Enfants Riches Déprimés staged its Autumn-Winter 2024 runway show “THE SUN. DISAPPOINTS ME SO.” in an abandoned parking garage within Paris‘ 8th arrondissement on March 3. Featuring a lineup hallmarked with baroque flair and punk nostalgia, the show unfolded across the nine floors of the meticulously arranged brutalist garage. A green-tinged fog surrounded the models as they walked down the levels of the garage lined with vintage luxury automobiles.
Whitewall spoke with founder Henri Alexander-Levy about the inspirations behind the new collection and the cinematic runway presentation.
Courtesy of Enfants Riches Déprimés.
Building the Enfants Riches Déprimés World
WHITEWALL: Can you share the meaning behind the title of your collection, “THE SUN. DISAPPOINTS ME SO,” and how it encapsulates the collection’s essence?
HENRI ALEXANDER-LEVY: I was watching this Don Van Vliet interview from the mid-80s, and I just took a part of something he said and isolated it. Defining it in a literal way holds little significance for me; I resonate with the emotional impact. I’m more interested in the way words look and feel than what they mean.
WW: What was the starting point of the collection?
HAL: The starting point was this hammer I made in sterling, and when I chose the location. That was my base. I built everything on top of that.
WW: How did you decide upon the show’s location, in an abandoned parking garage in the 8th arrondissement?
HAL: I look at the runway shows as films. The show being a runway isn’t enough for me. I need my shows to be cinematic and emotional. I was feeling a darker and more crude emotion this season. There was also a subtle theme of garage clandestine activities and the way a garage serves as refuge for privacy.
WW: Your latest collection combines baroque flair and punk nostalgia. What inspired you to blend these aesthetics for the Fall/Winter 2024 collection?
HAL: The aesthetics I’ve been creating in my head have just become stranger season by season, as I continue to build out the world ERD inhabits. Offshoots and foreign bootlegs of other characters. Repressed only child, villain, post-modern Lolita. I am creating and collecting these characters. I design based on what they wear, what they carry, what they treasure. I am a collector, and that is part of my process. These characters covet antiquities, as well. Relics of high craftsmanship and materials too slow to be warranted profitable today.
Courtesy of Enfants Riches Déprimés.
Crafting the Runway Show
WW: The show featured an atmosphere filled with green lighting, fog, and vintage luxury automobiles against a brutalist backdrop. What was the inspiration behind this atmosphere? Why did you choose these aesthetic choices to aid the storytelling of the collection?
HAL: I think of ERD as an analog brand and project. The cars; their make, year, etc. were very important to me. The Rolls Royce on cinder blocks was a nice ready-made for the show. A temporary substitute for the disappearance of childhood.
WW: How do the materials—Italian wool, cashmere, and Loro Piana knits—play into the overall vision of the collection? Why are these materials important to the line?
HAL: I want everything a certain way, it has to have a certain quality and weight, a subtle lasting richness. A good idea isn’t enough, the materiality is as important as the idea itself. I am only interested in lifetime pieces. The fabrics I use will last and show the years you put on them.
WW: The runway film adds a layer of complexity to your show—surveillance with security camera shots. How does this add to the collection’s theme?
HAL: I like the texture that the surveillance video adds, I also like this big brother perspective being apart of the film, without audience.
Courtesy of Enfants Riches Déprimés.
Alexander-Levy’s Reformulated Worlds
WW: The theme of cultural asphyxiation is a powerful aspect of this collection. How do you believe fashion can serve as a medium in culture? To critique society?
HAL: It represents society aesthetically and marks time. But I’m not interested in critiquing society, rather using my work as a reflection on my own life. Indexing and cataloging my reformulated worlds.
WW: What are you working on now/next?
HAL: Right now I’m working on an installation for another project and some video work – designing some furniture – throwing my dog the ball – just taking some time to gather inspiration and collect myself. These shows/collections take a lot out of me.
Photo by Chris Lepe. Courtesy of Enfants Riches Déprimés.
