Tuesday, April 22, 2008
Dear iDEALS. How many of you visit Colette in Paris just to look around and end up leaving the boutique with the Colette music compilation cd? Well, I do! The person behind this music compilation is Michel Gaubert but this is not the only thing he is known for. Mr Gaubert is responsible for the music on the catwalk for many of the designers we adore: Christian Dior, Lanvin, Dries Van Notten, Valentino, YSL, Jil Sander, Chanel.....Basically all of them. Designers trust him with a luggage of messages and his only task is to make people adore the clothes through the music he chooses for them, a soundtrack that will unite the collection with the spectators, buyers, journalists and guests..
FilepMotwary: Most of the time, the spectators of fashion are not aware about all the ingredients needed for a perfect fashion show. Why do you think this happens? What gives the priority to things?
MichelGaubert: It is better that way, if people knew everything it would take some of the magic away. It is like going to a movie that you heard too much about before seeing it, it kills it in a way.
FilepMotwary: Like Thierry Dreyfus, the master of lights for the catwalk, you are the master for most of the soundtracks the journalists talk about, many years now. How do you see fashion at this moment compared to the early days of your stardom, the needs of a show...?
MichelGaubert: Good question! There are a lot of shows, and there will still be a lot of shows for the times to come as we are living in a media savvy word that is always looking for new images. Let's say that now shows are much shorter and concise, because there are so many in a day. When I started in the early 90's, some shows would last up to 35 minutes as opposed to 12 now for the longer ones. I see a show more like a short clip that grabs you and gives you the idea of what it is about. All aspects of the show may are more focused to make a stronger impact.
All of this does not mean I am a master or a star, if I was I would no have anything to learn anymore and it would be boring.
FilepMotwary: What does it take to become Michel Gaubert?
MichelGaubert: My mother , Anne Gaubert , and my father, Michel Louis Gaubert.
FilepMotwary: This is funny what you just said..(Laughs). You are so cool. So, what is the secret of "cooking" a good soundtrack for a sow? How much time before do you prepare and what is the whole procedure?
MichelGaubert: There are no rules or secret ingredients, as every project is different and what goes for one does not necessarily fit the other. If I know the person I am working for very well, I could start 3 days before, sometimes 2 months before, but it really is the final days that matter the most.
FilepMotwary: A while ago, Longchamp and you collaborated on a project based on luggage. What is the story behind this? (Longchamp also teamed up with Michel Gaubert to create a collection of 8 pieces with a sound-inspired print on pieces ranging from i-Pod cases to travel bags)
MichelGaubert: Very simple, I met Jean Cassegrain when Longchamp launched the Tracey Emin bag and also worked on the "Jeremy Scott Longchamp" launch in Tokyo and I told him, next time I should do bags for you and he said OK.
FilepMotwary: What is the difference between the music you mix in Paris compared to Milan or New York?
MichelGaubert: I like to say that in Paris, maybe I am chauvinist, people do what they want and not what they think they should do, other than that it all depends, again, who you're working for.
FilepMotwary: What are the new trends in music?
MichelGaubert: I do not really know, trends are short lived these days, but I guess that body conscious music is around the corner. Music that makes you move and grabs you inside.
FilepMotwary: Which are the most intriguing shows you work for and why?
MichelGaubert: All of them can be intriguing in the sense that I never know in advance what the music will turn out to be. It can happen that everything changes overnight. There is always more pressure when it is a big production with a lot of staging effects and these kinds of things.
FilepMotwary: How did it all start for you?
MichelGaubert: If I only knew. I did not look for it, it just happened and I like what I do.
FilepMotwary: Michel, can you give to the readers of your interview your personal hot-track list for fall winter 08-09?
MichelGaubert: Sure! HERCULES AND LOVE AFFAIR AIDAN JOHN MOFFATT / I CAN HEAR YOUR HEART CHROMATICS / NIGHTDRIVE MGMT / ORACULAR SPECTACULAR LCD SOUNDSYSTEM : 45: 33 HARMONIC / PROBLEM 1
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