Julien d’Ys, the long-haired Frenchman behind the many mane changes of Linda Evangelista in her supermodel heyday, presents his first ever painting and multi-platform exhibition at Comme des Garçon’s Paris store.
The Breton hair stylist has been an elect of the fashion elite since the late 80s, and as well as coming up with chameleon colours for dear Linda, has worked on shows for Comme, YSL and John Galliano and with such photography greats as Annie Leibovitz and David Sims. Rei Kawakubo has offered d’Ys the opportunity to show his signature sculptural wigs, from his works featured at the Metropolitan Museum Of Art’s Anglomania, Superheroes and The Model As Muse fashion exhibitions, to his collaborations with Comme. You can see the fantastical results of his use of spray paint, glitter and glue alongside further examples of his creative flow on display with his lively paintings and scrapbooks. Expect no shortage of drama from the man who’s said that he wishes he’d styled Marie Antoinette’s big wigs in the 18th Century and whose mantra is “you have to be extraordinaire”.
The delightful d’Ys tells i-D Online all about the exhibition.
How did you first start in wigs and hair styling? I created my first wigs in 1992, almost 20 years ago now. It was for Chanel haute Couture with Karl Lagerfeld. The inspiration for those wigs was Kandinsky. If you come and see the exhibition you will be able to see them.
What’s it like collaborating with Rei Kawakubo and Comme de Garçons? We have been working together for almost 23 years now! Working with Rei is always a surprise. I respect her a lot and working with her is always a big challenge. She gives me a lot of stimulation. She allows me to go far in my creation. She gives me a lot of freedom but at the same time I try to find an idea that she’s going to like.
As well as the wigs, there is painting and multi-platform work on show – can you tell us how your creativity extends to these areas? Yes! You will be able to see wigs, scrapbooks full of my drawings, sketches and also a selection of my paintings. People know my wigs because of all the shows and my collaboration with the Met in New York but this time they will discover my paintings.
Julien d’Ys’s exhibition is on from 23rd June – 13th July, Monday – Saturday, 11am – 9pm at Comme des Garcons, 54 Rue du Faubourg St Honoré, 75008 Paris.
