SELEEPING BEAUTIES: Alina Kossan rediscovers Plein Sud

I don’t have many regrets in my life, but not buying Plein Sud’s bondage-esque lace-up leather jacket 5 years ago is one of them. As a student at the time, I could not afford to spend 500€ on one item. Little did I know that prices would go up as high as 5.500€ nowadays per piece from said collection.

The regret was so consuming that when I came down with the flu and spent the fever scrolling Vestiaire for the brand, it produced an actual dream about meeting the designer. After waking up from my dream, I couldn’t help but wonder (sorry, had to): who is behind the mysterious brand?

As someone who likes to cosplay Lucy Liu in her day-to-day life (I live in Berlin after all), Plein Sud often meets my needs to wear mainly black leather. Besides that, the design language of the house features asymmetries, fluid draping, corsetry, and sheer panels, as well as the infamous lace-up detailing.

On Instagram, I stumble upon an account by the brand. After shooting a DM, someone gets back to me. I ask if it’s possible to meet next time I’m in Paris. Whoever runs the account agrees.

A couple of months later, during fashion week, I meet up with the person behind the account. To my surprise, it’s the 76-year-old designer himself. Immediately he comments on my corset: “From my 2003 collection, it was inspired by a fishbone.” Freaky, just how I like my clothes. I tell him I always felt like he designed specifically for me (even though I wasn’t born yet, technically). He laughs but doesn’t disagree, which I take as a win. Corsets tend to not fit me ever, due to an absence of boobs, which proves my point further.

We talk for a while, and I am amazed by Fayçal Amor’s impressive résumé. After studying economics (like me, twins), he pivots into fashion (like me). He not only comes up with a new dyeing process and innovative fabrics but also builds his own factory and employs 400 people right at the start of his career. At the height of the label, Plein Sud carries the following diffusion lines under the main label (take notes, this is important for shopping): Plein Sud Jeans (a wilder denim line), Plein Sud Soir (evening wear), Plein Sud Sun (swimwear/resort), Plein Sud Shoes, and Plein Sud Tricot (knitwear).

While we drink Coke Zeros, he tells me how he financed a designer he was friends with, getting him to Paris and working on multiple collections with him before he went to work for Dior. That designer is John Galliano. My jaw is on the floor. I feel like I was let in on a secret. Not only recognising talent in others but also being a kind person is rare in the fashion world.

I tell him about my first memory with a piece ever: the ‘Ray of Light’ music video that had me stand and drool in front of the TV as a child. When I found that very same denim jacket worn by Madonna on the internet, I had to get it and gift it to my mom, who fed my MTV obsession at the time and who I made watch all the music videos along with me. My mom wears the jacket frequently to the office and has stolen my favourite blouse (black chiffon with a tie-up detail, reminder to steal it back).

All editorial shoots and covers are currently being re-uploaded to Instagram, it’s worth saving the images for some reverse image searches as well as for mood boarding. (@pleinsudfaycalamor, @faycal_amor_)

I ask him how he feels that his work is so popular on the second-hand market. He smiles and says the pieces are timeless. What an honour to talk to a living legend.

I leave feeling inspired, frolicking through the Parisian streets even more than usual. On my high, I stumble into a boutique in the Marais to grow my collection. I want to Plein Sud max before the prices quadruple again.