Arts
It is hard to miss Pascal Morand when he arrives at a fashion show. Not only does he tower above most of the guests, but he is also always surrounded by the who’s who of the industry, designer hopefuls, and fashion journalists who all want to bend his ear about one aspect or another pertaining to the business of fashion. But that is what you sign up for when you are the executive president of the Fédération de la Haute Couture et de la Mode. However, Pascal wears his title with the ease of someone who has spent years in the industry and knows it well. Having had paid his dues with tenures at both the Institut Français de la Mode (IFM) and Ecole Supérieure de Commerce de Paris (ESCP), not to mention his time as the deputy director-general of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry for the Paris region before his current job – shaping the future of French fashion. His years teaching and his studies in Organisational Sciences at the University of Paris Dauphine have come in handy at the Fédération where he is both helping to nurture the next generation of designers who dream of showing their work during Paris Fashion Week, and wrangling those current calendar members who are always angling for a better spot. And Pascal’s love of innovation and technology has very much come in handy over the past year when, almost overnight, all of the collections - from menswear and womenswear to haute couture moved from real-world runway shows to fully digital experiences that only exist online, on a platform that the Fédération built up to frame the virtual shows as well as enrich them with added content. Including exclusive designer interviews, round table discussions about hot button fashion topics, and in-depth looks at the savoir-faire that is the beating heart of French fashion. I spoke with Pascal before the Fall/Winter 2021 menswear collections got underway in January about how he sees the fashion week evolving in the future and, as always when I speak with Pascal, I was blown away with his overarching vision when it comes to the fashion industry. It is one of the reasons why I am often part of the crowd that tries to catch his attention at the shows.