Nothing is deeper than skin. Paul Valéry

His grandmother said of an elegant woman : « eShe wears her clothes well ». Could she have imagined that one day, this elegant woman would be dressed in leather from head to toe?

Before him, and always, leather stood for masculinity, roughness, virile heroism.

For him, perhaps even more than for others : the piece that fascinated him was his father’s old aviator’s jacket, covered in medals.

Handling it was forbidden, a transgression, so the feeling intensified when he slipped on the jacket in secret. All this helped to make leather his favourite object, "an unconscious and symptomatic ritual that pursues you throughout your life" ».

That is why he works with leather, he says.

Skin fascinates him at least as much as leather, because of the truth it expresses : « Its colour, its texture, its grain. Its wrinkles, its scars: on the body, they are equal to the best biographies. »

What better than our skin to reveal or hide who we are? Skin is the chiasma between experience and appearance.

« Sensuality comes from this dual flow of exchange.» Along with a sense of freedom..

To bring leather out of the domain of men and use it to shape the curves of women's bodies like never before, required the revolutionary eruptions of the seventies. This is when leather, which symbolised one of the authorities challenged by the youth, became in his young hands a symbol of liberation, the liberation of women, and an instrument that interacts with the liberated body.

the Faubourg Saint Honore in 1983, already, artists, princesses, stars, famous.

From the Mediterranean, this native of Narbonne was more impatient than nonchalant.

And the material itself... To submit to its command, to harness its power to attract attention... In 1993 there was the stretch leather jean... The ideas flowed... Leather with stretch silk organdie in 1998... There is no time to observe passing fashions – he is too busy setting trends himself.

In 2009, there was machine-washable stretch leather. In the same year, trousers in stretch suede this time, finished with a coating, laser cut, and with an incomparably soft, rubbery feel.

The purpose of his designs has remained constant throughout the years: to transfigure, to metamorphose, to magnify individual beings and enable them to discover themselves through and beneath their second skins.

Like this quest for identity, the independently-owned business, of which he manages every aspect, has at its heart a core of energy, what he calls his “recomposed family”, his bastion.
There is the emblematic woman, previously the sculptural Brigitte Nielsen, now Sarah Marshall, a friendship that has lasted nearly 14 years: the embodiment of the modern Parisian woman, charming, sexy and nonconformist.

In his network of loyal friends, influences and inspirations, the majority have always been artists and stars. Those of yesterday (César, Dalida), those of today, like graffiti artist JonOne, tagging a stretch leather legging worn by Sarah Marshall, live...

Those who have lent their artistic eye, the great photographers like Helmut Newton, Tyen, Jean-Baptiste Mondino, Karl Lagerfeld and now, Rankin. Those he has dressed in unforgettable style, at unforgettable occasions.

After all, he designs for the modern woman, “the woman who mixes the everyday and the exceptional, who sets out for work in a suit and court shoes and then wears a daring outfit of thigh boots and black leather mini-dress in the evening.
The woman who approaches her career and glamorous parties with the same good humour, who likes to fill her life with fun.” He wants celebrities to show him the “exceptional” way...

Five stores: Paris, London, Marbella, Cannes and Luxembourg. Each one is a unique experience, designed by Christophe Pillet.

... Celebrities... The black leather bodysuit with bands of patent leather paired with long stretch leather gloves worn by Lady Gaga.
The white stretch leather bodysuit worn by Rihanna, with her oversized epaulettes and impressive décolleté. The suede biker jacket on Vanessa Paradis, covered in Swarovski crystals.

His success among these artists is not down to chance: it reflects the profound coherence of a journey, a process, and the symbolic richness of his favourite material:

Leather embodies this sensuality, both provocative and intimate; its sheen attracts the attention of others.

“That’s why celebrities go on stage wearing leather jackets and bodysuits, to feel closer to their audience, stronger. They give their fans intimacy. They expose their bodies while hiding them.”

Can we talk about maturity? Yes, if we mean mastery as well as nonchalance, that elaborate art of making everything appear natural and easy.

One of his secrets is undoubtedly to have meditated, and to have borne in mind the saying by Marguerite Yourcenar: “Happiness is a masterpiece”.

He never forgets the next line, either: “The slightest error distorts it, the slightest hesitation alters it, the slightest pain disfigures it, the slightest stupidity dulls it.”

At the heart of his success surely lies the talent of being happy.