Simon-Pierre Toussaint (Brussels, Belgium)

Belgian Simon-Pierre Toussaint has won twice this year at the Hyères festival with his debut collection, ‘The Trees Can Hear You If You Talk To Them.’ Full of boyhood whimsy, the collection tells of a childhood spent scouring bushland landscapes for fallen kindling, erecting haphazard tent-like shelters, sliding, worm like into the warmth of puffy sleeping bags by night and the eternal magic of imagining the inanimate come to life. Inspired by his own intrepid youth, Toussaint’s collection is deeply personal with an unavoidable thrall. Featuring a wood-like suit that inspires a youthful longing for the friendship of mythical characters, the collection conjures a word where the unalienable belief in a fantasy world is paramount. Existing somewhere between the longing escapism of our grown-up world and the sincerity of the the child’s boundlessly hopeful heart, Toussaint imagines menswear from an otherworldly, almost impossible dimension.

Dazed Digital: How old are you?
Simon-Pierre Toussaint: I am 23 years old.

DD: How long have you been designing?
Simon-Pierre Toussaint: I graduated from the Antwerp Fashion Academy a year ago and this collection was the real first one.

DD: Where are you based?
Simon-Pierre Toussaint: I am based in Brussels (Belgium).

DD: How would you describe your own style?
Simon-Pierre Toussaint: A casual menswear wardrobe with playful elements and constructed volumes.

DD: What has winning the Swarovski prize at Hyeres this year meant for you and your label?
Simon-Pierre Toussaint: The 2 prizes won at Hyères (Swarovski & Public Prizes) meant recognition to me.

DD: What is your approach to menswear?
Simon-Pierre Toussaint: Reinterpreting the classical men's wardrobe with children's eyes.

DD: How did the camping, almost woodland fairytale theme come about?
Simon-Pierre Toussaint: It came from some child memories. It is about boyscouts.

DD: What was your inspiration for the pyjamas and sleeping bag cape?
Simon-Pierre Toussaint: The pyjamas were something like the fragility of the boys on which the volumes came as protection layers.

DD: How do the wood finish sleeve and suit fit in with the collection? (And is it made from real wood? If so, how was it created?)
Simon-Pierre Toussaint: Once again this refers to childhood, and the wooden knight a little boy would play with. Actually, it is not made with real wood but with glass fiber painted in fake wood.

DD: What inspires you at the moment?
Simon-Pierre Toussaint: The movie "Die Blechtrommel " (Volker Schlöndorff) and the weight of the world.

DD: Who would you like to collaborate with?
Simon-Pierre Toussaint: I am working on a collaboration... Let's see it in January...

DD: Who do you have in mind when you design?
Simon-Pierre Toussaint: Always the same boy. One who is full of contradiction.

DD: Who are your favorite designers and why?
Simon-Pierre Toussaint: Thom Browne for the cut and the image of his contemporary man.

DD: Were you interested in fashion while growing up?
Simon-Pierre Toussaint: Not especially.

DD: If you weren't designing, what would you be doing?
Simon-Pierre Toussaint: Maybe teaching art in a primary school.

DD: What are your plans for the future?
Simon-Pierre Toussaint: Keep on doing what I do and hope to expend

DD: Can we buy your collection?
Simon-Pierre Toussaint: From January 2010...