This Wednesday, late afternoon, when we met Louis-Gabriel Nouchi, in his workshop in the 11th arrondissement, we thought we would find him a little stressed. Indeed, the 35-year-old Parisian participated the next day in the final of the 34th edition of Andam. Alongside the Italian Andrea Adamo (Andreadamo), the Franco-Belgians Ester Manas and Balthazar Delepierre (Ester Manas), the Dutchman Duran Lantink, the Germans Marie-Christine Statz (Gauchere), Serhat Isik and Benjamin Huseby (GmBh), the young designer is in the running for the grand prize of this prestigious fashion competition that has already rewarded Martin Margiela, Anthony Vaccarello (the current artistic director of Saint Laurent) and last year, Lisi Herrebrugh and Rushemy Botter, Botter's Dutch.
But this was not the case. The Frenchman is of a foolproof serenity. "I'm in the middle of the sales period of my fall-winter 2024 collection, which paraded during Paris Fashion Week last week," he explains of his machine gun flow. I receive buyers here and I "pitch" my universe every twenty minutes. So, suffice to say that I am more than ready. It has been a long time since Louis-Gabriel prepared his speech for the big day – "I even timed myself because we only have five short minutes" – carefully choosing the four silhouettes that will be worn by male models of all sizes and backgrounds, who will accompany him to present, in front of the jury, his sharp wardrobe committed to environmental issues and the representation of masculinity.
Louis-Gabriel Nouchi (left), winner of the Grand Prix of the 34th edition of Andam. Nathan Yammiak/Andam
Yesterday, D-Day, the young man arrives, still relaxed, his clothes covers under his arm, at the headquarters of the Chloé house where the contest takes place. The atmosphere is good-natured. Even if some are pacing while waiting for the start of hostilities. The models, between hair and makeup, exchange some impressions: "It's still an impressive jury. Only CEOs! " exclaims one of them. Indeed, here comes Sidney Toledano, CEO of the LVMH Fashion Group, Cédric Charbit, CEO of Balenciaga, surrounded by Gigi Hadid and Pat Cleveland, top models of yesterday and today, and activists Xiye Bastida and Trisha Shetty, also jurors. Riccardo Bellini, CEO of Chloé and mentor of this year's winner, who only had to go down one floor, arrived first.
The jury of this 34th edition of Andam ready to receive the candidates. Nathan Yammiak/Andam
A responsible business and a foolproof cheerfulness
14:30 p.m., Andrea Adamo rushes in front of the prestigious panel, introduced by journalist Loïc Prigent, in charge of "relaxing the atmosphere a little". Soon, it will be the turn of Ester Manas' Franco-Belgian couple. "We had already competed for the Pierre Bergé Prize in 2021," recalls Ester. But it's a bit like fashion shows, we can organize them every six months, but we are always stressed before it starts. This is not an easy exercise. You have to know how to look at it, capture attention. The jury is going to hear a lot of speeches today so every detail counts.
For the twelve finalists, at the head of twelve small SMEs in the making, winning one of the four trophies, and especially one of the four endowments that accompany them (€300,000 for the grand prize, €100,000 for the special prize, the Pierre Bergé prize and the fashion accessory prize), is a real accelerator. "It would help us a lot, I'm not going to lie, but I also don't put the future of my company on this competition," says Louis-Gabriel Nouchi, who works with a dozen employees year-round. Anyway, we will grow because orders are pouring in and from the beginning of the school year, I will have to expand my team.
Finally, the responsible model and the cheerfulness of our candidate will have convinced everyone since he left with the highest reward at the end of this intense day. Ester Manas and Duran Lantik too, each with a special jury prize.
Louis-Gabriel Nouchi in his workshops, the day before the competition. Le Figaro