Loulou Reloulou turns fashion into a game for two. Her label isn't so much a fashion line as a invitation to performance art play: she turns out huge, oversized clothes that have space for two, three – even four. Wonderland talk to the Parisian eccentric about her irrepressible approach to clothes.
What were you doing before you moved to London?
I worked for two years in Disneyland Paris before moving to London. It was really a dream for me to work for this company. I created window decorations and my nickname was “Fée Clochette.” Everyday I dressed like a magical girl! Then, the Magical Girl grew up, she started to have more personal dreams, so she escaped from the Disney family, packed her suitcase, and decided to cross the sea…
So what does it mean to design clothes that are to be shared?
I create clothes in order to generate relationships between people. You can wear them alone or you can share them with another person (or two others). Sometimes people just need something like a pretext to go near somebody else, they're here to meet people but they don't know how start a relation with them. If my clothes can help them, I'd be very happy. I want to create relational clothes!
How did you come up with this concept of sharing clothes?
Hugues, a composer and DJ (and one of my flatmates in Paris), invited me to be part of the “Nous Deux” evenings that he organises every month. Instead of mixing two clothes to have one at the end, I mixed two clothes to have not one, but two persons inside – and the concept was born! The first party was a success, so I decided to continue…
Where did you learn how to design and sew?
I studied design in Paris for four years and I always saw my mother sewing something new. I've created things with my hands since I'm a little girl and now, after studying design, I know that I really want to create things… So, I just try to do it!
What is your favourite food in London?
I would like to have a very big mouth to eat small English buses for dessert!
Who would you love to design an outfit for?
I would love to see the Queen and her husband in the same garment for their next wedding anniversary. It is so important to have a solid couple when they have to manage a country! An outfit for two, side by side, is really a symbol for a couple, like a new body that they have to manage together.
What is the hardest project you've worked on with your clothes?
I was so sad this summer not to find a swimming pool to organize the Sharing Swimsuit Party! It's so amazing to swim with another person in the same swimsuit. I wanted cocktails on a terrace, sex in changing room, and a lot of laughter in the swimming pool… I also wanted to organize a crazy competition, a race between three couples of Siamese mermaids.
You use stuffed animals in your designs. What's up with that?
I like to use soft toys because they're a childhood reference. My clothes are like a game: they invite people to play in the same garment. It's also a diverted and funny way to add sexual references – what a pleasure to caress a trunk of an elephant, to pull the ears of rabbits… but all in total innocence!
So what's your favourite stuffed animal?
A hairy man.
Words: Hatnim Lee