Since his graduation from Central Saint Martins in 2015, it’s been a blur for British designer Matty Bovan. With his otherworldly eccentric neo-punk silhouettes, he was soon to catch the eye of Lulu Kennedy who showed his earliest collections at Fashion East, the emerging design talents incubator. Fast-forward to today, a week after Bovan’s third show at London Fashion Week, as he is unveiling a special project in collaboration with Coach: a window in their flagship store with some of his silhouettes from his Summer 2019 collection as well as accessories he designed for the house. Full of neon colors, oversized logos and crazy prints, the installation is an invitation into the Matty Bovan universe. We got to speak with him about this exciting project, designing in a difficult political climate and what punk means in 2019.

Today, you’re in Paris to unveil a special project in collaboration with Coach: a window in their flagship store with some of your silhouettes and bags you designed for the house. You’ve lived in Paris a while ago for a Louis Vuitton internship after winning the LVMH graduate prize…

Yeah I guess it was a couple of years ago. Paris is nice, especially in the summer. I’ve been here over the years for different internships, jobs and projects. Sometimes I come back for a week or even longer. This time is a really short trip but I’m enjoying it!

What kind of vision do you have of Paris?

Every time I come for work, I kind of stay in different areas, so it’s quite nice to roam around. But none of my friends tend to live anywhere near here obviously. (ndlr: the center of Paris) I wish I had a little more time but I have to get back, I still have a lot of work to do. Anyway, my experience with Coach has been great and it’s my first time putting together a window here in Paris.

That must be really exciting!

Yes, especially because I got complete creative direction. I started working in 2D, and it slowly came to life. Working with Coach was great, they really helped me get everything done, especially because last week we had our fashion show for autumn/winter 19/20, so that was a little bit of a priority. (laughs) It took a few hours to set up everything and work out what was happening, but I love it.

What was the idea behind it?

It was inspired by my Spring/summer 19 collection, which was inspired by a lot of different elements, but the one of the main thread was nature. It sounds really vague, but it can be found in a lot of the drawings and knits of the collection. It’s very optimistic, bright and creative with a lot of craft skills involved. For the window I wanted the focus to be on this tree which we thought would be nice in metallic instead of brown to contrast with its natural aspect. We really worked from there. The window is not the biggest space but it’s still a great size and it’s really fun to build up. I wanted it quite layered…

Sort of like a fairy tale forest?

Yes, with all of the different elements, the backdrop and the tree… It all came together super nice and you never know until you see it.

I imagine than when they asked you to do a window you wanted to bring more than just a rack of clothes.

Yeah definitely, I wanted something to make it interesting but also not too overwhelming. I wanted it to be more narrative. It’s difficult but I think it worked out quite well.

When did you start collaborating with Coach?

Well, I actually used to customize their bags in my first shows. And a year ago, we finally got a very limited amount into production. And then at the last show, a lot of people loved the fanny packs, bum bags or whatever they call them… In France I think they call it banana bags?

Yes, they call them bananas.

I think it’s nice!

I always thought it was weird that it was called fanny packs, because fanny means vagina…

But it means bum in America. The vagina meaning is only in England! I know, it’s really complicated. But anyway, because people loved the banana bags so much, they started asking where they could buy them. They’re really fun pieces, you’ve got the tiny one, the huge one… We’re selling small amounts in Paris, Milan and London in selected stores. It’s all very limited.

With your collections, you couldn’t do huge productions because it’s all made by hand right?

Yes, we recently started to work with factories in the UK, because obviously it’s kind of impossible to create everything ourselves. But we want to keep that element of craft and skill in it – which is fun – while trying to work with other people. We’re learning while we go along.

I know that at the beginning you were working alone in a small studio at home, is it still the case?

I’m in a different studio and it is bigger, which is great. I’m still based in Yorkshire, and I’ve been working with a few people, trying to find more collaborators to help make it come true… Time has passed very quickly, I think it’s been two and a half years now. We live in an era where everyone wants stuff immediately. But the reaction I get from talking to buyers is that people actually want more one-off items, which is interesting. I mean, obviously there are different customers, some only want T-Shirts. But it’s interesting learning how the market is changing.

In London, it feels like young designers are supported from the start. For example, the Central Saint Martins show is very watched, and everyone is reacting on it, while Lulu Kennedy and her Fashion East platform give a real space to new talents. Paris is not like that at all. It’s as if magazine editors still had this preconception that young designers have to prove themselves for years before they can be worthy of attention. How do you feel about that?

I mean, even in other cities like New York and Milan, it’s quite rare to be supported as a new designer. I think London always thrived on that energy, it’s really important to us, otherwise it would become too corporate. France has a big heritage with all the couture houses, so that can block out some new design voices. Are there any young French designers who are just breaking out?

Well there are but it stays quite niche, they won’t have huge spreads in the big fashion magazines here like they have in London. Many influential British editors don’t hesitate to support new talents like Katie Grand does at Love. We hear about you guys much earlier than we would for a young French designer.

London does give you that opportunity, but I guess it’s because it always has done, and it needs it alongside the bigger companies. It’s interesting, because with the Internet you would think it would be made a little easier to break through internationally, yet it’s not. It’s certainly not an easy job to be a young designer. It costs money and people need to get paid. I’m lucky to be living outside London.

At the beginning of your brand, were you in living in London?

Yes, I started out there, but then I moved back with my parents in Yorkshire to save money, because it is so expensive.

Did you feel that you had to be in London to get a head start, to get noticed?

Yes, I think it does help, and a lot of my friends from London did so. I do think with the Internet there are other ways of doing it, it’s maybe just not as clear lined. I hope so anyway.

Well I think that with Internet you can get noticed, but then nothing beats human contact, and a physical show.

It can also look a little bit different on the Internet. It could look quite nice and then end up horrible and vice versa. It’s really difficult to engage with the product through a screen. That’s why people like going to the shows, to see things a bit better. Even then you don’t really know how it looks. Actually that’s why some people come to the store, just to look at the clothes. Even my collections look very different in real life than in the show.

You can ask yourself today, with social media, if a fashion show is still relevant.

Yes, there was a whole New York Times article about that, asking if the fashion show is dead or redundant. I think it’s interesting because it’s good to see the clothes move, but we can also ask ourselves if there’s a different way of doing it and where do we go from here. A fashion show costs so much money, especially for the big brands. It’d be interesting to see what happens in the next five or ten years.

I see it as listening to a musician or an album you love and then going to see the show. You ultimately want to see it in real life, even though it is different with fashion since fashion shows are exclusive events.

Fashion shows are also based on hype, which is quite weird. It’s this “I love it, I love it, I hate it” kind of thing, which is something I’m not like at all. But that’s how people may see it as, something very cut-throat. As soon as a show is over, everyone is already on the next show and the one after that. Things are consumed very fast. Luckily, I’m not on that side of things. I’m behind the scenes, so I get to do the fun part: actually making stuff.

A lot of big designers have supported you, like Vivienne Westwood, who said you reminded her of a new breed of punk. Do you see yourself as a punk?

I think it’s very nice of her to have said that. To be a punk or try to be a punk in 2019, you would have to live completely off grid, and not be involved in anything that has to do with money… You’d be living like a nomad. Totally opposed to what human race would feel like you have to do, to be honest. I’m proud to say I enjoy what I do. I enjoy making stuff and I don’t want to let that go. A lot of brands, when they become bigger, sometimes end up a bit watered down. I don’t want to lose my creative freedom. But it’s an interesting conversation to have, people don’t really know where everything is going. With the Brexit and the political climate now, I’m happy I’m not a huge brand because I would be highly impacted. If I was a huge trading company, I couldn’t even imagine what would happen.

It’s a bit of a strange time for our generation which is starting to question everything. In France the climate is very riotous with the Gilets Jaunes demonstrating every Saturday.

That situation seems to be happening world wide. There’s definitely a lot of unease in England. People seem quite divided as well. I don’t know what will happen, I really don’t. Everyone is just so disillusioned. There’s a whole flipside of being on the Internet, and that’s equally as bizarre. Every person thinks they have a personal brand, because of their social media account. This quest to become an influencer… it’s just weird. Is it as big in France?

Yes, influencers rule many things here as well. It all started out with bloggers turning to Instagram and marketing their image, slowly swapping texts with high-res images.

Yes, all the critiques have vanished. For years, the influencers were the journalists but then it became this weird hybrid of really young people looking good and wearing expensive clothes.

It’s just a matter of having the latest iPhone.

All this seems very empty. There’s no longevity in being an influencer, I can imagine… or maybe there is? But anyway, good for them if they’re getting what they want. It must be quite boring, though.

I think it revolves around going to events.

Well that is a full-time job I suppose. Many people are pointing out that it’s harder and harder to read real opinions on the Internet anymore, a lot of things are filtered. It’s frowned upon to have a strong opinion. Especially with fashion, if someone doesn’t like it, it’s not a big deal. It shouldn’t be taken personally. Unfortunately, it doesn’t seem like it’s going to get better. In the future, no one will have anything to say. (laughs)

With your collections, you seem very uncompromising, following your own rules.  

If I wasn’t doing that, I wouldn’t be doing a good job. Not to say it’s not stressful, but that’s all I know. Trying to be a certain designer or a certain style… it doesn’t work like that. Especially with the Internet, people don’t consume like that anymore. They don’t get dictated what’s trendy and what’s not. People want to literally mix everything up. My friends and I never go and buy super expensive designer clothes, it’s a different world. It’s interesting to be in Paris and see what everyone is wearing. I’ve never seen so many Chanel bags. (laughs)

I saw Aquaria, Ru Paul’s Drag Race season 10 winner, wore one of your designs. What do you think of that show? You don’t think of the United States as the most open country, yet they air very popular drag queen shows.  

All this comes out of a culture that isn’t open-minded and that gives those sub-cultures a strong identity. Then it has kind of been marketed for a family-friendly TV show. But it’s a very good thing. And also, these people are getting paid good money for doing this. It has launched many drag queens in the industry. Those girls are very popular in the UK. They frequently tour around Europe. It’s a huge platform. But it looks like so much work! You’re on a plane every other day, doing shows… that is a rigorous schedule. It must be very draining. Aquaria looked amazing though.

Especially because Aquaria is one of the new generation drag queens, that pushes gender boundaries and has a lot of fun with her looks.

Yes, she has a strong sense of self. She came to the last show actually. It’s funny, they’re making a UK version of Ru Paul’s Drag Race. I’m interested to see how that goes. The only thing is that the show is so American and has coined so many catch phrases that it could end up looking gimmicky or put-on. We’ll have to see!

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The Matty Bovan x Coach window is visible at the Coach flagship store at 372 rue Saint-Honoré through March 6th.

All photos by Guillaume Barrau.