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Last updated 11:52 Sun 22 Aug 2010

From a very young age, Jean-Philippe Tourigny devoted every spare moment to drawing and sketching the Yves Saint Laurent models photographed by Helmut Newton and Richard Avedon.
He was passionately interested in the world of high fashion and its biggest names: Christian Dior, Coco Chanel, Cristobal Balenciaga, Thierry Mugler and Azzedine Alaïa.

At the age of 17, he left school (Collège de Juilly, near Paris) to take up a position as a trainee with Karl Lagerfeld. A year later, he joined Yves Saint Laurent, where he learned the basic principles of the technique, the finely balanced relationship between cut and fabric, as well as taking part in fittings and the preparation of collections. This voyage of discovery of the demanding world of Haute Couture was rounded off by a course at the Fédération Française de Couture.
His burning desire to learn all aspects of the business later led him into the world of fashion photography and fashion magazines. He became fashion editor of Harper�s Bazaar and then Italian Vogue, where he worked with renowned photographers such as Guy Bourdin and Ellen von Unverth. At the same time, in his role as a stylist he was involved in shows by John Galliano and Romeo Gigli. In 1995 and 1996, he assisted Christian Lacroix with his Haute Couture collections.

In 2000, building on his solid experience in the world of fashion and all stages of the process from design to marketing, Jean-Philippe Tourigny returned to his first inspiration, drawing. He presented his first collection entitled �No couture�, with the support of the contemporary artist Fabrice Hybert.
From 2001, backed by a Japanese cosmetics company, he presented 4 collections, 2 of which in the official calendar of the Fédération Française de la Couture.

On the strength of this experience, Jean-Philippe Tourigny is now launching his own range of luxury ready-to-wear.

Website: www.jeanphilippetourigny.com