Leon Louis is a contemporary and innovative mind who prides himself on the quality of the work he produces. His designs showcase his artistic abilities and display a disregard for gender constrains. Leon’s designs range from draped and loosely fitted clothing, to figure hugging and silhouette enhancing garments.
Do you think your designs reflect Denmark as a cultural representation? Or do you try to make more globally inspired garments?
From the early beginnings, I have been thinking very internationally. Nonetheless, I think it is impossible and irrelevant for me to hide my Danish origins which lay deeply rooted within me. Minimalism, my desire for lush simplicity and my eternal craving for everything to be functional, are perhaps certain Nordic elements that I do incorporate in my collections.
By draping the silhouette, as opposed to creating clinging garments, you manage to enthuse a high fashion style. Would you describe the collection and your designs, as a whole, as wearable or is it more versatile?
The conceptual approach of each collection actually is a very controlled and functional one. Each garment can be useful on its own and entire looks can be dissected into individual pieces. Therefore it is not the entire look that defines the movements of the wearer, it is the actual singularity and versatility of the garments. To me wearability and functionality are pivotal elements in design.
Lots of the garments- draped cardigans, harem style trousers and dresses with cut out sides create a sexual allure but in an artistic way. Is art and the ‘avant garde’ a big inspiration upon your choice of fashioning the self?
Art and the avant-garde scene are great sources of inspiration to me and my work. The avant-garde scene in general has been in my limelight for quite some time now. When you first start to capture it, it is all around you, us, between me as a perpetual element in our everyday lives. Personally, I feel that the avant-garde scene and art itself are very closely connected and if you observe one of them, you simply cannot ignore the other!
When did you first recognise that you wanted to become a designer?
When I caught myself creating artistic tops in the 10th grade and the resulting surprising sales interest afterwards forced my designs into a couple of stores. It was an important moment for me.
What is the connoted meaning behind your latest collection?
During the period of the inspiration behind ‘Obsessive Pain’ I did a lot of research about people who dared to do strangely spiteful things to themselves. Furthermore. I explored the reasons behind why we have an obsession with the duration and impact of various personal torments. This process ended up having a big influence on me and my work and therefore it also influenced the collection’s mood.
You talk about blending genders through your designs. Do you find it pivotal, with the current state of the fashion industry, to embrace this almost androgynous look and welcome the blending of genders?
According to me, genders are already blended so much that in the end it does not matter if you are doing mens or womenswear. People buy and wear whatever they want to wear and they are not following what the media defines as suitable.
You also stress the importance of high quality garments, could you name a few of your favourite materials to use and why you think it is important for the product of your design to be qualitative?
Some of my favourite materials are definitely leather and metal. That’s one of the reasons I incorporate a wide selection of accessories in all of my collections., as that allows me to work with such materials in detail. Furthermore, I love to work with silks and pure wool, as they have such versatility when it comes to shaping silhouettes. In many ways, I crave for the way clothes were made over half a century ago, with all the effort put into the detailing, tailoring and the love for fabrics etc. It is a fact, that your clothes are a second layer of skin and your skin is irreplaceable, so take care of it the best you can, enveloping yourself with garments and fabrics that last and work with you, not against you.