N: Hey there! How are you doing Frederic? How’s London been treating you lately?

F: Hey London’s been great. I've been traveling a lot recently, I just came back from Wien actually. So it's quite nice to be home.

N: What was your earliest memory of being into fashion?

F: My first memory of getting into clothes was when my older sister bought me jeans for Christmas. I wasn't used to receiving presents. Getting into the fashion industry was different.

I reminisce on that era of Tumblr from the early 2010s and always regret that I wasn't more active in it, but then remember that in 2010, I was 8 years old. Not much I could do at that age.

I've just been designing things as a kid and was lucky enough for designers to pick me up.

‍N: How has it been working for Mowalola? Can you tell us about your favorite collection/ piece and what it meant for you to work on that project?

F: I've been with Mowalola since the pandemic, so at this time around 3 to 4 years. Every collection is my favorite, this time being Darkweb. I wouldn't be able to name my favorite look... the looks are also elevated by the fact that Lotta styled them, and understood the story we were trying to tell.

‍N: I found it interesting to look through your Instagram and see a pattern in your interest for iconography/power imagery/symbolism; to see a lot of references drawn from country flags, football jerseys, uniforms, military gear, etc. Can you tell us a bit more about what has been drawing you to this imagery recently in the context of fashion?

F: Right now what's inspiring me is mainland Europe. The driving on the right side of the road, the football ultras, especially Legia Warsaw’s, the numbers on the street, and the variety of languages at Vienna's airport.

It's a mixture of things, when i was in LA i saw a lot of military surplus at the Ye’s atelier. I was definitely inspired by that too.

How can we integrate utilitarianism into sex? How can I make a skinhead look couture? I also try to not lose myself. When I was born my dad put me in a Manchester United Shirt. I am Manchester United through and through. When I got into fashion and film, I didn't lose football. By default I'm also influenced by male footballer’s physique and stature, I think footballers, swimmers, and skaters have the best bodies, and as someone who does some menswear at Mowalola - the male physique can be quite important to me.

N: Does it have anything to do with the notion of power & masculinity?

F: Masculinity? Masculinity is something I’d say is very inspiring to me, I feel like I'd be lying to myself if I said otherwise.

I'm always looking at Tom Of Finland's artwork, it inspires me a lot.

N: Talking of iconography and symbolism, I love that red cross you made for Mowalola, it’s so simple yet so powerful, exactly in the line of what I tried to touch upon in the previous question. Can you tell us about what you aimed to do with this installation? Is there a particular meaning behind it?

F: Well, I made that cross during the timeframe of the Burglars Wear collection. Mowa just wanted the atelier to feel more inspiring and in tune with the collection. I went down to Central Saint Martins and built it. Later it was used as a canvas for Slawn and Chito.‍

N: What project do you look forward to? What’s next for you?‍

F: Well, I can't say too much, but I'm really excited at the moment. We're playing with interesting materials and fabrication at the moment, and the designs do bring a smile to my face.‍‍

‍N: Thank you for taking the time to answer these questions with us today Frederic, to finish on a light note, what’s your favorite meme right now/ online trend?‍

F: My favorite meme? Well, I've been watching Succession recently and the meme’s behind that show is genius. It's also trickled into this ‘Old Money vs New Money’ aesthetic battle.
‘Boys vs Men’ overall it's quite stupid but I find it funny.