A few blocks from the 3.Paradis venue, a sprawling park in the far stretches of the 15th arrondissement, the thumping of hip-hop was already so pervasive that a man carrying a toddler in his arms could be overheard saying, “Do you hear the music?” The throwback hits from Nelly, MJ, Missy Elliott, Pharrell, Young Thug, Akon, Kendrick and others had the effect of hyping up the crowd before a concert—only this was 10 am not pm, and we were outdoors with runway seating along the pathways. The feel-good tracks were blasting at such high volume that people couldn’t help but embrace the cognitive dissonance, busting moves or mouthing lyrics. It was a veritable vibe. Then the show opened with two men, sharply dressed in black suits, holding hands while also holding umbrellas, as though arriving to a funeral. The vibe had clearly shifted, but it wasn’t entirely somber. There were guys in top-to-toe articulations of color—a turquoise tracksuit in supple napa leather; a textured wool trench in grassy green; a burgundy pony hair jacket with matching denim—who exuded an air of flamboyance. Several looks featured sport jerseys, sweats and varsity jackets offset by more formal attire. Completed with UGGs in gradient colors and a large Jesus piece, the statement landed somewhere between swag and serious.
Beyond the Christlike face suspended from a gold chain, there were other allusions to lives lost. Most recognizable was Amy Winehouse, embedded within an intarsia leather bomber—the intricate technique is now a brand signature—and collaged as a photo print. The portrait of a young Black man encircled by doves with the banner “Rest in Paradis” was given even more prominence: as an embroidered motif on suiting, as a hero image, or within a brooch.
Clearly, we were witnessing a collection that carried some deeper meaning for the brand’s founder and creative director, Emeric Tchatchoua. The recurring image was his brother Ludovic, who passed away seven years ago. “These are people who weren’t here for long, but they left such a big impact,” he said with emotion backstage. “They are my three biggest inspirations… I was paying homage and building looks that were about giving the right direction between a funeral and a celebration.”
It has taken time and healing, he added, to reach the point of memorializing his brother this way. And while grief has functioned as a creative catalyst since the dawn of time, Tchatchoua doubled down on his Parisian street slant, which involved a lot of ties—lean and black under cardigans or as a clever trompe l’œil blending in with sweatshirts. “When you’re going to a funeral, you are always dressing really chic and nice. So I had to have the same feeling with the fabric and material,” he said.
In this park where he spent his childhood, the lineup also signaled his broader vision of the 3.Paradis customer, from the silver-maned men to the two young women in looks that were proportionally askew but in the roguish key of Winehouse. It takes a daring soul to show en plein air in January in Paris; but this was a personal moment for Tchatchoua, and the sun was out for him.
