PARIS, May 12, 2004/ FW/ --- Last Saturday, I had my first interview with the young French couturier, Eyméric François. At the tender age of 26, he has his own growing business, an haute couture clientele and a ready-to-wear line. The following is a recounting of my afternoon with him.

A knock at the door. Looking through the peephole, I immediately see that it is Eyméric François. He is accompanied by Renaud ABIVEN, his finance and marketing director.

I am disheveled as I have just finished my preparations for the Chinese cooking lesson that I am giving to a friend. Eyméric doesn’t seem at all bothered by the mass amounts of special ingredients for my fried Chinese spring rolls that pollute the countertop.

I decide to use it to my advantage. Eyméric now sees me in my natural environment and is now very comfortable with me. We immediately begin the interview.

Eyméric François (EF): I have always known. There was never question of me doing anything else. When I was little, I always spent my spare time sketching. I would design and make clothes for my Barbie dolls.

FW: Tell us about the first show?

EF: I began showing by accident. I entered the Dinar Festival. The jury was presided by Lolita Lempicka. Half of the jury wanted to give me the first prize and the half of the jury was against me.

FW: Why?

EF: Well I presented seven dresses. The half of the jury that was against me said that my dresses were couture and that the Dinar was a ready-to-wear festival for young designers. They felt that I shouldn’t win because my dresses did not correspond to the festival’s overall ready-to-wear spirit.

FW: What happened next?

EF: LVMH created a special cash prize for me in recognition of the quality of my work so that I would not walk away empty handed.

FW: Okay, with this special prize in hand, you went on to organize your first show?

EF: It wasn’t that simple I knew nothing of how it worked. Beatrice Manson was the press attaché for the Dinar. She talked to me and said that she wanted to help me because she believed in my work.

FW: Wow, just like that?

EF: Yes, I had no intentions of ever showing at that point. I didn’t chose to do it, it was chosen for me. At that time, I was working at Thierry Mugler. I only wanted to learn as much as I could from working with him. Beatrice took care of everything. I trust her so much. She’s like a second ‘mama.’

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