IN CONVERSATION Interview with a Man Fashion designer Roland Mouret By Sarah Caden VIANNEY LE CAER F ashion designer ROLAND MOURET, is celebrated for his ability to drape curves and for his iconic, body-sculpting Galaxy dress. Having stepped down from his eponymous label in 2025, he has moved into painting and his memoir, I am Roland Mouret, will be published by Quercus Publishing this month. Born and raised in Lourdes, France, he now lives in England. How would you describe your parents? My parents were the butcher and the butchers wife and my relationship with them was based on working with them [in the shop]. They were children of the Second World War who were constantly rebuilding and the best gift they could give us was to build something for us. But the price we had to pay was that we had to work with them and when the working stopped, they were tired and there was nothing for each other. It became an unbalanced relationship. You grew up in Lourdes, did it make a big impact on you? As a child you absorb so much information and I had this imagination developing all the time. It leaves an imprint inside. The imprint of men wearing dresses, the faith, the people all walking in the same direction, a circus of lights at night and twinkling things in stores. These imprints became a unique pattern that I used later when I realised that I drape [when designing] like the sculptures in the church. Plus the fact that when I went to school, the nuns allowed me to start to draw, so in my head I saw that religion and creativity could be the same. Ive learned how to do nothing and not feel guilty anymore. What did you think youd grow up to be? I wanted to be a priest first. Its really funny because as a child, without knowing anything about myself, without knowing what I would become as an adult, my sexuality, there was something attractive about being a different kind of man. My dad wanted me to be another butcher. He was doing everything for me to take over but slowly that unraveled and I thought How can I escape? How can I escape that pattern? I had to find a way to protect myself without hurting anybody, but definitely without becoming a victim. What is your biggest strength at work? My biggest strength is knowing nothing. Your new book is called I am Roland Mouret. Does your name mean an enormous amount to you, after all the ups and downs youve had? This book reflects on all the characters, all the identities I had to create in my life to become Roland Mouret, the name that my parents gave me. In deciding the name of the book, the most simple approach was I am Roland Mouret, in all the ups and downs, everything I made and everything that fell apart. And throughout the journey of learning who I was, I had to try to learn who I was inside and what to project out into society. Its that weird balance of defining the soul, the spirit you are inside and also defining what you represent outside because thats the best way people will understand you. And so to call it I am Roland Mouret is in a way to say goodbye to Roland Mouret, goodbye to all the characters. Did it mean a lot to you to have the opportunity write the book? Yes. In my head, its a kind of David Bowie/Ziggy Stardust moment. Your friendships are for the most part ... for a long time and no more than five people. 58 October 2026 THE IRISH TIMES OCTOBER 2026 20 years of thE GLOSS d e l l e e w B Je M www.th egloss.ie e d o h n r l r i e m o o st o tr s a e e r u CONTENTS the gloss E D I TO R JE NNIFE R STE V E NS D EP UT Y ED ITOR S Í O MHA CO NNO LLY MASHA MEL STYLE E D I TO R AISLINN CO FFE Y B EAUT Y ED ITOR SARAH HALLIW E LL CO N T R I B U TI N G E D I TO R PE NNY MC CO RMICK A R T D IR EC TOR PATRICIA C MAR INHO D IGITA L ED ITOR RACHE L HE AL THE FIRST WORD The Edit restaurants, books, trends, culture ROGER VIVIER AW27 PHOTOGRAPHED BY FRANCESCO BRIGIDA This Month Tim Walker: Fairyland Annie Mac at Guinness Jazz Onóra, Capel Street Animals at the Abbey Theatre T For music lovers, Annie Mac returns to Cork this his month we are TREND o The Trend Spot S 2 Cheers to dirty martini greens By Aislinn Coffey 3 4 1 tep foot into any cocktail establishment in the city and youll see that the dirty martini is having a moment. 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