A fashion designer takes Raphaël Quenard’s measurements during the second meeting for the making of his suit, in the Dior Men showroom, in Paris, January 22, 2024. ABEL LLAVALL-UBACH FOR “LE MONDE”
Women do not have the prerogative of sewing. Men can also wear clothes fitted to their body, made to their measurements. The proof with the actor Raphaël Quenard, nominated in three categories at the Césars (best actor in Yannickmale revelation in Dog of the breakage and best documentary short film for The Actor, or the Surprising Virtue of Incomprehension): for the ceremony on February 23, 2024 where all eyes will be on him, he had the costume of his dreams made by Dior Men.
The first meeting takes place at the end of December 2023, in the Dior showroom, near the Champs-Elysées (Paris 8th). The entrance is anonymous, the windows overlooking the street are opaque. To enter this Ali Baba’s cave, you have to ring the armored door: inside all the current collections are on display, available for photo shoots or to dress stars. On several racks, tangy suits embroidered with large stones make up the spring-summer 2024 collection; in one corner stands a logoed surfboard; crocodile clutches and soft leather backpacks sit on a central piece of furniture. It is into this sumptuous universe that Raphaël Quenard arrives, soaked by the rain, a scooter under one arm, a package to drop off under the other.
He is welcomed by Morgan De Steur, celebrity manager, who already knows the actor’s tastes since he has been, since November 2023, a Dior “ambassador”, which commits him to wearing the brand for most of his public performances. During a previous visit to the store to choose an outfit, Raphaël Quenard had spotted a safari jacket that he could see himself wearing at the Césars. It’s a selection of a dozen outfits in the same spirit, taken from past fashion shows, that Morgan De Steur prepared for her… on paper. Because the looks in question are archived in a warehouse in the Paris suburbs, and we have to narrow down the choice before sending them to the showroom to try them on.
Arrive in kimono
“Exceptional! » Raphaël Quenard is not short of compliments when he studies the proposals, all of which seem to catch his attention. The celebrity manager reminds him that everything can be amended: these silhouettes serve as a source of inspiration, but he is free to change the material, to add a pocket or remove the martingales on a jacket, to choose another form of pants, to wear a turtleneck rather than a shirt…