Hong Kong-born designer Alain on his brand Alainpaul’s debut at Joyce: the co-founder talks dance, bending rules, and the influence of late Louis Vuitton artistic director Virgil Abloh

Jun 7 , 2024

Alainpaul cofounders Alain and Luis Philippe. Photos: Handout

Co-founder Alain on how he cut his teeth under Demna at Vetements and Virgil Abloh at Louis Vuitton, before co-founding his own brand with partner Luis Philippe – he also trained as a ballet dancer

Movement and choreography inform his design aesthetics, and now the brand is making its debut with its spring/summer 2024 collection at Hong Kong-based retailer Joyce – which is a dream come true

By all counts, the buzzy new brand on the block, Alainpaul, is a classic Hong Kong success story: the brainchild of a Hong Kong-born designer with international roots, ambitious dreams and a global footprint. Now, the brand has finally come full circle, making its long-awaited debut in the city at Hong Kong-based retailer Joyce.

“We came here 10 years ago with this idea already,” says designer and co-founder Alain, who keeps his last name under wraps. He shows me a picture from that fateful trip. “We went to Joyce and we dreamed to be in here one day. The fact that they bought [our] first collection was really a big deal for us.”

Alainpaul is unveiling its spring/summer 2024 collection at Hong Kong-based retailer Joyce – its debut in the city

Movement has always been part of Alain’s life. Born to a French father and Danish-Brazilian mother in Hong Kong, he moved with his family at the age of eight to France, where he first pursued studies in dance before turning to fashion. He built up an impressive CV, cutting his teeth under Demna at Vetements and Virgil Abloh at Louis Vuitton, even helping to complete the latter’s final menswear collections for the house following his untimely death.

It was in France where he met his partner in both life and now business, Luis Philippe, with whom he launched his eponymous brand in 2023. “We decided to do this seven years ago, when I left Vetements and Luis left Colette,” says Alain. “He had an amazing vision of retail, so we decided to do it together one day. We wanted to work a bit longer and also be independent.” Philippe adds, “Launching a brand is quite expensive. We lacked experience, connections, contacts.”

For Alain, his background in dance more than informs his fashion practice

Of course, learned restraint and rigorous practice are nothing new for Alain, given his background: he trained as a ballet dancer for nearly 10 years. “It shifted in a moment [when] I was, during rehearsals and warm-up classes, layering clothes and playing with different kinds of garments while dancing,” he says. “Sometimes to show a better feature of myself and use asymmetric forms, or sometimes to give a posture – and I think that really shaped my vision on fashion and on clothes.”

Many of the pieces in Alainpaul’s debut spring/summer 2024 collection embody this idea of fashion as movement, inspired by the elaborate, performative nature of ballet. In this world, knowing the rules is key to breaking them, or rather, bending them to your will. “There’s something beautiful about the discipline and rigour in ballet, where I think you’re more free when you know the rules,” he says. “And it’s the same in fashion. When I started fashion school, we start by learning about the tailored jacket and the pencil skirt. And that’s why my show started with that look.”

Alainpaul’s collection is like the three acts in a ballet performance – arrival, rehearsal and premiere

What unfolds from there is a dynamic debate between form and function. “Then the skirt kind of moves around the body,” says Alain. “The idea of choreographing clothes around the body is essential to the DNA of the brand. Sometimes the skirt will become the top.” Other pieces include a jacket with “misplaced” shoulder pads and pleats evoking a dancer’s collarbone, and a scarf with pockets that looks like an elongated vest. “That’s for sure a study of structure,” he continues.

The brand builds on Alainpaul’s background and deconstructs dancewear tropes