LEMAIRE et musique

Music takes pride of place at LEMAIRE as a melodic echo of the collections’ timeless harmony. Guided by a rock‘n roll spirit and a desire to amplify raw aesthetics and artistic energies that go against the grain, the brand combines musical influences and eras to take us on post-geographic journeys of exploration that extend beyond time. Music at LEMAIRE ranges from cinematic soundtracks and live concerts at the runway shows, to collaborations that pay tribute to cult musicians, and iconoclastic playlists and compilations.

Music at LEMAIRE is above all a question of intimacy, self-expression, and our relationship with time. It’s a profound, personal connection, an inner melody, or a wardrobe akin to a second skin. A reference point and a source of influences. Avidly exploring avant-garde musical terrain in genres like electro, new wave, garage, and afro psych rock—as well as the raw power of their iconic musicians’ look—LEMAIRE interweaves the collections’ filmic atmosphere, seasonal accent colors, and the rhythmic moods of the here and now.

The runway shows create a distinct moment in space and time, like in cinema, by piecing together a multitude of fragments: voices, melodies, silence, and sound capsules. There are also evocatively titled, quarterly playlists to take with you anywhere—Dear prudence, Interiors and Mystère dans le brouillard, to name a few—which transport listeners to far-out worlds of music and images. The two compilations released by the Californian label Now Again perfectly illustrate this extraordinarily broad-minded musical sensibility, which is both eclectic and open to the world.

Curated in collaboration with the sound designer Pilooski, the seasonal playlists are eclectic and cinematic—a snapshot of a mood loosely inspired by the themes of the collections, or a window into the world of iconic artists.

The runway soundtracks draw from a sampling of words, music and sounds to compose magnetic, roving peregrinations across a world that lies outside of time, through sequences akin to a film. Created by the sound designer Pilooski, the soundtracks are available for online listening on Spotify. Take them with you.

The two compilations, released by the Californian label Now Again, gradually came about through dialogue and listening sessions between the American digger of rare records Eothen “Egon” Alapatt and Christophe Lemaire. Where Are You From?(2010) features a psychedelic selection of rock and funk from 1968 to present day, while Can’t You Hear Me?(2016) is a deep dive into 70's garage rock, the musical backdrop to political and independence movements in Zambia, Nigeria and Zimbabwe.