They designed the giant crocodile: interview with Imruh Asha and Ibby Njoya.
Designer Imruh Asha and artist Ibby Njoya, fashion director of Dazed Magazine and set-designer respectively, stand out for their singular aesthetic visions, somewhere between fashion, art and movement. For Lacoste, they joined forces to create the giant crocodile sculpture that features in the new campaign, a complex structure inside and out that blends architecture and collage of materials. A cross interview.
_DEF.jpg?imwidth=705&impolicy=custom)
What does the crocodile mean to you?
Imruh Asha: A crocodile is unbeatable, clever and fearless.
Ibby Njoya: An implacable and ferocious spirit.
What is your favourite Lacoste piece?
IA: For me, it's the long-sleeved polo shirt. I'm completely obsessed with them. When I was younger, I couldn't afford to buy them so I used to scour the internet for second-hand models.
IN: The Lacoste jacket.
How did you react when Lacoste asked you to create the crocodile sculpture?
IA: I was excited and honoured to reinterpret such an iconic symbol with the essence of the brand.
IN: I was very excited to be working with Lacoste for the first time, especially on the creative side. It allowed us to have fun translating this recognisable character into something fresh and new, while retaining the heritage.
How did you divide up the roles?
IA: I did the outside and Ibby Njoya did the inside. Ibby is an artist and set-designer who builds incredible sculptures, and we work closely together on many projects, so I asked him to handle the crocodile's frame. We worked on the shape with a 3D designer, which was really interesting.
IN: My role was to understand the mechanics of the crocodile from a construction point of view. We had to build it in such a way that the Imruh team could test the materials while allowing it to move around and change the structure's position if necessary.
What is your creative process?
IA: I collect a lot of books for inspiration and do a lot of research. In fact, a lot of my creations are based on this research but are then produced directly on the spot freehand, without even a sketch or a drawing. For the crocodile sculpture, I was invited by Lacoste to visit one of the Lacoste factories in France, which gave me a very interesting insight into how the House makes clothes.
IN: With my team, it's about losing ourselves in the experimental process for as long as possible. This gives us more data on which to base our choices.
What did you want to express with this particular piece?
IA: I wanted to explore the use of different textures to represent the crocodile's skin.
IN: What we thought about was trying to incorporate this idea of 'fun' into the character, while keeping the Lacoste logo recognisable. We did it in a theatrical way, as if it were a puppet that could move. The head could move sideways, the mouth could open and close. We felt like real puppeteers.
———
Dive into more articles
