Lucca Lamoine
founder of Verlan Paris

​​THE BASICS // 

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ASIS// Full name, age, and favorite dance track?

Lucca Lamoine, 30. It's difficult because it's always changing – today, it’s "Zum-Zum" by Edu Lobo.

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ASIS// Where do you live? 

LUCCA// Quai de Valmy, Paris 75010.

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ASIS// What do you do for a living? (…and for fun)

LUCCA// First and foremost, I am the owner and director of the French ready-to-wear label Verlan. Additionally, I deal in French vintage furniture from the 50s and 60s.

 

DESIGNING FOR THE FUTURE //

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ASIS// What is Verlan? And what is a Verlan? 

LUCCA// "Verlan" is a language game – slang – in which the syllables of a word are reversed. Although it is an old French tradition, it is now considered outdated by most people.

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Based in Paris, Verlan – our brand – is a multidisciplinary, collaborative, and responsible space for experimentation. Always on the lookout for what feels right today, we create limited-edition products and put them in dialogue with vintage objects on our digital and physical platforms. We also offer a flat for rent, as a synthesis of our philosophy. Welcome.

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ASIS// Many fashion and lifestyle brands strive to find a more conscious approach to balancing supply and demand. While good for the planet, it sometimes challenges the model for making a profitable business. How do you approach this?

LUCCA// My take is very simple. Fashion – like other industries – is sick. Sick of a model based on over-consumption, reduced quality, and increased margins. Our mission with Verlan is to translate fashion into our way of doing things.

"Our way" includes offering the best quality possible for our customers, at a price that makes sense. We use only natural and organic fibers and work with local partners. Not doing these things might increase our margins, but I wouldn’t feel comfortable with that. Our mission is to work towards a more cultural, human, and responsible lifestyle.

 

STANDING ON THE SHOULDERS OF //

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ASIS// You grew up surrounded by amazing mid-century furniture and art. What influence do you think the designers of that time have had on contemporary design?

LUCCA// The present and future always build on the past, whether we want it to or not.

I grew up among wonderful mid-century designs. These first appeared in France in the 1950s, at a time when the country needed to rebuild itself in many aspects. This included new houses and furniture, as well as restoring faith in a brighter future.

Artists, designers, and architects like Charlotte Perriand and Jean Prouvé grouped together into the "Union des Artistes Modernes." Their vision was to propose a lifestyle based on a synthesis of daily life objects, cultures, and the desire to share it with most people. They worked with available and relatively cheap materials: concrete for Le Corbusier, wood for Charlotte Perriand, and steel for Jean Prouvé, delivering many public projects.

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I believe their influence on design and art is significant and still very relevant. Adopting a more holistic view, thinking long-term, being creative and efficient, staying open to others, and sharing: we need more of that. I’m sure most contemporary designers today also keep these aspects in mind.

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ASIS// Who is your favorite contemporary designer?

LUCCA// Marc Newson! Perhaps the most talented designer of his generation. Always very colorful, playful, and creative.

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JAPAN //

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ASIS// Besides Verlan, you and your father, Thierry Lamoine, recently opened a gallery in Japan. What inspired that decision?

LUCCA// We already had strong ties with Japan as my father’s second wife is Japanese. This means we had an extensive network in the country, as my father has been traveling to Japan every year for 30 years. The country was familiar to us.

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When planning where to open our gallery, Tokyo naturally came to mind. However, we could only find "white cube" spaces, which is not our style. Our gallery in Paris is more like a showroom/apartment where you can feel that objects are lived in and with. It’s a place with a soul. So our approach was to do the same in Japan. Finally, we found a traditional Japanese house from the 1930s in Kamakura.

Kamakura, located one hour from Tokyo, is a former capital. It’s a surf spot with great shops and restaurants, beautiful temples, and our gallery is surrounded by a small garden next to a forest. Visitors, who usually come from Tokyo, arrive in a calm state of mind and want to spend time with us at the gallery. They sit in the living room, share some tea, and learn the story behind each carefully selected piece.

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ASIS// How do you perceive the demand from the Japanese market towards French/European design?

LUCCA// For more than 30 years, Japan has shown keen interest in French mid-century designers. Japan is naturally infused with crafts and perfect design. Charlotte Perriand lived in Japan for some years, developing special projects in Tokyo, collaborating with Japanese craftsmen and designers, and being influenced by Japanese culture. More recently, major collectors have incorporated more and more mid-century French design pieces, posting pictures of them on Instagram. This has also attracted interest from neighboring countries like South Korea and China. All these factors reinforced our decision.

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ASIS// If you should describe your aesthetics in three words… 

LUCCA// Light, Lines, and Colors.