Louis Gabriel Nouchi s/s 23: Dangerous Liaisons, Or Just Dangerous?
Les Liaisons Dangereuses is unequivocally a novel about the power of seduction. Robert Greene, author of ‘The Art of Seduction,’ describes the intoxicating power of seduction as the creation of love and enchantment through erotic desire and pleasure. It is the principle that pleasure can create power that is central to Dangerous Liaisons, as characters battle to gain power over each other under the guise of hedonism. It is this aspect of seduction, from the perspective of the antagonist Valmont, that underpins Louis Gabriel Nouchi’s S/S 23 collection. Nouchi articulates that each of his collections are inspired by a novel or writer that has inscribed their understandings upon the world. He sees his Dangerous Liaisons collection ‘like the memory of a quickshot, of love made in a hurry, between two doors, and surprised on the spot of the action.’
Historically fashion designers have time and again claimed to have been influenced by literature. Louis Gabriel Nouchi is no different with his Spring/Summer 2023 collection, supposedly inspired by the ‘book that keeps burning’, Les Liaisons Dangereuses, by 18th century army general Choderlos De Laclos. Fashion designers who declare to have taken inspiration from novels too often fail to transform the language of the book into material form in an authentic manner. Instead, literature inspired collections often fall under the category of a kitschy, satirical representation, devoid of the charm that once enchanted book lovers worldwide. Fashion is often considered as popular culture, otherwise known as low culture, that is accessible and, more often than not, does not partake in intellectualism. Fashion is seen as popular culture because it is inclusive of all aspects of society, it is a vessel of communication that creates individual identity. Fashion itself can sum up the zeitgeist of a period. At the other end of the spectrum, Roger Scruton describes high culture as ‘the self consciousness of a society’ that ‘endures only if it is underpinned by a sense of tradition’ and is associated with philosophy, art and literature. Due to the exclusivity of high culture, it is deemed as superior to popular culture, thus there is an increase of social value placed upon it. The association between fashion and literature has the potential to be the catalyst in placing fashion as high culture; however, underwhelming literature inspired collections affirm fashion’s place in low culture. There is also the possibility for fashion designers to purposefully refer to literature in their collections in order to gain the culture capital required to move up the ‘scale of culture’, but when they do this from an uninformed perspective of the literature they are referring to, it has the opposite result.
Nouchi’s notion of a fast paced act of love is clearly seen in the knitted textiles used in the collection which are reminiscent of tears, evoking the idea of clawing lovers desperate to access each other's bodies. These kinds of looks that show tears emphasise the animalistic side of seduction, and reinforce the feelings of desperation and intense emotion that is evident in the novel. In fact, the whole collection looks as if the clothes have been under distress by the hands of an external body. Despite seeing the visual references to Nouchi’s interpretation of the book, he has interpreted Valmont’s seduction in a perfunctory way. Dangerous Liaisons demonstrates the lengthy process of seduction, as an organised art form with intent; therefore Nouchi’s interpretation of seduction as an impulsive action diminishes the character of Valmont, disregarding his position as a successful conniving villain. Robert Greene exclaims that ‘Seduction is a psychological process that transcends gender,’ and this process has a key strategy that can take months or even years for the seducer to successfully complete, as can be seen in the timeframe of Valmont’s seduction in the dates of the letters in the novel. This is where Nouchi has confused seduction with erotic desire and sexuality; seduction is about powerplay, whereas sexual desire regards a need to express oneself sexually.
Louis Gabriel Nouchi has not only confused the meaning of seduction, he has also confused the type of desire in the novel. His collection is highly sexualised and clearly puts erotic desire at the forefront, in one look there is a scantily clad model wearing a dressing gown with a fetish-stye garter around his calf. Also, Nouchi has intentionally used the colour palette of intense red, black, white and Tyrian pink to evoke a sense of danger and sensuality, clearly portraying erotic undertones. It is correct that the novel has aspects of erotic desire, but preliminary to the erotic desire of the characters is their mimetic metaphysical desire. This is a type of desire outlined by René Girard who outlines the desire for metaphysical objects, which are ‘bi-products of mimetic entanglement.’ For Valmont, he has a metaphysical desire for social power and prestige; desire is social and Valmont wants the social power he could receive through seduction. In addition, for Goethe’s Werther, ‘realities are shaped by desire.’ This explains the reality of Valmont’s life as a constant chase for power over people. Therefore it is actually this metaphysical desire for social power that drives his intense seduction practices, rather than sexual impulse. This makes one question if Louis Gabriel Nouchi’s collection based on Valmont’s character, is actually that representative of Valmont himself.
In order to gain power through seduction, manipulation is a strategy used by seducers like Valmont to succeed. Cultural theorist Jean Baudrillard acknowledges the use of deception in seduction, arguing that “seduction operates in the realm of appearances, dispoiling discourse of its ‘sense’ and twisting it from its ‘truth.’’ Baudrillard’s manipulation of appearances can be applied to Louis Gabriel Nouchi’s S/S 23 collection because of the varying interpretations of Valmont it shows. Nouchi based the collection on his interpretation of how Valmont would dress in contemporary society, taking a somewhat underwear as outerwear approach, showcasing loungewear as formal pieces. Although not suggested by the designer, Baudrillard’s ‘realm of appearances’ is epitomised in Nouchi’s red and black shirt featuring an image of a man lifting his shirt up to reveal his abdomen. The ironic idea of an image of a false, intangible body adorned on a tangible body reveals a twist from the truth, a deception of appearances which reflects Valmont’s approach to seduction. Valmont shrewdly mirrors the language of the person he is writing to in the novel, in doing so he adopts both their tone of voice and their moral values, manipulating his linguistic presence in order to cover up his true intentions. However, all these potential reasons behind the artistic and design choices of the collection have not been proposed by the designer, therefore a lack of reasoning from the designer makes it difficult for fashion as an art form to rise from low culture to high culture. This lack of academic critical evaluation of the inspiration choices by fashion designers, like Nouchi, who are inspired by literature, proves to be underwhelming and implies that they aren’t educated on their literature of choice enough to make valuable references to it.
Louis Gabriel Nouchi’s choice of latex-looking garters supporting different areas of the models legs associates the collection with the kink, BDSM and fetish communities, specifically in queer communities. Nouchi explains his collection as ‘reflecting the tension between romanticism and brutality,’ this is particularly interesting as the tension he describes is present in Valmont’s character. Valmont is ever the romantic with Madame de Tourvel, then brutally rejects her after he has finally conquered her. It is also relevant because of the abysmal treatment of Cecile de Volanges at the hands of Valmont, as he engages with romantic behaviour before coercing her into sex, resulting in her rape. The sartorial signifier of the garter, as well as the rips in the garments, are an ode to sadomasochistic communities and even sexual violence. This is important as Nouchi’s collection offers a valuable insight into kink and fetish communities in today’s cultural climate, whilst also mirroring the sadomasochistic zeitgeist of 18th century France, highlighted through Dangerous Liaisons and the Marquis de Sade’s The 120 Days of Sodom. It also highlights the sexual violence against women that is still relevant in society today, as it has been for millenniums. Furthermore, Nouchi as a queer designer caters for the queer gaze in all of his collections, therefore offering a refreshing queer reading of the novel which subverts the usual understandings of the book. This is something that Nouchi as a designer could expand upon, as it is particularly interesting that he has transformed an almost violently heterosexual character like Valmont into a queer character. Writer for SHOWstudio, Joshua Graham, commented on the collections exploration of power and domination as associated with the ‘daddy archetype’ that is prevalent in kink communities.Therefore perhaps Nouchi was attempting to show Valmont under the ‘daddy archetype.’ This connection between queer, kink and BDSM communities with 18th century society offers the opportunity for a cultural critique about fetish fashion and literature, only if the designer could expand on his reasoning.
The overarching sex appeal of Nouchi’s interpretation of Dangerous Liaisons adheres to the Lacanian concept of jouissance. Nouchi created an ingenious print for the collection ‘based on the traces left by perspiration on the clothes, memory of an intense effort printed like memory on the clothes.’ Many of the models that wear this print have a look of muscular strength and fitness, therefore the print worn on them evokes the interesting idea of sexercise. Whilst a reminder of the physical effects of a successful seduction, it is difficult to understand how the concept relates directly to Valmont and the novel as there is no mention of perspiration in the literature. Despite this, it is an interesting concept that is a sartorial signifier of Lacan's jouissance which is ‘that moment of sexuality which is always in excess.’ The idea of sexuality in excess is a bi-product of Valmont’s methods of seduction. Although the notion of jouissance is inherently sexual it is not always applied in a sexual context, for example Lacan sees thought and speaking of love as jouissance. Therefore in that way, Valmont practically oozes jouissance in his letters. If the print of perspiration is intended as ‘memory of intense effort,’ then it reflects the extent to which Valmont goes to obtain a successful seduction. Consequently the sweat stain is like a trophy, as it is the remnants of a successful seductive escapade. Nouchi spoils this iconic sexual, sweaty moment by suggesting that his marble paper pattern, also used in this collection, ‘evokes literature perspiration through print.’ This seems implausible, and simply a confusing explanation for a marble pattern that sticks out like a sore thumb amongst the other prints. This explanation reaches for the validation of its use in the literature it's referring to, without making any understandable justification. It is comments like this from designers which provide satire for critics who do not deem fashion as valuable artistic work, thus affirming fashion's place in popular, low culture.
Similarly, Nouchi’s collection can be understood through Roland Barthes’ interpretation of jouissance, which slightly differs from the Lacanian comprehension. In ‘The Pleasure of the Text’ Barthes differentiates between two types of text, the readerly and the writerly. Barthes considers the writerly as jouissance, where the meaning is not overtly understood and often has groundbreaking effects on the psyche of the reader. He compares the intellectual bliss of understanding hidden meanings with the metaphoric question, ‘Is not the most erotic portion of a body where the garment drapes?’. Through the metaphor he inadvertently highlights the erotic potential of drapery, and solidifies the figurative similarity in the way word becomes poetry with the way that cloth becomes drapery. In this way, both text and cloth become a fetish object. Dangerous Liaisons is a writerly text of jouissance through the themes and language of the letters as it ‘unsettles the reader’s historical, cultural and psychological assumptions’ and ‘brings to a crisis his relation with language’. Thus the association of the novel with Barthes’ jouissance offers the opportunity for fashion designers to create a material representation of jouissance through the means of drapery, the fetishistic object of jouissance. The way in which Nouchi drapes his designs highlights the erotic capacity of drapery, unintentionally emphasising the writerly nature of Dangerous Liaisons.
Lastly, the relationship between fashion designer and wearer, or spectator, mirrors the relationship between the editor of Dangerous Liaisons and the reader whose relationship is based on seduction. Dangerous Liaisons starts with context from the editor, who decides the order of the letters as well as which ones are involved in that particular edition of the novel. As a result, the editor is an omniscient presence who controls the narrative from which the reader interprets the story. This controlling power cultivated by the editor, is a similar type of manipulative power that is involved in the process of seduction. This mirrors the way that designers, like Louis Gabriel Nouchi, are able to control the narrative of the book through material culture. For example, for those who view Nouchi’s collection with no prior knowledge regarding the novel, would likely understand it as a queer erotic novel. The fashion designer is like the editor who determines how Dangerous Liaisons is understood by an audience, therefore seducing the wearer or spectator of the fashion show in the ‘realm of appearances,’ by controlling the narrative.
Despite having valuable and interesting interpretations in his use of print, the tearing of textile and elements of fetish fashion, Nouchi lacks the capacity to persuasively justify references to the novel. His lack of strong arguments to explain his design decisions categorises his collection as another failure from fashion designers to make the jump from low culture to high culture, because of an absence of culture capital that the collection provides.