Victor Glemaud Shares His Life in Parties
The Haitian-American designer reflects on his personal and professional highlights so far.
In October 2021, the knitwear designer Victor Glemaud watched Ousmane Sembène’s 1966 film, Black Girl, and had an epiphany: It would be the inspiration behind his fall 2022 runway show. Sembène’s movie, which follows a young girl who leaves Senegal to become a governess in the South of France, only to end up as a domestic worker, was impossible for him to shake. “It’s a powerful story of women and immigration. I started thinking about my mother and her twin sister,” explains Glemaud, 44, who was born in Haiti and grew up primarily in Queens, New York. The resulting collection, in a palette of clementine, white, black, and brown (top), emphasizes his deft hand with statement knits.
Glemaud has been in fashion since he was 19, when he studied at the Fashion Institute of Technology while interning with the designer Patrick Robinson. Before he started his eponymous line, in 2016, Glemaud worked as a publicist, studio director, and style director, among other roles, at companies like KCD, Paco Rabanne, and Tommy Hilfiger. He recently added an eyewear line, with Tura, to his repertoire, and later this year, he will debut an interiors collaboration. “Fashion is a roller coaster. And it takes time,” says Glemaud of his self-described “meandering” journey. “It’s about checking your ego and just doing the work.”
Courtesy of Victor Glemaud.
Glemaud has a sister, Fabienne, who is two years older than him, and a brother, Christopher, who is 10 years younger. “I would say Christopher is about 8 months old here. This photo says everything about our personalities: My sister is very bubbly and always posing for the camera; I’m indifferent and just want to get it over with; and my brother is the quiet little baby.”
Courtesy of Victor Glemaud.
“This is from my 1-year-old birthday party in Haiti. I love this picture because I still dress the same, and I still love cake. And I still love to wear the color mint. The whole outfit is right up my alley, even now.”
Courtesy of Victor Glemaud.
Glemaud graduated from Bayside High School in Queens, New York, in 1996. “I was quite funny, and I have always dressed the same, so I had this personality where I felt free to be me,” he says. He is pictured above with his mother, Julie (left), and her twin sister, Evelyne. “At home, I read fashion magazines and watched Style With Elsa Klensch. My family never made me feel weird for enjoying that.”
Hagop Kalaidjian/BFA.com.
“The first time I dressed someone for the Met Gala was in 2019, and it was the incredible Pose star Dominique Jackson [above],” says Glemaud. “I wanted to put her in something that was showgirl, but very chic, taking inspiration from Cher, Diana Ross, and Bob Mackie. I also thought of Katoucha, the amazing Yves Saint Laurent model. I gave Dominique a huge cape that was detachable. We got ready at the Lowell hotel.”
Hagop Kalaidjian/BFA.com.
A finalist for the CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund in 2017, Glemaud presented his fall 2018 collection in Paris as part of the competition’s Americans in Paris endeavor. “I’m in my uniform: a sweater I designed and a colorful pair of Levi’s 501s,” Glemaud says of his look here. “The Fashion Fund really taught me to put myself out there and make myself part of the fashion ecosystem. I started doing live presentations right after this.”
MediaNews Group/Orange County Register via Getty Images/Contributor.
“My collaboration with Lauren on these costumes was quite seamless,” Glemaud says of his ABT ensembles. “It helps that she has worn my clothes herself. I did a one-shoulder silhouette because it’s a personal signature, and I thought it would be a way to create an identifiable costume that could work for both male and female performers. Designing these pieces helped inspire some looks for my most recent collection.”
Courtesy of Victor Glemaud.
Glemaud designed the costumes for Lauren Lovette’s American Ballet Theatre piece La Follia Variations, which debuted in Costa Mesa, California, in April 2021. “It moved to New York in October, and I went with my mom to see it at the ABT fall gala [below]. My mother and I have always enjoyed going to the ballet together, but designing for it was never something I thought I would do. I’m wearing my version of black tie: a Dries Van Noten leopard print trenchcoat and pants.”
Roy Rochlin/Stringer.
Glemaud showed his spring 2019 collection on mannequins at the Sunken Living Room at the New York club Spring Place. “I was on vacation in Martha’s Vineyard when I found out Aretha Franklin had died. I decided to have wigs for the show that were inspired by the Detroit Hair Wars. And we played ‘Amazing Grace’ from Aretha’s live album on a loop. It was really fun. I was still finding my voice in terms of how to present my clothes.”
Courtesy of Victor Glemaud.
“This was taken by my friend the jewelry designer Eddie Borgo at the Ritz Hotel during Paris Fashion Week, shortly before the Ritz underwent renovations. We used to go to the Bar Hemingway there all the time, and it was fun. It’s no longer fun. I loved taking pictures in which I’m reclining and in repose all over the Ritz, much to my friends’ chagrin. That’s what you’re supposed to do when you’re young and going out.”
Courtesy of Victor Glemaud.
Glemaud with Vogue fashion director Virginia Smith and designer Patrick Robinson.
Courtesy of Hanuk.
Glemaud with stylist Brian Coats and Moda Operandi cofounder Lauren Santo Domingo.
Courtesy of Hanuk.
Glemaud with Interview editor Mel Ottenberg. “Everyone with whom I have a real relationship, I know from going out. I always tell my interns and assistants: ‘New business starts after six.’ It’s important to know what’s going on, to see what’s happening, and to get the pulse of the culture.”
Courtesy of Victor Glemaud.
“I celebrated my 40th birthday by going on a trip to Egypt with my husband. It was incredible. We took a Nile River cruise, which is one of the best things I’ve ever done, because you get to see so much. We also took the unlimited package for the boat in terms of booze. I think they ran out of alcohol at the end of the trip.”
Courtesy of Victor Glemaud.
“In 2018, I went to Haiti as part of a trip with the Clinton Foundation to meet as many artisans and talents as possible. For spring 2022, I collaborated with a designer I met on that trip, Pascale Theard, to create sandals for my show.”
Courtesy of Victor Glemaud.
“This hat was a party favor for the guests at a wedding in Nicaragua. I still take it with me on vacation sometimes. A lot of the fringe has fallen off, but I love it.”
Courtesy of Victor Glemaud.
“Here, I’m with Sean Combs in the Met Gala arrivals line. I had met him years prior, when I was living in Paris and my friend Andrea Lieberman was styling a campaign for his fragrance. I helped out as an assistant at the shoot in Monaco. I’d never seen anything like it before: Sean was on Jet Skis and in helicopters...it was fascinating.”
Roy Rochlin/Stringer.
“Whoopi Goldberg came to my presentation at the Sunken Living Room. I don’t remember how she got to be there, just that I wasn’t expecting her. We sat down together and debriefed and talked about the looks. She knows a lot about clothes and fashion. I haven’t dressed her, though—yet.”
Albert Urso/Stringer.
“The first time I saw the actor and model Indya Moore was at a CFDA Awards ceremony. We locked eyes as we walked past each other, and then went up to each other later that night. They are such a fearless, strong person. And the pictures we took of them for my fall 2019 campaign were transformative for both of us.”
Joe Schildhorn/BFA.com.
“George Cortina, who styles my collections, introduced me to the model and photographer Richie Shazam, and we became fast friends. We both grew up in Queens. She is just a marvel and a kind human being.”
Courtesy of Hanuk.
Glemaud with (from left) publicist Kate Etter, stylist Sally Lyndley, Paul McCartney, and performer Sophia Lamar at the Back Room in New York. “It was the early 2000s, and Paul was there. For some inexplicable reason, we all started calling him Uncle Paul, and he went with it. We hung out all night. Back then, I went out every single night except for Sundays.”
