“You can find a lot about a person by the clothes they are wearing. Some people use labels as a shield. Shy person may not always dress-up as they do not want to shock. Extroverted people are willing to take a risk”. Pierre Garroudi, started out as a 24 hour tailor in his boutique in Soho, New York after getting Fs in drawing and sewing he never graduated. He comes from a very varied background, born in Tehran, studying in Paris, plus a year in the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York. Currently Pierre is working at his studio at London Bridge, he tells me “I am trying to find where I am in the fashion industry, I make everything myself, naturally if I had more tools, I can do something even more amazing”.
It’s a tough life for a designer and it hasn’t all been plain sailing for Pierre as he has faced many hurdles in his career but his positive out look on life seems to have got him to where he is today, “99.9% of designers never design again. Fashion is constantly advancing; your job is not to moan if something happens to you, your job is to learn so you can use it for your next step in life. Hurdles are good for you so you can learn”.
Pierre is a man of many skills also trying his hand at photography and painting but his heart lies with fashion, “you choose your tools, I chose clothes”. On the occasions I have met Pierre he always has a smile on his face and I am always made to feel welcome and comfortable in his company. He tells me, “life is short, enjoy every single day, if you’re in a positive mood naturally I see things in life you wouldn’t see if you were not. I get inspired by everything. Your job is to get inspired”.
In New York Pierre has worked with many big names including the Sex in the City girls and Naomi Campbell. He is currently working on his next collection following a very successful show during London Fashion Week. “I am not trying to shock people, I am no longer a young designer, there is fine line between show and fashion”.
Living the life of a successful designer I would expect him to be inundated with invites to parties and social events. His idea of a good night out is that, “first of all you have to be yourself in order to enjoy yourself you will be presenting someone you are not and that will backfire. Go with the flow, enjoy yourself”.
Lastly Pierre tells me his heartening philosophy for life, “Nobody is useless, everybody has something to offer, your job is to find that beauty and use it in your life”. I close my notebook and put down my pen and all of a sudden he starts to tell me about the cat that has been sitting next to me throughout our chat curiously staring at me. “Her name is Chloe, she lived all her life in fashion houses. If you could talk to her she would have an American accent”.
(Photograph by Ani Lam)
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