The creator of the Pigalle Paris brand will dress the French athletes at the Olympic Games. He lifts the veil on his inspirations
and behind the scenes of an extraordinary challenge.
On July 26, the first day of the Olympic Games in Paris, Stefan Ashpool will present the biggest collection of his career. Because on that day, and until the closing ceremony scheduled for August 11, his creations will be worn by about 4,000 people. A challenge launched by Le Coq Sportif, the official kit supplier of the French delegation, who appointed him artistic director of all the Blues’ kits. The mission promises to be huge. 95,000 representative pieces that will be worn by the 600 Olympic athletes, 300 Paralympic athletes and their staff in the Olympic Village. 35,000 pieces dedicated to training and 35,000 more for competition. But it takes more than that to make this fashion autodidact, former basketball player and coach panic. His creations under the Pigalle Paris label (a ready-to-wear menswear founded in 2008 that blends Parisian urban culture, sports and French spirit) are already worn by celebrities around the world, from Rihanna to Drake via Kylian Mbappe.
Born in 1982 in the Pigalle district of Paris (hence the name of his brand), to an English sculptor father and a Yugoslavian dancer mother, and the child of show designers Claude Montana, Thierry Mugler and Paco Rabanne IX.e The neighborhood became popular in the early 2000s thanks to the Pain O Chokolat art collective responsible for organizing parties, parades and concerts under the name Block Party. In 2015, it was recognition. with his fashion label Pigalle Paris, he received the Grand Prix de l’Andam (National Association for the Development of the Art of Fashion) and received a mentorship year at several Métiers workshops. art from the house of chanel. . A big fan of the Olympic Games since his childhood, a man who draws inspiration from sports, the street and the people there, whom he observes in all his collections, now realizes an additional dream: the Paris Olympics, his creative and sporting base.
” data-script=”https://static.lefigaro.fr/widget-video/short-ttl/video/index.js” >
Madame Figaro. – You are creating the kits of the French team for the next Olympics. How did this adventure begin? ?
Stefan Ashpool. – Last winter I got a call from Patrick Ouy, director of Coq Sportif (the official equipment supplier of the French delegation). We met and very quickly decided to experience this adventure together. Translating the spirit of French couture to sportswear… This job was waiting for me. It’s like I caused it without really thinking about it.
Specifically, what are the specifics of your mission? ?
Until now, Le Coq Sportif had no real desire for design or aesthetic culture. Therefore, my role is to give an identity to the brand and the products with an optimistic language and a desire for diversity in an environment, in sports, where there is still room to convey such messages.
My role is to give identity to the brand and the products
Stephen Ashpool
Did you make this Olympic Suitcase as a ready-to-wear kit? ?
I would even say like a couture collection. We liaised between my Pigalle workshop, its artisans and the Le Coq team at the Romilly-sur-Seine factory in Aube, the historical cradle of the brand. Visualizing these sports articles very manually, with a lot of work on materials, proportions, colors, pleated elements, curved elements and right angles, gave me fundamental information to apply to more pragmatic clothes.
Stefan Ashpool created the Olympic suitcase as a couture collection. MS:
What was your main source of inspiration? ?
Athletes. I met about fifteen, including several medalists such as judoka Clarice Agbegnenu or boxer Toni Yoka and fencer Maxime Vallet. It was really fun and at the same time important to talk about their passion and sports emotions. The goal was simple: to understand what it means to participate in such an event, the pride that comes from representing your country and the importance of gear in such a moment.
We had to adapt to the sixty disciplines of the Olympic Games, their universe and their codes, which sometimes contradicted each other.
Stephen Ashpool
In many disciplines, clothing is part of the performance. How did you approach this limitation? ?
It was very difficult. From skateboarding to surfing, through the wrestling team, athletics, tennis, soccer, judo, canoe sprint or even BMX freestyle…, we had to adapt to the sixty disciplines of the Olympic Games, their universe and their codes. sometimes the antipodes. For some athletes, such as rhythmic gymnasts, tempo and aesthetics are an integral part of their performance and are considered in the same way as the choice of music. For others, clothing has only a utilitarian function. And sometimes it took a lot of creative diplomacy to get people to accept (or not accept) more feathers or feathers. But in the end, all participants have one thing in common: the desire to feel beautiful, comfortable, strong and productive.
For his collections dedicated to the 2024 Olympic Games, the designer reinterpreted the blue-white-red chord. MS:
Tell us about cutting jobs…
Creating the same outfits for a short gymnast and a tall volleyball player was not an easy exercise… So I studied proportions more than I worked on cuts and patterns. In the Olympic Village, I envisioned the blues evolving in fluid, loose, cool ensembles like my tracksuit; joggers are enhanced with pleats (like suit pants), materials with shimmering effects and chain embroidery. It has a very ‘heritage’ feel to it. For training, the parts are closer to the body. As for the competition gear, which is very technical, their specifications were not very clear to me. Here I focused on color effects.
For his collection, Stefan Ashpool researched the proportions of cuts and patterns. MS:
Are you inspired by the colors of the tricolor flag? ?
Not really… Thanks again to the athletes who led me on this truly delicate mission. Most of them mentioned the word bright. For me, blue and red are not colors that bring light. But if we take off-white, much more elegant than the paper white traditionally worn by French athletes, the lighting effect becomes apparent. For the rest, I decided to break the two barriers of blue going into white and white going into red. By letting them flow, almost blending into each other, I was able to work on new, lighter, more pop tones and create a new gradient banner.
It’s a new mixed flag ?
Yes, absolutely. It responds to a mix of bodies, sports and cultures. These values drive me every day beyond this fabulous project. When I organize a parade or a party, there is always an incredible mix. Seeing all these different people playing, developing and working together feels not only coherent, but vital. This represents the France I want to go to.
Source: Le Figaro
