MEET THE MAKERS: PALLAS PARIS

The Pallas house imagines and crafts its tuxedo-centered collections in its Paris atelier located in the 9th arrondissement. Since 1960, Pallas has developed an original technique that stems from the codes of the custom-made suit - its signature look. Pallas’ expertise can be found in what has been called „petite couture”. Each piece is entirely handcrafted by a single artisan. In 1991, Daniel Pallas and his partner Véronique Bousquet gave a new breath to the house.

Since Hannelore Knuts consulted them on their eponymous tuxedo collection in 2012, entirely made in France and created with absolute respect to the codes of the Pallas house by merging tailoring and Parisian savoir-faire, the house has cooperated every season with personalities that they consider to be „Pallas Women” such as Violetta Sanchez, Allegria Torasse or Niki Pauls from the Cicciolina Paris collective.

We sat down with the design duo to talk creation, happiness and breakfast.

Shop PALLAS at SSENSE.
 

Daniel & Véronique, what did you have for breakfast?
Daniel: Black coffee.
Véronique: English tea with milk and cereals with yogurt.

Where do you feel more comfortable - online or offline?
Daniel & Véronique: Offline.

How is your current mood?
Daniel: Sparkling.
Véronique: Happy.

To be a good designer you have to know how a brand works and explore social structures surrounding fashion. When did your education begin?
Daniel: I think that for me it is slightly different, I was born surrounded by fabrics and fashion magazines, as my parents were both working in the fashion industry. So I could say when I was born!
Véronique: When I was looking at my mum dressing up for dinners and cocktail parties, and when I was trying to make clothes for my Barbie.

Barbie is a great way to start, isn’t it? Who were your influences when you started, who are they now and how has that changed?
Daniel & Véronique: Saint Laurent. Thierry Mugler. Montana.

Can you tell us the exact moment when you knew design was going to become a major part of your life?
Daniel: When I decided to abandon the idea of being an architect.
Véronique: When I started at ESMOD fashion school.
 

Architects bring a fresh breath into fashion. How did your friend Hannerlore Knuts change your way of working?
Daniel & Véronique: We met when we finished our first tuxedo collection. As we had a good feeling together, we decided to show her the collection to have her professional external advice. She spent hours trying everything on together with Véronique (as a gentleman, I was out of the room), then she left for her flight back to NY. The day after I received a 3 pages long e-mail from Hannelore explaining that she couldn’t sleep after she saw the collection. She was describing her vision of our world, expressing her feelings, what she would have changed, what for her was missing in the collection. So we began to work together. It was a global thinking, she became our first model, she was the photographer as well (shooting herself) and we became friends.

What question have you never been asked that you wish you had?
Daniel & Véronique: None.

Are you ever scared of your own creations or fantasies?
Daniel & Véronique: No, sometimes the night can be, but our world is not scaring.

What do you think you will be doing in your 80’s?
Daniel & Véronique: Rest and travel together!

Are you happy?
Daniel & Véronique: Yes and you?

I can’t complain, thank you.
 

Pallas is now stocked at SSENSE
Head over there now to get you hands
on some of the pieces !

Directed by  Daniel Pallas & Véronique Bousquet
Styling & Art Direction  Niki Pauls & Allegria Torassa
Art Direction  Jean-Baptiste Talbourdet-Napoleone
Models  Aymeline Valade, Bianca O’Brien, Anamaria Cioboata,
Ambre Hazlewood, Kira Lillie, Barbara Lear & Maia Hawad
Photography  Dario @ CLM
Hair  Romina Manenti @ Homeagency
Make-Up  Karin Westerlund @ Callmyagent
Production  Whitedot Production