“I am touched to be able to count Joseph among our ambassadors as much as I am sensitive to his eye and his aesthetics. The development of his brand and his involvement in it command respect. I also admire the respective loyalty that Joseph and Mélanie Huynh, my sister-in-law, have had towards each other for so many years. He talks about his kindness in his interview and it is this kindness and his availability that struck me the most when he came into contact with him. »

Erwan Le Louër - Co-Founder of le gramme

Creative Director of his own House since 2008, Joseph previously worked from Paris to New York for Marc Jacobs, Proenza Schouler, Givenchy… At only 36 years old, this fashion gifted, dubbed by Anna Wintour and spotted by the Kering group from its beginnings, continues to impose its vision of women and fashion.

What nourishes your style, what is the source of your inspiration?
It’s all about observing the women around me. They are my real raw material before any other. I live and work surrounded by women, my mother, my two great friends Mélanie Huynh and Vanessa Traina, my colleagues... I like looking at the way they dress, how they have decided to live their lives, what emerges from them, the desires that they express and especially those that they have not yet formulated.

Who are the people who constitute references for you in terms of style/fashion?
The first is Tom Ford. I discovered him as a teenager when he worked for Gucci then Saint Laurent. It constitutes a double reference since it made me want to become a designer and gave me the strength to embrace my sexuality at a time when I was uncomfortable in my skin, which didn't necessarily help to have friends. He represented a model of professional and personal success, he had decided to claim his difference to make it a strength. My parents are also references. I admire their quality of life and their determination. At the time, being a mixed couple (my mother is Chinese-American and my father French with Spanish origins) was not very common. They chose to focus on family, on the relationship with their children, while building their respective careers. They are an example of harmony and a source of admiration.

What compliment would you like to hear or hear again in your profession?
This won't seem related to my job at first glance, but I like knowing that people think I'm nice. Kindness should be a priority. You have to approach a piece with kindness, as well as a woman's body, her life, her way of thinking about a piece of clothing or an accessory. On a daily basis, I need to work in an atmosphere of tenderness and respect, I surrounded myself with a team that shared these same values.

The city or destination that inspires you or resembles you?
I lived in Tokyo as a child and spent three weeks there recently. This city inspires me with its mix of energy and tradition, this contrast between the two is fascinating. New York, on the other hand, is the city that resembles me, a place where I am myself. New York is like a book, it offers those who arrive there a blank page in which everyone comes to write their own story. No one is really from this town and ultimately we are all part of the same story.

How would you define your way of being and living?
I am looking for simple happiness. If you pay attention, life is dotted with little joys that you just have to identify and appreciate. Children have this ability to be in the present. I strive to maintain this capacity for wonder, to be happy just because I fall asleep next to the man of my life.

Your favorite themes in your creative approach?
There is first an exploration around identity, because I was touched by that: I had to try to find out what it was to be French, Chinese, American, homosexual... There is also a travel theme, a curiosity for crafts from around the world, the search for techniques from elsewhere, the desire to mix them to offer something universal. My last collection borrowed from the crochet techniques of my grandmother from the Basque Country, from the patchwork of stripes that come from Spain or Asia.

The person you dream of being able to dress?
Audrey Hepburn without a doubt! She represents the height of femininity and cool. I imagine her in tayloring, in a sublime perfectly black suit with short hair, sexy in her frank simplicity, with flat, pointy shoes.

What is the biggest challenge in your job?
The most difficult thing is to be able to free yourself from the opinions of others, to continue to listen to yourself, to stay in your intuition and your intention. Because kindness doesn't necessarily mean doing what people would like you to do.

Do you have any rituals in life?
I have a lot. Some are linked to the fact that I am quite superstitious: so I don't go under ladders! Others are habitual, like systematically eating two buttered toasts in the morning with my tea for almost always. Then comes the reassuring discipline of working using a light box and systematically the same type of pencil, a Pentel P205. From there, desires arise, like that of knitting before going to sleep for some time now. I just got back into it and have already finished two sweaters!

The style that annoys you?
Honestly, I don't see it. It always comes back to kindness, I respect people too much not to take their style into consideration, to try to understand their reasons. Even the vulgarity can't annoy me, I decided to find it rather amusing.

A favorite place to usually find yourself?
In my office, lit by a large pink velvet sofa, in my house in the Hamptons, a place where I recharge my batteries, or at Sushi of Gari in New York.

Your favorite object? How much does he weigh ?
My husband gave me a medal 8 years ago that I have never taken off since. It is engraved with our initials, an illustration from my favorite book (A girl who loves wild horses, which my grandmother read to me) and my date of birth on the back.

What has weight in your life?
The family of blood and heart. A family joined in just a month by our little baby, a little girl, a new woman who will inspire me all her life.

Your objects per gram, what are they? How do you wear them?
I have a white gold bracelet, offered by Erwan, that I wear every day. This is my only bracelet.

If le gramme was clothing?
A black leather perfecto, classic, cool, universal, unisex and which stands the test of time.