How Louis Gabriel Nouchi created custom couture for 150 Paralympian stars

For those in the know, Louis Gabriel Nouchi was always going to be the perfect choice to dress the performers at the 2024 Paralympics’ Opening Ceremony. 

Across the course of the last few years, the French designer and ANDAM Prize recipient has become known as one of the few creatives listed on the Paris Fashion Week line-up who has diverged away from the tried-and-tested ‘sample size’ blueprint, and instead kitted out a vast swathe of men – and more recently, women – with different body sizes and shapes in his sexy, subversive clothing. And now, he’s taking this inherent inclusive ethos one step further, by creating a vast wardrobe of looks for people of various different abilities. 

Nouchi was originally approached by the Paris Olympics’ costume designer ​​and LGN fan Daphné Bürki in early May to collaborate on the behemoth task, and “Of course, I could not say no,” he explains, dialling in from his studio in a brief moment of respite from rushing around making final adjustments the day before the big event. Despite simultaneously working on his SS25 collection, which he debuted as part of the Paris menswear schedule back in June and was perhaps his most expansive offering yet, Nouchi immediately agreed to bring 700 costumes for around 150 people to life. 

“I started by bringing every person into the studio and asking them what first of all they needed from their look, and second of all what they wanted from their look,” he says. “For many people it was the first time fashion had ever been accessible to them.” Among those performing, there were people without limbs, some with prosthetics in their place, others in wheelchairs – each had very different needs and considerations. “Essentially, we were operating as a Haute Couture house,” Nouchi adds, but since much of his work is made custom for fans who don’t fit the typical model mould, the designer was in a prime position to make a success of the situation.

Nouchi’s work is underpinned by a sense of darkness and eroticism and largely inspired by cult and classic literature – from Bret Easton Ellis’s American Psycho, to Perfume: Story of a Murderer by Patrick Süskind – but not something you’d necessarily associate with the kind of patriotism typically on display at an event like this. Although originally hesitant, owing to its connotations and history, eventually Nouchi ended up embracing the French flag, and translating its red, white, and blue colours across the collection. He also turned the dial up to eleven when it came to the designs. “It’s the Olympics!” he laughs. “It had to be dramatic. I used metres and metres of fabric to create show-stopping gowns and even dipped my toe into things like feathers and embellishments I’ve never experimented with before.” 

Beyond these showstoppers, Nouchi’s signature oversized, bold-shouldered tailoring also made up a huge swathe of the looks, with dancers and performers – like French singer Christine and the Queens – decked out in a louche, double-breasted scarlet jacket and flared trouser suit. Another signature, in the form of relaxed sportswear, was also peppered throughout, with Nouchi turning these looks out in gold and silver metallics as a nod to the coveted top prizes athletes will compete for across the next two weeks. 

“I started by bringing every person into the studio and asking them what first of all they needed from their look, and second of all what they wanted from their look. For many people it was the first time fashion had ever been accessible to them” – Louis Gabriel Nouchi

“The biggest challenge wasn’t to create clothes for so many different people with different needs, it was making sure they were all able to move and perform in them freely,” Nouchi says. “And I was always very conscious it must be fashion – I never wanted to veer into costume.” The designer adds that he forged strong bonds with many of the performers, and hopes to expand on the inclusive nature of his shows in the future by potentially inviting some of them to star in them in the future. “There was such a happy atmosphere during the fittings, it was amazing to be part of something so joyful.” 

Needless to say, Nouchi hasn’t really had much of a summer, having spent the last seven months working back to back on his own line, and then the Paralympics. “Oh but a holiday can wait,” he laughs. “This was so important and such an honour for me. Us French people, and particularly us Parisians, we love to complain about everything, and ahead of the [Olympic] games, there was a lot of ‘Oh it’s going to be awful, Paris looks a mess’. By the end of the first round of games, I think everyone ended up completely changing their minds. It united everyone, and I think we were quite proud of the city.”

Revisit the LGN SS25 show in the gallery above.