ジャーナリスト・
ジャン・ミシェルさんのエレガンス

文／Jean-Baptiste Rosseeuw
写真／Benjamin Boccas

『ぼくのおじさん/MON ONCLE』のルーツといえば、もちろんパリ。どんどん均質化していく世の中にあって、ジャック・タチの映画に出てくるような素敵な〝ぼくのおじさん〟って、まだいるのかな？　編集人の友人であり、彼の地でLUTAYSというブランドを運営しているJean-Baptiste Rosseeuwさんに相談してみたところ、「そういう人はあまり表に出てこないけれど、いないこともない。よかったらぼくが現地特派員になって紹介しようか？」と、ありがたい申し出が。というわけでお言葉に甘えて、パリの「ぼくのおじさん」通信がスタート！　今回はLUTAYSの最新コレクションのモデルを務めたジャーナリスト、ジャン＝ミシェルさんを紹介してくれた。あえてJean-Baptisteさんからいただいた原稿をそのまま掲載するので、英語の勉強がてら読んでみて！

Born in Paris, Lutays is all about bringing good people together and this last photo shooting was another good opportunity to do so.

While finishing my academic studies in law, I dreamed of working for the best artisans in menswear. I left Belgium for a first traineeship at Corthay bespoke shoemaker a decade ago and lived in Paris since then. After this first introduction to bespoke craftsmanship, I worked at Bottega Veneta and was fortunate to direct the prestigious couture glove maker Lavabre Cadet. Directing such an artisanal atelier was a dream come true: creating collections, touring worldwide for bespoke orders, sourcing new fabrics, finding partners in each important capital to introduce this unique atelier… It was a great way to meet important artisans from other savoir-faire: tailors, knitwear, shoemaker, umbrellas, hats… Everything made with pure dedication to the highest standard had my interest. But something was missing…

ジャン-バティストさんはもともとフランスのお隣、ベルギーで法律を勉強していた方。距離的にも文化的にも極めて近いけれど別の国、というちょっと特殊な環境下で暮らしてきたからこそ、フランスのファッションを主観的にも客観的にも見ることができるのだ。

Besides craftsmanship, I love people with style and character. When attending Pitti Uomo in Florence, I could easily understand Italian, English and American styles. But French style was not clear to me.

Also, our lifestyle evolved with more travels, career, friends and family time, all together.

I wanted to find the right solution to offer men the perfect jacket that will be casual, comfortable and elegant at the same time. Tailoring was too formal, shirting was too soft so I explored French couture savoir-faire to develop a unique make.

From there, I founded Lutays in 2020 with those two goals: offering the ultimate casual jackets for men (thanks to couture savoir-faire) and bringing back that unique elegance of French style into men’s wardrobe.

フランスのスタイルっていったいなんだろう？という強い関心と、失われつつあるそれらを守らなければ、という気持ちが高じて、LUTAYSを設立したジャン-バティストさん。その背景には、アルニスへのオマージュもあるという。

Lutays is more than clothing, it is a celebration of French art de vivre. This is why I started to explore secret addresses in Paris. Our first campaign was shot in the oldest fencing club of Paris. There, I met Jean-Michel, a journalist who was always very elegant in his manners and style. His fencing style on the court and his writing style in his articles are very classy, I was impressed and always asking him for advises. He could have been one of my uncle! We became friends and I proposed to show him a hidden gem in Paris: the Manufacture Prelle showroom.

今回登場してくれた、パリの〝ぼくのおじさん〟ジャン＝ミシェルさんの話。とても慎み深い彼をモデルとして撮影するのには、3年かかったという！　ちなみに冒頭の写真に写っているシトロエンの2CVは、彼の愛車である。

Silk from Lyon has been renown for centuries in Europe and Prelle is the last and most authentic maker remaining. It was founded in 1752 and supplied prestigious houses of kings and emperors of France and the rest of the world. It quickly became an ambassador of French refinement around the world before modern luxury brands existed.

LUTAYSの洋服は、フランスファッションにおける重要文化財的、オートクチュールアトリエでつくられている。イタリアのサルトリア（仕立て屋）とは違い、手縫いにはそれほどこだわっていない。端正な美しさこそが至上価値なのだ。生地や副資材も、できる限りフランス製、しかも歴史ある産地のものを選んでいるからかなり高価になってしまうが、わかる人にはわかればいい、というスタンスだ。

Because we are working on a special edition jacket with Prelle silk, they kindly offered us to use their Parisian showroom for a photo shooting. I could not refuse such beautiful invitation and asked Jean-Michel if he could wear our jackets and our new knitwear and trousers.

I liked the idea of a full Lutays silhouette presented by a genuine elegant person in a historical French place. The result is a good illustration of French classic elegance as seen by Lutays.

I felt this good story was worth sharing with Mon Oncle because we both share the passion of passing classic fashion and style to new generations. Vive Mon Oncle!