Montreal-based designer and Festival d'Hyères prize winner Marie-Ève Lecavalier’s collections are a nostalgia-tinged ode to the 1960s and 70s
- Who is it? LECAVALIER, a Canadian label by 2018 Festival d’Hyères Chloé Prize winner Marie-Ève Lecavalier
- Why do I want it? Dreamy, nostalgia-tinged womenswear which draws on 1960s and 70s psychedelia
- Where can I find it? LECAVALIER’s Spring/Summer 2020 collection is available at Selfridges, SSENSE and more
Who is it? When the Montreal-born designer Marie-Ève Lecavalier was shortlisted for Festival d’Hyères, the prestigious fashion awards held each year in the south of France, she had no idea whether she even wanted to start her own label. But her collection, which took inspiration from the psychedelic stylings of musicians like Frank Zappa, beloved by her father in the 1970s, drew attention from the jury – that year led by Haider Ackermann and featuring figures like Tilda Swinton, Jefferson Hack and Delfina Delettrez – and eventually won two accolades, including the Chloé Prize (the winner of which receives 20,000 euros). “The recognition by Haider and the jury that year was unbelievable, it really gave me the push I’ve always needed to go forward, believe in myself, and start designing full time,” says Lecavalier, speaking over email from Canada. “I felt like it was this seal of approval that makes you pass from a student to a designer.”
LECAVALIER, her eponymous label, was founded not long afterwards, while the designer was still interning with Raf Simons in Antwerp (“he has such an authentic, unique approach to design, and was always really generous including us in every step of the way,” she says of his influence). Even at that point, she was unsure about starting an eponymous label, but fate intervened: “After the two wins it seemed like my collection was refined enough for everybody to think that I had already founded my brand,” she says. “I was approached by buyers for linesheets and prices when I was still interning with Raf, then I met with SSENSE in Montreal after my time in Belgium was over.” The Canadian online fashion retailer bought her first collection and has continued to be a steadfast supporter of the young label. “Having SSENSE based in Montreal does change the scenery of [Canadian] fashion,” she says. “They really do support Canadian designers.”
Lecavalier’s designs have a wistful, nostalgic quality, often referring back to the mind-altering graphics of the 1970s (a swirling, psychedelic print has become something of her signature). “I’ve always approached life in a dreamy way. I think it was my escape mechanism as a child and sort of kept and into my adult years,” she says. “I just really like to play with the boundaries of perceptions – how much can you stretch your perception of things to the limit of hallucinations? I’ve always seen high fashion and garments as really precious and beautiful objects that one can cherish. I felt like they should always tell a story.”
Why do I want it? LECAVALIER’s recently launched Spring/Summer 2020 collection looks back to the 1960s, and the life and music of Walter Wanderley, a Brazilian organist and pianist who defined the country’s bossa nova movement. “I wanted that collection to feel like a cabaret movie, but in the daytime, with an early cocktail,” Lecavalier says. “Print was a really important part – I wanted to illustrate this sense of joyful and colourful dizziness.” Here, iterations of her signature hypnotic swirls – in an array of colours, from aqua blues to pinks, reds, and yellows – are reworked across much of the collection, from oversized T-shirts and blouses to headscarves and elbow-length gloves. Equestrian-inspired leather pieces – like a white leather bustier, cinched with an elongated belt – are an experiment in structure, and lend the collection an underlying feeling of strength. “I would like [them] to feel empowered, with a sense of not giving a thought about what people think,” she says of how she hopes women feel when they are wearing her clothing.
Of course, the collection’s arrival in stores comes at a time when designers across the globe are facing an uncertain future in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic and the worldwide lockdowns it has entailed. For Lecavalier – whose S/S20 collection nonetheless remains available from online stockists, including SSENSE – it has given a necessary moment of reset. “I have to say the last months have been so intense that I am quite happy to have the opportunity to take a step back and reflect,” she says. “I know it is such a privilege to be able to do that, but the rhythm of the fashion industry was a bit too fast for me and I think everybody. I am not able to work as I had to quarantine far from the atelier – I draw and read but mostly take the time again to meditate, and think for hours and take care of my family.
“I am planning on a shift for the brand [after the crisis],” she continues. “I think there are a lot of things in fashion that were not making any sense to me. I’m looking forward to the future as I feel there won’t be a place for irrelevant or ‘hype’ designers anymore. I’m also looking forward to cut, drape and sew again!”
Where can I find it? LECAVALIER’s Spring/Summer 2020 collection is available at Selfridges, SSENSE and more.
