Where did the inspiration for this collaboration come from? What was the importance of combining PHILEO, a French fashion brand, with the KEEN label beyond just utility?
I wouldn't say that we're a fashion brand; footwear, and what is commonly called accessories, take its source product design a bit further away from the glorified place fashion usually sits in.
The first question I ask myself when starting a collaboration is "what is the creative/technical exchange between us and them?" Of course, KEEN has expertise in the security footwear category but also a real manufacturing expertise overall and an incredible archive of footwear. It is an incredible inspiration to work with such passionate people.
How did art installation crews inspire this collection? Is there a specific style that you can identify with art installers?
We work with a lot of artists, and usually they're always wearing distressed, old, undesigned security footwear. The distressing almost gives them a grunge look. It just seemed inappropriate to me that the people creating inspiration and beauty would not wear inspiring footwear.
A big part of the KEEN legacy is conscious and ethical manufacturing. How does this collaboration keep in that tradition?
I think being conscious of the world we live in is the basis of my brand, ethics in its diversity of senses. We have to adapt to our time to keep being able to live on our home planet. KEEN's attachment to innovation in footwear manufacturing is extremely inspiring and should be the same for all brands on earth.
They have the industrial means; we have the design intent. We worked with their teams to ensure the shoes are as durable as possible, a tool for the long term.
Workwear is something that has become integral to everyday style, and is becoming more and more interwoven with high-fashion aesthetics. Do you think that this interconnectedness between style and function gives more dignity to laborers?
I wouldn't dare talk about dignity, our consumerist world pushes high-intensity product drops, and when a brand wants to create a "cheap"/"commercial" product, they usually create a bland/generic one.
We need to be creating/producing with intent, it is a privilege to be able to design/create something for other people to enjoy. We're designers, creative, or whatever one's calling him/herself but, in the end, we create tools for people to inspire themselves. Shoes to wander, discover, explore.
This lack of intent in generic commercial design creates the need for people to buy things grounded in function, hence gorpcore or workwear being adopted by so many people nowadays.
It is just true: radically functional products are designed for a reason; they're successful in it, and that's why they cross pre-established boundaries. Product designers should be radical, intentional, progressive even when they're creating a sub-100$ shoe. In Japanese, there's this notion of Sokubaku that I find very interesting; it is about turning constraint into a creative force.
Matt Dillon is such an interesting choice as a campaign star. How did you come to that decision to have him be the face of this collaboration?
It happened quite naturally when we started talking with Ari. Matt just made sense. He's a very inspiring person. He's a real creative/artist in its diversity of senses and, for Ari, Antoine, and me, he just made sense.
What are the most important factors in designing clothing that’s durable yet fashionable?
INTENT! I know I use that word a lot, but it is the genuine core of everything I stand for and believe in.
