Couture week is always so jam-packed with blockbuster runways it's hard to pick a favourite. But Jean Paul Gaultier's presentation is a definite highlight. Back in 2021, the French designer announced that though he had retired, he would tap a new figure to guest design the Jean Paul Gaultier collection for each Couture season, beginning with Chitose Abe of Sacai. Well, almost three years later it turns out Gaultier has stumbled across a winning formula. Next to creative direct Jean Paul Gaultier Haute Couture? Well, that would be Nicolas Di Felice, the artistic director of Courrèges.
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Who is Nicolas Di Felice?
Credited with reinvigorating Courrèges for a new generation of fashion lovers, Di Felice studied at the art school La Cambre in Brussels before cutting his teeth at Balenciaga in 2008 which was then under the helm of Nicolas Ghesquière.
Later, Di Felice would join fellow countryman Raf Simons for a stint at Dior, before reuniting with Ghesquière at Louis Vuitton as senior womenswear designer.
In 2020, Di Felice replaced Yolanda Zobel as the creative director of Courrèges, ushering the esteemed brand into the 21st century while still respecting its French Space Age roots.
When will we get to see Nicolas Di Felice x Jean Paul Gaultier?
The Belgian-born designer will have the opportunity to put his own spin on Jean Paul Gaultier's distinctive design language during the Fall Winter 2024/2025 Haute Couture season in June later this year.
The new appointment will see Di Felice join a club that includes Glenn Martens, Haider Ackermann, Chitose Abe, and Simone Rocha – with Rocha the most recent designer to have been extended the honour, debuting a collection laced with ribbons, bows, crinolines, bustles and gemstones.
Needless to say, we are eager to see what the artistic director brings to the table come June 2024.
Images: @nicolas.difelice
