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A Feel for Fashion: Pascal Monfort

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His long time observation of past and new generations as Director of consumer culture at Nike for 10 years makes French entrepreneur Pascal Monfort a key figure for decoding contemporary fashion. Founder of the firm REC, he studies marketing trends and the ever increasing connection between luxury, sports and youth. His experience spans also from 4 years as Creative Director at Equipe Sport & Style magazine, to Art Directing for Issey Miyake to History of Fashion and teaching.

What excites you in fashion right now?

 

What excites me immensely is to observe that at a time when artificial intelligence is on everyone's lips and at the heart of all debates, young adults passionate about fashion harbor a fascination and express a great interest in printed materials: avant-garde niche magazines, fashion books, posters, and printed lookbooks. This phenomenon is nearly global. The finest independent bookstores on the planet are witnessing the enthusiasm of a new generation of young and informed consumers. We are experiencing the dawn of a new golden age of print, provided that it maintains high editorial and/or artistic quality.

    

What is one reason to be optimistic about the state of fashion going forward?    

 

Being of an inherently enthusiastic, optimistic, and curious nature, I am inclined to request a response spanning at least ten chapters. To be succinct, let it be known that I am captivated by the level of interest in fashion that I observe among the 18-24 demographic with whom we engage in studies conducted across the globe: in India, Asia, the Middle East, throughout Europe, and in the United States, we make the same observation. Proficiency in style and creativity is immense.

    

In what ways do you think AI might benefit fashion?    

 

I harbor no certainties despite my relentless pursuit of information on the matter. What is certain, however, is that it is primarily the extraordinarily curious and uniquely individual minds that will harness AI for the better. AI is poised to make life challenging for mediocrity

    

Who or what will drive the greatest change in fashion this year?    

 

I hope it heralds the opening of EPHEMERA, the mini fashion documentation center that we are launching on February 26 in Paris for a duration of three months. I invite you to stay tuned for further information on the matter.

 

Can you suggest a fashion mantra for '24?

 

My mantra remains unchanged, year after year: Be as curious as possible.

 

What impact might you hope to have on fashion through your work?

 

Striving to ensure that the younger generation discovers in fashion a fantastic source of joy and open-mindedness, rather than it becoming a trap or a path towards perilous banality. We aspire to continue aiding iconic brands in effecting the most judicious transformations to avoid any forms of superfluity and inconsistency. To refrain from squandering energy and resources in vain.