From France to BK – Alexandre Khouri Talks Growing Brands Internationally

Khouri feels that change is coming to France, but it is necessary for the younger generation to take the reins to dispel the homogeneous stereotype that still plagues France in several aspects of society from politics, to newscasters, designers and in between. “Of course it’s not the whole millennial generation in France [that embraces this diversity], but it’s a bigger proportion and that’s going to help us meet the Other with a capital O. We need to be ready to meet the Other. Some French people might not have been ready to meet the Other. It requires time. I feel like the new generation is open to that. France should leverage its new generation and be proud of it. It’s not youth against the older generation; it’s us altogether working to show that we have room for everyone here.”

When it comes to style he says that “diversity is now diverse. Diversity used to be one thing for each group and now with diversity you have differences within each group. You now see more diversity within the representations of various races. It’s not about fashion; it’s about your own personal style and being able to express who you are. For example, AfroPunk in New York is huge and it’s now come to Paris and its beautiful to see how it’s been embraced,” he says. Seeing people of different racial groups expressing themselves through various modes of dress is important to shedding the stereotypes about fashion that cling to races, he says. He is confident that companies like his that expose France to new ideas and views will help the country open itself up once again.

Written by our partners: Les Club des Douze

Le Club des Douze (based in Paris) – is an experimental project dedicated to men’s fashion that features 12 quality menswear pieces weekly. Check them out on Twitter & Instagram!

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