Bogosse: The Return of the Handsome Man Lifestyle
Interviewed by Kenyatta D. Pious
How and why did
Bogosse start and who started it?
Bogosse is the creation of two brothers, Patrick
and Fabrice Tardieu. We are international
travelers, but [we have] the spirit of the tropical
islands in our souls. We could not find
exact shirts that expressed our style - - a European
sensibility and style yet still fun and trendy.
So we created Bogosse
We were raised in Haiti, educated in Europe and have a passion for lives lived in style. Patrick, a
former world-clasas professional athlete (Captain of the National Soccer Team of Haiti for many years) is an international business entrepreneaur and CEO of Bogosse. Fabrice is a former top executive at Armani France, is the Creative Director at Bogosse, and a quintessential ‘bon vivan.’
What can you tell us about your fall 2007 collection?
For fall 2007, Bogosse recreates classic shirting details that have stood out in history, from Humprey Bogart’s trench coat collar to Jude Law’s scarf in Alfie to Chairman Mao’s tiny, rigid collar.
Bogosse is also known for creating new classics such as the watch shirt, where a man can display his watch or not with the special cuff and shirts with elegant metallic threaded fabrics and stud detailing.
Who is the ideal Bogosse customer?
If Aristote Onassis were alive this would be his brand. Bogosse also likes Christian Troy’s character in Nip Tuck, Will Smith in real life, Adrian Brody and Djimon Hounsou.
Is there anyone
that you think of as a main competitor?
We don’t think so. Anything available out there in shirting with similar craftsmanship and detailing retails for double the price.
The Bogosse client is the guy who buys brands such as Etro, Hugo Boss, Robert Graham, Libertine, etc. When he gets to the store to buy one of these brands, he will indeed buy a Bogosse because it’s completely different and affordable, but if he went to buy a Bogosse, chances are he will not buy anything else!
What do you see as the pitfall for young brands/ designers?
The fact is that this business is becoming less product oriented and more and more money orientated. The main business in the US for clothing is the big department stores such as Saks, Bergdorf etc. and the issue facing young designers is that they only buy what is already known. So small designers suffer for that even if their product is selling like crazy everywhere.
What does "Bogosse"
mean?
Handsome man in English or ‘Bello’ in Italian.
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