



Nouchi is particularly drawn to the cyclical nature of history and how past events echo in the present: “I am obsessed with the fact that you always see connections between what is happening now and a past reference, as if history were repeating itself. The choice is not accidental. It’s always outsider characters, extraordinary stories, and exceptional situations that force you to confront yourself and ask, ‘What would I have done?’” As Nouchi explained: “We start from keywords that we must translate into images, and then we translate these images into fabric and form.” The words encapsulating the novel’s essence for this season were “uniform,” “cold,” “impossible love,” “forbidden pleasures”, and “danger.” Nouchi continued: “If you extend this idea, you find all the textile and formal connotations that instantly evoke these words: lingerie, velvet, workwear, khaki, spikes for danger.” From these elements, he developed fabrics, silhouettes, and details that conjure the dark and eerily close universe of 1984. The result is a collection that merges elements inspired by lingerie, military aesthetics, and functional design, featuring fabrics such as velvet and spiked embellishments to embody both rebellion and sensuality. This perspective is fundamental to his work, as he explained, because he does not seek to reproduce every single thematic detail of a book in fashion—which would be pedantic—but rather to convey its elusive impression, that fleeting sensation, like a blink of an eye, that arises when we think of a book we have loved. For him, “books provoke intense—almost physical—emotions. That’s the feeling I try to capture.” Through his collections, which he describes as balancing on the edge of a “delicate strangeness”, Nouchi invites people to see beauty in the unexpected and embrace the power of individuality.




But beyond these material experiments and the pleasure of evoking and translating emotions—as well as recomposing contrasts—Nouchi’s work revolves around a precise and programmatic idea of individuality: “I hope the brand helps people be more open to themselves and to the world.” A valid hope, yet one that, with the growing success of his brand, increasing commitments, worldwide travels, and the ever-evolving state of global affairs, has created a contradiction for the designer. He admitted to us, “I’ve never been so open to the world—this year, I traveled to seven countries in a single month,” while at the same time confessing, “I’m afraid of watching the news. It’s becoming schizophrenic! The gap between the millions of visual and auditory information we consume and what we actually experience in reality is so vast. Balancing the two will be our next challenge. How do we manage our virtual ego and our real ego, as individuals and as a collective?” The discussion about technology is particularly relevant since, to add even more layers to the already rich thematic core of the show, Nouchi entrusted the composition of his paratexts—such as the soundtrack and show notes—to artificial intelligence. “I have never felt threatened or scared by technology. To me, it’s just another tool to directly express what I have in mind. I wanted to have a cold and radical point of view on the general mood of this collection—almost like a machine. But how can this mechanical approach inspire feelings of sensuality and sexiness?” the designer asked himself. He appreciates how the structured nature of AI language models can open up to chaotic yet unpredictably meaningful combinations. “I love that it’s about random, beautiful accidents that can be controlled in a certain way if you have enough knowledge. I think this could be the definition of what I do.”




CREDITS:
Photographer Boris Camaca
Interview Lorenzo Salamone