5 minute read
Ruling the Runway
Ruling the Runway
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The in-demand streetwear of famed fashion designer, Loris Diran, is big business worldwide.
STORY BY CHRISTIAN ILES PHOTOS BY LORIS DIRAN
Celebrated menswear designer of French-Armenian descent, Loris Diran has been a strong installation in the New York fashion scene for more than fteen years. He is most recognized for his designs of the men’s wardrobe in the Academy Award winning lm, “The Devil Wears Prada,” as well as for his designs for the Philadelphia Ballet. Now, he’s streetwear is taking China and other parts of the far east by storm.
Born in Alexandria Egypt to Armenian parents, Diran’s actual families were based in Paris, France, Brussels Belgium, and Como Italy. His family relocated numerous times, but his parents were xated on New York and moved there when he was just a toddler.
“It got my mom disinherited as her family patriarch strongly disapproved, but they never regretted that decision,” said Diran. “They were true creatives. Hence, I grew up in a middle-class household with two small bedrooms on the upper west side of Manhattan with all the other immigrants. I do not think I met an Anglo-American until college.”
When asked at what age he realized that all his interests were going to be in fashion design, Diran gleefully replied, “unbelievably, I was four years old. My mother noticed that all my drawings were of women in gowns with elaborate hair, posing like Diana Ross and The Supremes... she always points to that as the initial indicator.”
Throughout his early teens, Diran’s mother was his greatest champion and fan, knowing he was destined to be a star. He became a child actor on stage and screen, most notably in the 1980 lm, FAME and on Broadway opposite Cecily Tyson in “The Corn Is Green.” Diran was most de nitely a child prodigy but says, “my mother always be-
lieved I was destined to end up in fashion. No matter what I did, I always incorporated a robust design element into the situation.”
In his early years of fashion design, Diran was most impacted without a doubt by designer extraordinaire Jean Paul Gaultier.
“His streetwear couture was the most forward idea since Coco Chanel took boning out of womenswear,” said Diran. “After that, Gigli, Miyake, Montana, Mugler... The Japanese movement of the 80’s took me to another place though. Commes Des Garcons, Matsuda, and Yamamoto broadened my vision whereas the Europeans formed my sense of structure and proportion.”
Diran soon became a force in the fashion industry as he worked for the World-Famous luxury design fashion houses of Versace, Claude Montana, and Chanel.
Success in the fashion industry came quickly to Diran in 2014 as he was asked by the Hong Kong
Trade Commission to show his collection on the runway as part of Hong Kong Fashion Week. He knew China was the new frontier, but never thought of it as an expansion option for his designs.
“They received me with such warmth and excitement, that I knew it was going to play an integral part in my future,” said Diran.
After his rst debut there, a few companies made overtures to come over and assume creative directorships. Loris created two brands in 2016, which catapulted him and his career to the stratosphere. Creation of LILANZ and the partnership in China was Diran’s focus for the past three years, becoming one of the top three menswear brands with about 3,000 freestanding boutiques solely in Mainland China.
Looking back, Diran states, “they gave me the support to create and through this process I created exceptional relationships. Life is truly a series of events that break down another wall in your creative mind. China game me Carte Blanche to do what I wanted, and it paid o in sales. I now know what my
—Loris Diran
The winter 2018 collection runway show for Shanghai Fashion Week called Hal; inspired by 2001: A Space Odyssey.
strengths really are.”
When the Covid 19 Pandemic hit in 2020, Diran, like many other designers, was sidelined back to his home in the United States. But as the pandemic lifts, he will soon return to China with a relaunch of his new collection and concept which is currently under construction. Loris can reset now that he is not on ights thirty-two times a year. This time o has allowed him to purchase himself a new home and spend more quality time with his number one fan, his mom. “She survived Covid-19 and I realized what it takes to have true strength for someone you love.”
Diran has been o ered to work this summer on a new furniture and home furnishings concept with a major manufacturer in Europe. It will be their rst designer collaboration.
“I love designing interiors and this will put my vision front and center in a whole new way,” said Diran. “It is a time for new beginnings in so many ways. The future is what we’ll each decide to make of it!”
—Loris Diran Hairstylist and makeup artist to the stars, CHRISTIAN ILES is known as “The Beauty Architect'' among many notable celebrities, politicians, business people, and athletes. Iles has been in the beauty industry for over three decades. His passion for beauty and his deep appreciation of his clients throughout the years went into creation of a luxury hair care line – Christian Iles Hair Care. Iles and his work have been featured on every major network and many cable networks; as well as many national magazines throughout the United States
