MAITREPIERRE

Interview by Filep Motwary

In the hushed corridors of Paris, where light falls like whispered secrets on polished stone floors and the echoes of history mingle with the hum of contemporary life, the Spring–Summer 2026 collection of Alphonse Maitrepierre found its home. Titled “En plein Cœur”, the presentation was more than a runway show—it was an intimate dialogue with time, a poetic conversation that stretched across a century and landed in the present with startling clarity.
Maitrepierre’s work has always straddled the line between prêt-à-porter and couture, a duality he first articulated in 2019 when Vogue captured his vision of fashion as both rigorous craft and boundless dream. A graduate of the renowned La Cambre in Brussels, he honed his skills in ateliers of the likes of Chanel, Acne, and Jean Paul Gaultier before launching his eponymous brand in 2018. His journey has been rapid, yet deliberate; the trajectory from emerging designer to collaborator with cultural institutions feels less like a career ladder than a carefully plotted orbit, one guided by instinct, curiosity, and an unwavering devotion to craft.
I had attended the presentation of his latest collection in Paris, yet it was the morning after—over coffee and the soft light of a quiet hôtel particulier—that I met him to discuss the past, the present, and the ethereal future of his brand. This was not our first conversation; a brief interview for Vogue Greece digital a couple of years prior had hinted at the depths of his vision, but time and experience had sharpened his voice and broadened his conceptual reach.
“Fashion is an industry that inspires dreams but can also be quite intimidating,” Maitrepierre began, his tone measured, eyes bright with reflection. “I never wanted to be a part of it completely. I love that it can bring artists together, that it builds bridges and connections between creative people, but the industry itself is not always very welcoming to young designers. Sometimes you feel misunderstood, navigating a space so crowded that finding room for your vision is a struggle.”
There was honesty in his words, a disarming humility that belied the scale of his achievements. Before entering fashion, his gaze had been drawn elsewhere. “I always wanted to make perfume or be involved in the visual arts, painting or sculpture,” he explained. “Fashion turned out to be at the crossroads of all the inspirations I wanted to pursue with my hands. I entered as a simple visitor, without knowledge of the codes or rules, and yet found a small family within this vast world—a circle of people who share my enthusiasm for creation without taking it too seriously.”
This balance—between reverence and irreverence, tradition and experimentation—remains a defining feature of Maitrepierre’s practice. Since founding his house, he has accelerated swiftly from nascent designer to a collaborator whose work hangs in museum galleries. Yet, in spite of this velocity, Maitrepierre has deliberately slowed the core of his craft.
“I try to view every collection as if it were my last,” he confided, the phrasing deliberate, almost ceremonial. “The textile work is the most time-consuming: discovering new ways to work with deadstock fabrics without it appearing as mere recycling. I immerse myself in archives, books, Tumblr, games, the internet—a multitude of sources. The industry moves fast, but consistency demands finding one’s own rhythm, even if it means decelerating.”
The Spring–Summer 2026 collection arose from such a rhythm, its inception entwined with the Musée des Arts Décoratifs and a monograph dedicated to Paul Poiret. The French couturier, a luminary of early twentieth-century design, liberated the female form from corsetry and imbued fashion with narrative drama and cosmopolitan audacity. For Maitrepierre, engaging with Poiret was not homage—it was conversation.
“For several months, I felt like I was living with Paul,” he said, the reflection almost tender. “His aura, his creations—they envelop you. I kept asking myself what he would think of my interpretations. In some ways, I contradicted him through contemporary techniques: laser embroidery, 3D printing, materials he would never have imagined. Yet, this dialogue was necessary to shift the work toward a contemporary vision, ensuring the collection was never mere costume.”
The title of the collection, “En plein Cœur”, comes from an illustration that seized Maitrepierre’s imagination—a woman with her head tilted back, an arrow piercing her chest. Its drama, rendered in line and color, became the opening note of his show. “It gave me the emotional blueprint,” he recounted. “We began with the idea of a drawing come to life. Thanks to the ‘By Serge H’ workshop, which refines materials exquisitely, the look almost became trompe-l’œil, a surreal dimension where paper and cloth conversed.”
This interplay of past and present, of homage and transformation, defines Maitrepierre’s design philosophy. Poiret’s fascination with “elsewhere” resonates with him still, a form of escapism that he perceives not as indulgence but responsibility. “There are already far too many clothes on Earth,” he said, with a subtle, almost mischievous smile. “The only reason to design is to offer an alternative, dreamlike and poetic, in a world that can be frightening. We have a creative responsibility to invite people to dream.”
Transformation is a recurring theme in his work. Silhouettes often seem mid-metamorphosis, suspended between identities, reflecting both the designer’s own evolution and the fluidity of contemporary life. “I never wanted to freeze my creativity,” Maitrepierre explained. “Versatility is my strength. Curiosity drives me to challenge myself constantly, to keep my DNA moving and evolving, never stopping, never settling.”
Yet amidst metamorphosis, there is precision. Lace, bows, faux feathers, futuristic embroidery—his collections oscillate between fragility and spectacle. The choreography of whispering and performing is dictated by character, by the narrative he envisions. In collaboration with the Musée des Arts Décoratifs, the show’s theatricality was calibrated against simplicity: jeans, luxurious, cleverly-cut t-shirts, and more restrained looks gave viewers breathing room, illustrating how his fantastical visions translate into wearable reality.
Technology, too, is central to his process. Maitrepierre treats it not as a cold mechanic but as the hidden machinery of fantasy, a tool for discovery and surprise. Laser techniques, 3D printing, and meticulous digital craftsmanship allow him to revisit deadstock and upcycled materials in ways previously impossible. “It’s like opening Pandora’s box and letting the unexpected escape,” he mused. Trompe-l’œil, a recurring motif, magnifies this interplay: what appears as embroidery might be a scanned print, blending deception with delight and inviting viewers to look twice, think twice, and savor the playful ambiguity.
The balance between historical reference and contemporary reinterpretation is a hallmark of his Belgian training. Poiret’s nonchalant volumes, translated through Maitrepierre’s technical rigor, become modern forms with narrative weight. “Looking at his archives, many pieces could have been from last season,” he said. “All that was needed was reworking volumes and integrating familiar clothing codes to give them a contemporary twist.”
Sustainability, for Maitrepierre, is neither constraint nor token—it is a narrative. Working exclusively with deadstock and waste materials transforms the emotional story of a garment, giving each fabric a second chance and a unique identity. As an ambassador for NONA Source, LVMH’s deadstock platform, he has championed creative reinvention. “I’d like sustainability to become invisible,” he explained. “It should be so embedded in design that we forget we’re doing it, allowing new professions and creative avenues to emerge naturally.”
Joy, he contends, is itself a radical ecological statement. Amid constraints and eco-conscious practice, the elation of seeing a design succeed, of a concept realized, becomes a vital part of the creative process. Collaborations—from CAREL to KIKO MILANO, from drag performers to dancers and activists—reinforce his commitment to empathy, listening, and co-creation. Each encounter leaves a trace in the brand’s DNA, shaping collections that are as ethical as they are imaginative.
Historical dialogue remains integral, whether reimagining a 1952 shoe or an archival silhouette. Maitrepierre insists on respect for the original object, establishing its significance before overlaying his signature DNA. “The right balance between reverence and interpretation is a real creative challenge,” he said. “It’s stimulating, almost like a conversation across time.”
His references are eclectic and expansive: video games, digital culture, couture archives. In his vision, the modern designer is curator and storyteller, navigating timelines rather than chasing trends. “Yesterday is past, tomorrow distant,” he noted. “We must seize the riches of history to craft narratives, but never remain trapped. Our clients demand to dream, to see tomorrow’s vision unfold.”
“En plein Cœur” is, above all, an exercise in emotional resonance. Maitrepierre’s hope extends beyond aesthetics; he wishes viewers to experience gentle reverie, to encounter Poiret’s genius anew, and to feel transported beyond temporal and stylistic constraints. “I hope some discovered Poiret’s work, still too little known today, but also that the collection evoked a soft antidote to our current, gloomy moment,” he said. “It is strange, conjuring another time. I hope it touched and challenged, moved beyond liking or disliking.”
As our conversation drew to a close, he spoke of what lies ahead: Crossroads, his FW collection which is about to rich shops globally this September, a foray into a more digital, radical, and contemporary world. “It was a challenge, after months immersed in Poiret, to return to my own thoughts,” he admitted. “But it enriched my vision of the brand and gave me the necessary distance to explore new stories. That is the beauty of this profession: to dive deeply, then breathe and reimagine everything anew.”
In Maitrepierre’s hands, fashion becomes a vessel for narrative, a bridge between epochs, a dream realized through textiles, technology, and imagination. Each garment, each silhouette, each carefully calibrated illusion speaks of a designer who honors history while defiantly carving a path toward the future—a journey defined by curiosity, reverie, and relentless invention. In a world of endless collections and fleeting trends, Alphonse Maitrepierre remains a quiet radical, an artisan of possibility, inviting all who encounter his work to pause, dream, and perhaps, for a fleeting moment, live in “En plein Cœur.”