424’s Paris Debut Ended up Being a Homecoming
The stars aligned for Guillermo Andrade, founder of 424, to find the perfect location for his fashion show in Paris, the brand’s debut in the French capital.
The weekend before the presentation, the original venue canceled on him, and he had to search for a last-minute replacement. “There was a moment where I thought, ‘maybe I shouldn’t do this, I don’t even have a venue,” admits Andrade to Highsnobiety on the day of the show.
But fate works in mysterious ways and Andrade unknowingly ended up booking La Maison de l'Amerique Latine for the show — a cultural space opened in 1946 as a hub for Latin Americans in Paris.
For Andrade, born and raised in Guatemala before emigrating to America aged nine, it couldn’t have been a more fitting venue: “When it hit me that this is a center for French people to come and engage with the Central American community, I felt safe. Nothing can go wrong here, it's home,” he says.
Inside the cultural space, Andrade brought a varied mix of notable names to model. Musicians Bakar and Yasiin Bey (aka Mos Def), Solange's son and model Julez Smith, and Actor Will Poulter all walked the runway. As did former footballer Robert Pires and Tottenham left-back Destiny Udogie.
That two footballers walked modeled for 424 isn't a coincidence, much of the show revolved around football. There were Trompe-l'œil football shirts — old Inter Milan, Brazil, and USA kits printed onto various tops, including leather jackets. A familiar design trick from the brand.
“Football is my lifeblood; it is often also the inspiration and paint for my creativity,” Andrade later explained in a statement. “My football-inspired looks today were odes to the world’s most beautiful game, and where culture and sport can go in the future: together.”
And the sports references didn’t end at football. A pair of visibly used white Nike Foamposite sneakers, a classic basketball footwear model, was customized with a tall boot-like shaft.
Many speculated whether this was an upcoming Nike collaboration, however, according to Andrade, they are one-of-ones and not commercially available.
Elsewhere during 424’s Paris fashion show, more familiar design traits from the brand appeared: lots of leather, lots of distressing, and lots of camouflage prints.
This was a continuation of the oftentimes grungy, counterculture-inspired aesthetic Andrade has established; “If you own a 424 hoodie from 10 years ago, you could wear it with this collection and the vibe would still match,” says the designer.
It might be presenting in a new location, but this was the same, inherently cool 424 that we’ve seen hone its craft in California for the past decade.
