Nicolas Guichard: A Q&A with Paris' Rising Designer

If you look just 100 miles east of Madagascar you’ll find an almost hidden island by the name of Réunion. Known best as a climbing destination surrounded by extra-large volcanoes and tropical blue beaches, the thing about Réunion that goes mostly unnoticed is the island’s melting pot of multicultural, Creole-speaking African, Indian, Chinese, and European dwellers.

Enter 27-year-old designer, Nicolas Guichard. With roots in Réunion and an education from Paris’ most pristine fashion programs, Guichard offers a refreshing perspective on womenswear that comes wrapped in the multifaceted island culture he calls home. “It almost feels like we are in a remote bubble in the middle of the ocean,” Guichard tells me over email. “I grew up in a multi-ethnic place where everyone co-exists. You automatically set everyone on the same level from kindergarten which is incredible—I never faced racism growing up here.”

His early childhood was spent mainly in the “peaceful” outdoors, embracing nature on an island where fashion or many other industries barely exist. Nonetheless, Nicolas knew early in his childhood that he was meant to be a designer. “My mom recently told me she found so many sketches of women wearing clothes in my notebooks when I was a kid,” he reveals. “In 6th grade, when I met my best friend’s mother who was a real fashionista, I started to get obsessed with fashion, trying to make [my] own garments and looks.”

From that point on, Guichard knew if he wanted to pursue fashion, a place like Paris would offer him the most opportunities. So in 2012, he left the isolated paradise he had grown to know for the opportunity to pursue an education in the creative field—something he knew he couldn’t do back home. Fast forward to 2015 and add a degree from École de la Chambre Syndicale de la Couture Parisienne, Guichard made the jump across the ocean to the U.S to spend a year studying at the Academy of Art of San Francisco before moving to New York City to work under American labels Vaquera and Matthew Adams Dolan.

With all his new experience under his belt, shortly after, Nicolas moved back to Paris with the intention of starting his own namesake line. “I started to work on this collection during the spring of 2019 after realizing I couldn’t stand working for other people and needed more freedom in order to be more creative,” he says candidly. This birthed his Summer 2020 collection titled, “POOL PARTY STONE LOVE”, named after the archival party footage that helped guide the research for his collection.

Drawing from the Dancehall subculture of Réunion and the traditional costumes of Mauritian Sega dancers (where women dress in long, colorful ruffled pieces), the start of the eponymous Nicolas Guichard label had begun. “I approached this collection like a personal journey, mixing various experiences I felt living on the island, including my own understanding of Réunion’s Creole culture,” he explains. “The collection was also full of nostalgia and references to the relationship women from the island have with their bodies—the inspiration came mostly from archives of dancehall parties from the ’90s and early 2000s.”

It’s apparent in the nine-look collection filled with breezy fabrics, dynamic ruffles, mix-matched pattern work, and lengthy colorful pieces, that the work of Nicolas Guichard is deeply rooted in the idea of home and the women who helped shape its culture. “I also featured printed beach sarong fabrics which are often used by women to go to the beach,” he says. Feminine chiffon tops and lace-up details, but also vintage Creole curtain patterns from my grandmother and friends.”

Perhaps the most exciting thing about new designers like Nicolas Guichard is their push to create newness and authenticity in an industry that has no problem propping up a white face yet struggles to tell genuine stories of black and brown folks. When asked what his plans are for this next year, Nicolas excitedly reveals he’s continuing to design with hopes of releasing more pieces before the end of 2020. “I want to represent Creole culture through my vision and work,” he reveals. “I want people to get immersed in it—I want the Creole community to be considered more and not mistaken with Latino, black, or other communities.”