Jean Touitou (born December 10, 1951 in

Tunis ''Tounsi'' french: Tunisois , population_note = , population_urban = , population_metro = 2658816 , population_density_km2 = , timezone1 = CET , utc_offset1 ...

, Tunisia) is a Tunisian-French

creative director A creative director (or creative supervisor) is a person who makes high-level creative decisions and, with those decisions, oversees the creation of creative assets such as advertisements, products, events, or logos. Creative director positions ar ...

and founder of A.P.C.

Biography

Touitou was born on December 10, 1951 in Tunis, to a

Tunisian Jewish The history of the Jews in Tunisia extended nearly two thousand years and goes back to the Ancient Carthage, Punic era. The Jewish community in Tunisia is no doubt older and grew up following successive waves of immigration and proselytism ...

family. He was then "a revolutionary militant for a few years". His family was in the leather business. He arrived in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...

from Tunisia with his family in 1960 at age 9. He studied at École alsacienne, then earned a degree in history and geography from the Sorbonne, and travelled a year in South America and the United States after his studies. Upon his return in Paris in 1977, he worked for the designer Takada

Kenzo is a common masculine Japanese given name. Possible writings Kenzō can be written using different kanji characters and can mean: *賢三, "wise, three" *健三, "healthy, three" *謙三, "humble, three" *健想, "healthy, concept" *建造, "bu ...

. After a few years working as a warehouseman and an accountant, he started working at Agnès b. in 1985, he associated with Irié, a Japanese designer working in Paris. In 1987, Jean Touitou launched A.P.C. (Atelier de Production et de Création) with the menswear collection HIVER 87. The following year, the collection became unisex. In 1989, the labels referring to the seasons were replaced with A.P.C. labels, confirming the creation of the brand located in the 6th arrondissement of

. The first pieces of the A.P.C. collections were inspired by work or military clothes, the preeminence of classic and unmixed fabrics ( Shetland wool for instance), as well as voluntarily traditional cuts. The collection would later include the raw Japanese denim. In thirty years of existence, A.P.C. remained independent and developed internationally, with more than 70 points of sale over the globe and 350 employees. Jean Touitou works alongside his wife, Judith Touitou, artistic director of A.P.C. In 2015, during the fall menswear presentation, Jean Touitou repeatedly used the "

n-word In the English language, the word ''nigger'' is an ethnic slur used against black people, especially African Americans. Starting in the late 1990s, references to ''nigger'' have been progressively replaced by the euphemism , notably in cases ...

" to present the collection named ''Last Niggas in Paris'' (a mix of Jay-Z and

Kanye West Ye ( ; born Kanye Omari West ; June 8, 1977) is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, record producer, and fashion designer. Born in Atlanta and raised in Chicago, West gained recognition as a producer for Roc-A-Fella Records in the ea ...

's ''

Niggas in Paris "Niggas in Paris" ( edited for radio as "In Paris" or simply "Paris"; censored on the album as "Ni**as in Paris") is a song by American rappers Jay-Z and Kanye West from their collaborative album ''Watch the Throne'' (2011). The song is built ar ...

'' and the film ''

Last Tango in Paris ''Last Tango in Paris'' ( it, Ultimo tango a Parigi; french: Le Dernier Tango à Paris) is a 1972 erotic drama film directed by Bernardo Bertolucci. The film stars Marlon Brando, Maria Schneider and Jean-Pierre Léaud, and portrays a recently wi ...

''), a collaboration with Timberland. A few days later, Timberland cut its ties with Touitou, calling his collection "in complete contrast with our values". Touitou immediately apologized for his offensive speech. In 2016, he started a collaboration with the American clothing company

Outdoor Voices Outdoor Voices (sometimes just O.V.) is an American clothing company, focused on the design and sale of athletic apparel. The company was founded in 2013 by Tyler Haney in New York City, and is now headquartered in Austin. The company's products a ...

to create sportswear apparel.

Awards and honors

*1992 : Winner of the ANDAM award ANDAMbr>Jean Touitou A.P.C.

Philanthropy

Touitou opened a private

kindergarten Kindergarten is a preschool educational approach based on playing, singing, practical activities such as drawing, and social interaction as part of the transition from home to school. Such institutions were originally made in the late 18th ce ...

, Ateliers de la Petite Enfance (A.P.E.), in 2008.

References

External links

Rules of Style from Jean Touitou
Phane Gallois, details.com January 2008
20 odd questions to Jean Touitou
''The Wall Street Journal'', March 2011 1951 births Living people People from Tunis French businesspeople in fashion French people of Tunisian-Jewish descent Tunisian businesspeople Tunisian Jews 21st-century French businesspeople 21st-century French Jews {{fashion-bio-stub