She's the style office. A concept that aims to dictate trends in advance. When she founded her agency in 1985, she began guiding brands so that they could offer their clients what they were sure to enjoy. The woman who has long predicted the future is now focusing on the past, through the publication of her memoirs. Nelly Rodi has turned the trend into a real science, which can be studied, deciphered and analysed. A pioneer in the field, she gave birth to a profession called "trender" that today evolves in the shadows of brands, and not only those of the fashion world. In their ears, his advisors, who are at the same time artists, creatives and sociologists, use their flair, whisper their predictions, what makes the era of today and that of tomorrow. However, directing this intense activity did not prevent Nelly Rodi from undertaking other missions in parallel. Vice-President of the Paris delegation to the Chamber of Commerce, member of the Fashion Group, administrator of the France-Japan exchange committee... At 81 years old, she is still compiling roles and responsibilities. Decorated with the Legion of Honor in 2009, then elevated to the rank of Officer of Arts and Letters in 2022, the creator of the Institut Français de la Mode has marked her era. And while it is now her son Pierre-François Le Louët who runs the agency, whose name is now established in 19 countries, she keeps a close eye on it. In the book Quelques saisons d'avance (Ed. Bouquins), Nelly Rodi confides in us about her life and adventures.
Madame Figaro.- You've spent your life sniffing out tomorrow's. How would you say your job has evolved over time?
Nelly Rodi.- In the beginning, it was a question of impulses, colors, materials, fashions, shapes. This business started with clothes and very quickly, we realized that in the end the center of it all was the consumer and his purchases. This person who loves fashion also buys a piece of furniture, puts on makeup, buys accessories... It's quite a lifestyle. The profession started with fashion, but very quickly, it opened up to all other worlds. Feeling this myself, I made the agency evolve in this direction.
How did you develop this openness of fashion to other fields?
I felt the need to bring in sociologists. Clothing is also a language. In the morning when we get dressed, the first image we have is the one we give to ourselves. That's what we want to convey in relation to the other as well. There's this image feedback for me and for the other person. The same goes for the habitat, which has also become a reception area. So sociology has given me a lot. It really shook the way I work in my head.
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Do trends have an impact on creativity?
If you follow them, you also have to know how to keep your identity. Some brands have completely lost me because I can't find the essence of them. The other night, I was watching the Saint Laurent show and I was thinking; "Here we are, it's perfect, a real return to the essence." The story told itself: the safari jacket, the belt, the color palette... And all this while being very current. Responding to a trend is the job of creators. They look for inspiration and study archives, but that's not enough to keep up with the times. Everyone is reforming their own universe, we must not miss this backbone.
You do a lot of circular motions with your hands when you're talking about the trend. Is there this gear effect, like a machine being set up?
Yes, machines that get going. I like this image of the loop, because you start with a small element, which works like a link and gradually integrates with other links. Like a whirlwind.
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Who sets the tone for trends? You mentioned all these players, the creators, the agencies... Who's "ahead"?
In reality, everything serves as a source of inspiration: music, films, exhibitions... All of this forms the framework. When we get together in brainstorming, we talk about what touched us in the moment. We build the trend with the collective unconscious. What I call the collective unconscious is the sensibility of all, put together. There is a hypersensitivity in creatives that allows us to feel things. So when you end up with a group of about ten people, there are five or six of them who bring back the same influence. That's when something happens and that, as the director of an agency, I make the decision to go for it. We're digging that furrow. You see, another loop.
Today, do we still follow the trends?
The consumer has become very individualistic. And it is, in fact, a trivialization of the trend. He wants something that is made for him, that is very personalized and at the same time, takes products that are ultimately banalities. It's a paradox. But it's true that today's consumer asserts his personality even more than in my years.