue on. That’s a bit different from just laying down the same codes without understanding the underlying reasons. I never wanted to do just that because it seemed disrespectful.
To conclude, perhaps, I’d have to say that what’s pleasant, even if it’s not always easy to work in the fashion industry, in this world, is to meet people like the ones who enable AZ Factory to exist, who want to move forward, while providing a listening ear, dialogue, humor and joy. It’s a real pleasure not to complicate things, not to force things that shouldn’t be forced. That’s why I love working with AZ, because it brings all these elements together, which is absolutely brilliant.