All photos courtesy of Rick Rodney.
Just days after showing his latest location in the West Village, A.P.C.’s founder Jean Touitou, arrived in Los Angeles to throw an intimate fête for the store’s five-year anniversary on the West Coast. In honor of this occasion, Whitewall spoke with Touitou about how creativity influences not only his work, but his life.
WHITEWALL: A few years ago, you said in an interview for W Magazine: “I think it’s only by attempting to create something beautiful that you manage to have a bearable existence.” It seems like your work is around this concept of mixing creativity and business together.
JEAN TOUITOU: Indeed, I could be easily be “one more zero” richer, but I have a very comfortable life, so I will not complain. I won’t feel more intelligent or happier if I have more money. For example, I could open 10 stores a year. I have the bank to do that, but I like that every store is thought about. The architect can travel, come see it, get the vibe of the place and do a different project every time. To be creative or to have a project in general is that one thing that can take you away from observing that big, dark hole of life. Let’s face it, the fear of death is with every human being. So, there’s many ways to escape from it. Some people take drugs, booze, religion, many things, still it’s there. The way I find to make it possible, bearable, is to do creative stuff at any level.
WW: You open stores in locations where you have a connection, right?
JT: Absolutely yes. For example, I won’t go to Dubai. They don’t like me, I don’t like them. It’s as easy as that. Everybody is so excited with China, “Yeah, let’s open 20 stores in China!” I don’t. One project we did in Beijing and one in Shanghai. I think that will be it. You cannot be good everywhere.
WW: You strive to live a balanced life and that is exemplified through the culture of A.P.C. because it’s very simple, minimal, classic, and dependable. There is an importance of music and other creative aspects that go into the stores. Can you tell me what you are interested in now in culture with music or art?
JT: Art really bores the shit out of me to tell you the truth. I think that art is too much show business now. There’s no such thing as conceptual art. It’s just a big scam to sell to rich people. Conceptual art is philosophy to me, period. It’s funny, I just turned 60 and I only listen to classic music, jazz, and hip-hop. Seriously, with the same pleasure I could listen to Wagner or “Ni**as in Paris” with my earphones, very focused. You cannot love everything, so it’s good to focus on precise things.
WW: I saw you tweet about that song.
JT: I tweeted about “Ni**as in Paris” because I was actually having some time with Kanye [West] in Paris. We were having dinner, and he said, “Yo, what’s the taste of caviar?” I said, “Man, you gotta do something (called) ‘Ni**as in Paris.’” So he did. I think he and Jay-Z are very talented guys. I saw their performance in New York twice, very good. I think now culturally it’s the same story. I think the influence of the Stalinist intellectuals of the sixties is about to be finished now. I hope the world will be ready for a more Nietzschean approach. I know it sounds big, but that’s the truth.
