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David. Can you introduce yourself?
Kévis. My name is Kévis, I am 33 years old, I am the father of 2 boys above all, who are priorities in my life. I wear several hats : I am a stylist and artistic director for different brands, a model, and does part-time sapeur count?
D. Yes, that counts! The sappers are Congolese, I think? We talked about it in an article on BonneGueule .
K. Yes, it's a world that fascinates me. The phenomenon of sapeurs comes from the first Congolese immigrants who came to France in the 50s and 60s. They were mainly men who came to do manual work, in factories for example. The sapeurs didn't want to fit this image of workers who come to do the odd job and who mustn't make noise. Many of these people therefore worked in security, because it allowed them to work in suits for luxury brands like Dior.
D. And of course, sappers are also known for the extravagant and colorful clothing they wear.
K. It’s provocation, intentional provocation! “Look at me in my Versace sequin suit.” It’s this spirit of controversy that fascinates me. These people save up for a long time to buy all these designer clothes. And that’s the debate: wouldn’t these people be better off putting their money elsewhere? But in fact, it’s a dream. It’s the same for clothes and me. I dream of the Wild West when I put on my cowboy hat.
D. I saw an interview with you, where you said that clothes make you travel, in terms of eras, influences. I wanted to ask you how you would describe your style, but in fact you don't have just one style: you wear preppy, cowboy, tailored styles. You have this ability to explore all universes.
K. I am deeply in love with fashion , and more specifically with the history of clothing, it fascinates me. The last time I came to see you, I was wearing a safari jacket that was only produced for one year by the US Army. I had a piece of history on me, and I find it incredible.
D. It’s true that you have a love of vintage clothing, old pieces. Where does this love of clothing begin?
K. It goes back to my early childhood. My mother always made a point of honor that we were dressed like gods. We went to school in Sebago moccasins for example. My mother believes that respect comes through clothing. If I go somewhere, I have to show the other person that they are important. Thank you mom for instilling that in me. Despite everything, we sometimes tried to go against that, by wearing baggy jeans low on the hips. But as soon as we got home, we put it back in place.
D. So you wore loafers, and what else?
K. My mother loved to put me in Super 100s wool pants. Super high-waisted suit pants, we were 6 years old and we looked like uncles! Oxford shirts too, of course. You should also know that I was born in Rwanda and we arrived in France in 2003. A new stage of my life began at that time. It's debatable when I talk about it, but my mother told me that at that time, we weren't at home in France and that we had to make an effort to assert ourselves and integrate. This involves learning the French language of course, but also dressing properly, to present ourselves well in society. This integration in France is an integral part of my journey towards clothing.
D. When did you start working in clothing?
K. When I was younger, I dreamed of having my own clothing brand. A stretchwear brand even. I wanted to study pattern making. Then I had my little boy, who is 12 today, and he changed my life. I was 20, I knew I was going to be a father and something clicked. I had a son, a wife, and I had to get to work. That's when I started to get interested in the art of tailoring, and so since I'm a clothing geek, I set out to learn everything about every thread, every button.
D. That’s a very BonneGueule approach!
K. Yes, that's it. And besides, I was and am a big reader of BonneGueule. I learned a lot of things via BonneGueule but also the blog of Hugo Jacomet (Parisian Gentleman) or Guillaume Bo.
D. And so at the beginning, it was really sartorial art that interested you and you started to wear costumes.
K. Yes, that's it. And by wearing it, I was able to discover the precise history of each piece. And by really digging into the tailored pieces, I went back in time a little, and I learned that suits were worn in such and such a way at the time: English style, American style, etc. And by digging even deeper, I drifted into vintage tailoring, which is even older, and we realize that it derives from vintage workwear and military. For example, the blazer, the double-breasted jacket with gold buttons, was initially worn by the US Navy. And that was it, I fell into the deep end.
D. Do you remember your first costume?
K. Yes, I was very young. We bought it in Barbès, it was for my communion. It was brown, I must have been 12 years old and it was a size 17. It was too big for me then We did a lot of alterations to make it fit me well. We had to redo everything but we managed. Besides, I recently reviewed the photos and I wasn't wearing cuffed stockings, only a simple stocking!
D. Are you more of a low backhander?
K. Yes, 5cm on my suits. That's my only regret about that first suit, not having lapels. Despite everything, I'm still very proud of it today. I still have it, even if it doesn't fit me anymore. On the other hand, I still have the shirt I had for that communion, which was light orange, and it still fits me!
D. These are really clothes with a story. You should almost frame them!
K. It's my life that's in it. When I see this costume, I remember the party after communion, my friends who were there, the train we took with my mom, the youth ticket she bought for me, my brother who complained because he was waiting while the alterations were done. That's the power of clothing, it takes you to a time, to a moment in my life. This costume takes me back to that communion.
D. To come back to the suit, you know that there are several visions of tailoring. Sometimes people fight a little about whether to wear the suit like this, like that. What is your vision of the suit, how do you like to wear it?
K. As I was able to tell Matthias, I find that in itself, the suit is very simple. When you choose it, you have the top, the bottom, and all you have to do is find the shirt that goes with it. But the hardest part is making sure it fits well. And as someone who is passionate about the history of clothing, I learned how the suit is worn, all the rules that exist. And I think it is important to know all these rules, however restrictive they may be, in order to then be able to play with them, to break them.
I think that some rules must be respected, for example the length of the jacket, which must cover the buttocks, or the fact that it must have two slits at the back, because I find that more elegant. I notice that many people say “down with the rules”. Except that I think that to have style, there must be a base, a knowledge base , like an artistic direction in the outfit. If you dress just to be original, without following anything, it doesn't work.
D. Yes, some say that there should be no rules, that it is bad.
K. It's good to assert yourself but you have to start from somewhere, from a story, from an influence. You have to use the rules we're talking about and add your own personality on top. The suit, you don't have to wear it with a suit and tie, it can be with a knit polo shirt for example.
D. Do you have a lot of costumes?
K. Yes, anyway.
D. Can you say how much?
K. I must have about fifteen costumes.
D. Would you say you lack some?
K. No, I have everything I need. I wouldn't make another one. Because all the suits I bought were already well studied and thought out in my head. I had a guideline for each one. I needed the tennis stripe, that's ok. The chalk stripe, that's ok. The Prince of Wales, that's ok. The traveller (light wool) is also ok. The tuxedo, we're good. And if I really had to buy a suit, I would go for things that stand out, really extravagant. For example a yellow double-breasted like Edward Sexton does. I would go crazy!
D. Do you prefer to wear the whole suit or mismatched?
K. I prefer to wear it as a suit. I find that it gives a certain presence to its wearer.
D. Do you often wear suits on a daily basis, or do you reserve them for special occasions?
K. I wear them often! Little anecdote: just yesterday, I wore a white cotton gabardine suit, with loafers… to pick up my son from soccer! When I got home, my wife said to me: “Honestly, it’s a bit much to pick up your son from school dressed like that”. And even my son now briefs me: “Please Dad, when you come to pick me up, can you not wear a hat, not wear the whole suit?”. So that made me think a little, because when I go to my dressing room to get dressed, it’s very quick. And this time, I felt good about the suit.
D. And at that moment, you don't think about what people are going to say?
K. When I get dressed, I don't think about others, I think about having fun above all , about putting on something that makes me feel good. But when I arrive, I realize that I stand out a bit, because everyone is in jogging pants! ahah
D. What is your relationship between clothing and your children? Do you dress them, do you put costumes on them?
K. I advocate freedom to let everyone dress as they want. So I let my children do it, even if sometimes it breaks my heart. I bought my son Dragon Ball Z shoes that light up when he walks. It's not my style but I see that he's happy when he wears them, he has a kind of pride in his walk, and I love that!
I sometimes guide them: “Don’t you prefer the yellow Ralph Lauren button-down shirt with the seersucker jacket?” Sometimes I succeed, but mostly with the youngest. The oldest, he’s 12, he wants to assert himself, he tells me no, straight away!
D. How does the tallest person dress? What is the style of a 12-year-old child in 2024?
K. This morning he had a pair of orange Jordans with baggy jeans and a Naruto t-shirt!
D. Even if you don't necessarily guide them in choosing outfits, perhaps you educate them on the quality of a garment, the details?
K. I give them advice on how to coordinate colors well. For example, the technique of color reminders. And then, I see them coming towards me, all proud of themselves: “look dad, the logo on the shoes is the same color as the t-shirt”! I also try to instill in them this sense of quality, of not buying too many clothes but of buying beautiful clothes.
D. Now let's talk about hats. How can we talk about you without mentioning it? What is your story with hats? Because we don't see many men wearing hats, after all.
K. It comes from my love of the aesthetics of the 1930s. I recently saw an archive video filmed in Paris, Gare de Lyon, from the INA. All the men wore hats, and I find it magnificent. Some people sometimes say to me: “Kévis, you wear hats to be original”. No, that’s not my approach. I would like everyone to wear hats like me, because it fascinates me. I find it super elegant: a hat punctuates an outfit, it dresses it up . If I could offer hats to everyone so that I could see them everywhere, I would! I like elegant hats, felt hats, like Fedoras, but I sometimes wear caps too. I’ve also made several for my clothing brand, Manzi&Co.
D. Have you tried to develop hats for your brand?
K. Yes, I tried, but it was difficult. We are not yet able to develop such a product.
D. And so Manzi&Co, how long has it been since you created the brand?
K. We created the brand 2 years ago, in 2022. We started with caps, with a shape inspired by the French Navy of the 60s. I wanted to mix a more urban aesthetic, with a classic 5-panel shape, with the more angular, wider shape of the caps of sea captains. It had some success, which allowed us to launch, this year, a drop with clothing: two shirts, a gabardine, a sailor's shirt, caps. Now we are looking for a point of sale in Paris, why not a pop-up, so that customers can come and try on our pieces.
I realize that having a clothing brand never gives you a break. Once a collection is finished, you don't say to yourself "phew, it's over". It's a continuous work between the current collection and the next one(s) on which you have to move forward.
D. And so you really do a lot of things: you do AD, you are a model, you have your brand, you are a dad…
K. And I'm a salesperson at Ralph Lauren too, 2 days a week! I admit that my weeks are super intense, but I make sure to have time to spend with my family. That means I wear several hats.
D. Several hats even! To come back to the costume: would you like to make costumes for your brand?
K. Yes of course, I would love to. What is easier to do are jackets with a soft construction like the Teba Jacket. But what I like, what I would like to do, are suits with a build, with a slightly more pronounced shoulder. We are getting to the art of tailoring and it is more difficult to do. We are not there yet but it is in the back of my mind.
D. It's good that you mention this because I wanted to ask you if you prefer more flexible, relaxed, soft-tailored suits, or if you prefer more traditional, structured suits.
K. I prefer more structured suits, because I really like this classic, art-tailored aesthetic. And I was thinking about it, but I don't wear my suits super wide actually. I wear jackets with shoulders, but with a cinch, and long. And pants, I like them loose, high-waisted, with a 5cm lapel.
I like the movement of a suit when it has a bit of volume. But that doesn't prevent me from finding a man who wears a very stylish slim suit. I'm not a clothing extremist, I'm very open-minded. I remember, we were thrifting with friends, and we came across a guy in a very slim suit. My friends said "I could never wear that, it's too tight". And I thought it suited him really well. You could see that he felt like a good-looking guy in it. And that's what's important to me: that we feel really good-looking in what we wear, that we feel at our best.
If you wear a baggy suit because it's fashionable, because you're following the trend, but it doesn't suit you, it's going to show, even if the piece is cool in itself. If, on the other hand, you feel really good in slim pants, with an 18cm leg opening for example, it's going to show and you're going to be, in my eyes, stylish. Some people sometimes tell me that they could never wear certain pieces that I wear, because they're afraid of people's looks. I think people look at you, yes, but it's often out of kindness . The other day I was sitting on the subway, a lady was sitting across from me, and she said she loved my style. They're going to say to themselves "ah that's cool, that's stylish, you had to dare".
D. I also think that you have to accept making mistakes, that it's part of the stylistic journey. You can't succeed at everything the first time! You fail and that's how you learn, that's how you progress.
K. Yes! For example, the white suit to pick up my son from football, I'm not sure it was the most brilliant idea. You have to know how to dress according to the circumstances!
D. But on your side, regardless of the context, the situation, were you happy, dressed like that?
K. Oh yeah, I was super happy! I got some looks and comments but it was super nice and caring. I really think that when you leave your house, you have to feel at your best. You have to feel ultra beautiful. It's a point of honor that I apply to my life.
I warmly thank Kévis for his availability and his kindness!
