Passionate about avant-garde fashion, Maxime de Laurentis is inexhaustible on the history of the pieces he selects and presents carefully. Minimalist at heart, the purity of the lines, the flexibility of the forms and the poetry of the fabrics inspire him in his most sharp choices. His world and his technical mastery have conquered a renowned clientele, as sensitive to its selection as its expertise.

What is your background ?

I am a stylist. After 7 years at Margiela then Saint Laurent I decided to open my space to offer my stylistic help by promoting Vintage clothes and accessories. I chose to move to Paul Bert Serpette because when I worked at Margiela, I did my research by flea market to inspire me with objects that I can transcribe, colors, textures. On my booth, I initially presented clothes accompanied by furnitures, then little by little I focused on fashion.

What is your speciality ?

I defend the stream of the minimalist and avant-garde creators that appeared in the late 70's with the Japanese Yohji Yamamoto and Rei Kawakubo for the brand "Comme des Garcons", as well as Issey Miyake. To this, I present archive pieces of Belgian stylists called "6 of Antwerp" and Martin Margiela, as well as designers Helmut Lang and Jil Sander pieces to complete my proposal of curation and expertise.

What does Paul Bert Serpette represent for you?

I am a grandson and son of antique dealer and although my family has never worked at Paul Bert Serpette, this market has always been synonym of laboratory, pushing the limits to rediscover artistic trends and some furniture and objects designers.  Thus I wanted and chose this market to do the same thing in this applied art that is Fashion. I am not here by chance. Evolving in this environment feeds me continuously. I am surrounded by creative antique dealers who have a lot of talent. I find my inspiration by strolling in the alleys, we work in symbiosis with other antique dealers.

Can you present us a piece of your booth that is important to you?

I'm presenting a Martin Margiela designer piece from the spring of 1999. This is a 200% enlargement of a GI Joe doll plate to make a necklace.

This transcends the notion of accessory and becomes an object in its own right. This piece was recently exhibited at the Musée Galliera during the exhibition Margiela / Galliera, 1989-2009. It is iconic because it is the first time that a stylist enlarges an object to make something different. Margiela passes this object under the microscope in order to highlight it and that we can linger over it. Some will see it as a necklace, others as a decorative object. I could talk about it hours ...

How do you see the antique trade?

Like a rubik's cube, it changes from weeks to weeks. We, antique dealers make it evolve with respect to customer requests but it also changes because customers, professionals or not, come to Paul Bert Serpette to find inspiration. It is a beautiful ecosystem that responds. Add to that the new technologies that, with the 5g, will soon allow us to make 3D photos and you have an antique dealer ready for new adventures.