Margot Thibaut

Interview with designer Chloé Henris from Belgium

When and how you decided that you wanted to be a designer?

When I was around 8 years old, I already wanted to became a fashion designer.

I don’t really know why, maybe because my grandmother had also worked in fashion but I think it is really fascinating to begin with a white sheet of paper and finish with a real garment

 It was your dream job?

Yes it was and It is , In 2 years , I will finish my study of textile design, so I will be able to work as a fashion designer but also to create fabrics for the garments .

Which is the first thing you designed and for who (yourself,a friend…)?

I was 14 years old and It was a kind of blanket in green velvet with 2 buttons and it was quite ugly but it doesn’t matter because it has given me the envy to sew new stuffs.
After that I have sewed new blankets and small kits, accessories for children, and finally bags and some clothes for me.

In 2013, I began to study fashion design in Liege at “HELMO MODE “ and I finished it in 2015.

This year I began new studies in “textile design “ in Brussels.

I also participated to a lot of contest and I won 3 of them

-public’s price: “week end mode Verviers”  2015 belgium

– jury’s  price : “ start in mode” 2015 Nice

 Accessory’s price : “talons aiguilles “ 2016 lille

Who’s the designer you admire the most and why?

I think it is Olivier Rousteing, the younger artistic director of Balmain.

In just a few years, he modernized the brand, and every one of his collections are beautiful and innovative especially on a cutting level.

Who’s your muse, your icon, when you create a dress?

For now I ‘ve no particular muse, however I take my inspiration in what I see every day . I never stop to observe things around me

If you had to design an entire collection using just one color, which is the one you’d pick and why?

I would like to choose an anthracite gray. because usually I don’t use flash color and anthracite gray is an interesting color to highlight cutting models and people who wear the clothes.

Who’s the first person you show your sketches to?

I show it to my family, my boyfriend or to a few friends of mine. It depend but their encouragement are a non- negligible motivation for me. I have also created a facebook page « C pouki by Chloé Henris »  and I receive a lot of encouragements there and it’s really motivating for me   (https://www.facebook.com/C-pouki-by-Chlo%C3%A9-Henris-787549761327944/?ref=aymt_homepage_panel# )

The fabric you love the most…silk, lace, velvet and why?

I prefer the fabrics/materials I create myself by, for example using balloons, nuts , or colsons. It’s really more exciting to create something news.
I don’t often use fabrics without changing them. If I had to choose one fabric I would like to choose neoprene. It is a new material and it is possible to create interesting stuffs

If your clothes had a soundtrack, which songs you’d choose?

It depends on the collection.

Do you have any trick to avoid that “blank page” moment when you’re at the beginning of the designing of a new collection? Do you watch a movie, flip an old magazine…

Usually I start by thinking of the theme for several days. Then, I research materials or details and I make ​​drawings only when I have an idea of what I’ll do.

I ‘m inspired by what I see every day and what I have seen a long time can also inspire me. Sometimes I look at magazines such as “Official 5000 models”. It allows me to not totally disconnect from what is happening in the world of fashion

If you weren’t a designer which job in the fashion world you would like to do and why?

I would like to be a textile designer and create the fabrics for another designer because I like to create fabrics or find new possibilities to transform them.

Ph Credit: “P.Elle Photography”