MACKI*

Inspired by Keith Haring and Mickey Mouse: Jean-Charles de Castelbajac autumn/winter 2002/3

One display case is taken up with a sofa and a coat made from hundreds of teddy bears. Another features a transparent duvet-jacket stuffed with feathers. Dresses are printed with the faces of Karl Lagerfeld, Tom Ford and Jimi Hendrix. Others are emblazoned with logos for Shell, Lucky Strike and Campbell’s soup.

Born into one of the oldest families in France – he can trace his ancestry back to the year 829 and the first king of Navarro – de Castelbajac was originally, like the male heirs before him, destined to be a soldier.

From the ages of five to 17, he was sent to a military boarding school in France, an experience that made him determined ”never to wear a helmet” and subsequently gave rise to his famous “teddy bear” coat which was, he explains, an attempt ”to exorcise dark moments from my childhood, deprived of toys”.

Fascinated by fashion, he rebelled against tradition. When an aunt attempted to discourage him following his heart by reminding him, “We won our title with the tip of the sword,” he told her, “I’ll win mine with the tip of the pen.”

One of his earliest design jobs was with the Italian firm MaxMara. Although staying true to its traditional tailoring, he chose graffiti artist Keith Haring to design invitations for the catwalk shows, while Malcolm McLaren, manager of the Sex Pistols, produced the music.

He established his own label in Paris in 1978, and a year later became a member of the prestigious Chambre Syndicale de la Haute Couture, later expanding his designs to include cars, lighting and interiors.

“My goal was not so much to start a trend, but to start a revolution,” he says. “Colour, fun, art, cartoons, famous people – everything can be used. I have always worked the same way – when I see something, I take it out of context and re-invent it. I create by energy, by observation – fashion is a tool of expression. But there must always be a form of function.”

His inflatable plastic poncho is a perfect example. Cut from a simple rectangle of fabric, it can be blown up and used as a life-raft, and one of his favourite designs remains the “double poncho” for couples in love, later updated with a zip “so, if they divorce, they can split it in two”.

Although often ignored in the 1990s, de Castelbajac has recently begun enjoying a resurgence of acclaim. He began designing for the French sportswear group Rossignol four years ago and has now expanded the collections for snow-boarding. His cartoon knits and T-shirts have become a cult among hip-hop enthusiasts in London’s East End.

His label, bought by the London-based Marchpole group in 2004, which also has the licences for Yves Saint Laurent and Ungaro menswear, is undergoing major expansion into de luxe hi-tech sportswear and accessories for tennis, golf, swimming and skiing, and there are plans for homewares and lifestyle.