The Sartorial Alchemy of Lucas Leclère and his debut collection: Astart

Dear Shaded Viewers,

In a fashion landscape often dominated by rapid cycles and mass production, Lucas Leclère stands out as a designer who champions the slow, the considered, and the deeply personal. His menswear designs—crafted under the banner of Astart—blur the lines between haute couture and ready-to-wear, between masculine and feminine, and between tradition and innovation. Leclère’s work is not just about clothing; it is about storytelling, identity, and the celebration of difference.

Leclère’s journey is as layered as his garments. Once a fabric designer for Chanel, in fact that was his first job right out of school, under Karl Lagerfeld and later an accessories designer for Jimmy Choo, he eventually found his creative home in Berlin—a city renowned for its experimental spirit and embrace of diversity but as a few months ago, he is back in his native country, France. Prior to his return to France Leclère spent 9 years in Berlin with his brand LML Studio, where each piece was meticulously hand-tailored, hand-painted, and reimagined from existing fabrics or vintage garments. His signature techniques—layering, lace collage, bold stitching, and painterly dye work—resulted in garments that are as much art as they are apparel. Astart is a more classical approach to menswear.

Leclère’s designs transcend traditional gender boundaries, offering silhouettes that combine menswear cuts with a feminine touch. His collections are a testament to the acceptance of differences and the harmony found in diversity.

His vision, and that of Astart, is one of constant evolution, where fashion is a living, breathing dialogue between past and present, artist and wearer, tradition and reinvention.

Lucas Leclère is commited to craftsmanship and his work is a reminder that true luxury lies in the time, care, and meaning we invest in what we wear.

https://www.instagram.com/avant_astart/

Later,

Diane