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Luc La Roche makes more than just underpants
by GENEVIEVE PAIEMENT
Luc La Roche gets into a lot of men's pants. In fact he's made quite a name for himself this way and just last year, he took the plunge into women's pantaloons too. For a decade now, La Roche's Luk briefs, boxers, panties and undershirts have been synonymous with comfy-cozy yet fully sexy skivvies. "For us, comfort is the starting point and the most important element," says the Montreal tighty-whitey tycoon and menswear maven. "Then we take it into the realm of fashion. That's why I started with underwear--because if your underwear is comfortable, then everything comes together. If it's uncomfortable, nothing will work."
But undies were just a springboard for fashion-world domination, and bathing suits, lounge wear and outerwear soon followed. Which takes us up to this very Spring/Summer 2001 season and a collection called Transe. "I was inspired by purity and soft, smooth textures and different cottons that flow and breathe easily," La Roche enthuses with a wistful look in his eye. "This is clothing that follows the contours of the body and doesn't try to restrain or restructure it."
This laissez-faire attitude applies equally to the collection's colours and choice of fabrics and cuts, from the stretch denim hot pants and powder blue rain coat to the pale lime green cotton pants and op-art patterned, tight muscle shirt. It all seems to be trumpeting in a new, boyish playfulness, a buoyant breath of fresh air. "Men's fashion was left behind for quite a while, but now it's growing and evolving on an international level," La Roche posits. "It was maybe too classic for a long time and it's really coming out now. It's a reflection of men's lifestyles having changed a lot too. We design for somebody that's very busy and doesn't have time to go home to change after work before going out for cocktails."
Along with the accolades for this versatile line came the cries from envious ladies who want a line of their own. Never one to spread himself too thin, La Roche prefers to take one stylish step at a time. "Eventually we'll be getting into sportswear for women too, but we're not quite ready," he admits. "We're concentrating on the men for now."
And the old cliché that flagrant fashion-consciousness is the domain of chicks and fags is at least partly to blame--finally, straight boys are paying more attention. "It's probably that the girlfriends had gay friends who look great and they had to ask themselves, 'Why can't my boyfriend have a haircut and sense of style like that?' So they did something about it."
Special thanks to our handsome boy models (from left to right): Jock wears Luk by Luc La Roche, Ryan wears Denis Gagnon, Hugh from Montage wears DUBUC, and Alex wears Dex. Jewellery by Cosmic Angels.
Photos by Alexandre Choquette, assisted by Christian Keller, hair styling by Samantha Diamond from Furisme, styling by Genevieve Paiement and Siobhàn O'Connor with thanks to Christian Verronneau.
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