They design your favourite piece and don't care if you know it: interview with Supersolid

Its founders describe it as “the only ghost atelier in the world”. Their clients, in reality, are not always a secret. What they do for them, however, is. Founded by Étienne Deroeux and Alex Sossah in 2021, Supersolid Studio works in the shadows - though their HQ in the heart of Belleville is bathed in light - on projects for several major players in the fashion world, including Nike, Jean Paul Gaultier, Off-White, Kidsuper, and Y/Project. “Where design, production, and commerce meet”, reads the company’s website. But what is a ghost designer?

“It’s not easy to define when we want to maintain a certain discretion about our work, but I can say that we cover a very wide range of tasks: from concept to design, including manufacturing solutions, matchmaking, strategy, and merchandising,” explains Étienne Deroeux, evoking a holistic vision of the company that far exceeds the mere creative process and, in some cases, transforms into a 360-degree process. “It’s not necessarily end-to-end. It’s important to understand that each client has different needs, so we don’t have a universal formula,” Deroeux clarifies. But don’t mistake them for a production agency, because “there are already many companies better than us for that. What we do is different: we bring added value in terms of sourcing, design, engineering, development, or research,” he adds. With a background as an independent designer and now at the helm of his own label, FORMA, Étienne Deroeux has always worked for other brands, at one point designing up to five collections per season. The desire to structure and expand this work, strengthened during the Covid pandemic, gave birth to Supersolid Studio. Behind the patina of mystery that adds to its allure, a ghost atelier was chosen for strategic reasons to maintain anonymity. “Coming to us guarantees discreet service,” Deroeux explains to clients.

The fashion industry, however, has begun to shine a light on the work of behind-the-scenes figures for some time now, as evidenced by the relevance the concept of ‘craftsmanship’ has assumed over recent years, as well as, more commonly, the numerous occasions when artistic directors have brought their teams to the runway in recent years; Sabato De Sarno at Gucci, Pier Paolo Piccioli at Valentino… there are plenty of examples. According to Étienne Deroeux, this can be explained by the fact that the industry is starting to realize that “it cannot do without human labor, which brings irreplaceable value to fashion and luxury more generally that machines cannot. The ones capable of creating variety are humans. And today, no one wants the same product. Companies are facing negative results because they rely more on machines' performance and data. As a result, products are becoming increasingly similar (hence, also, the rise of so-called ‘dupes’ both in Europe and Asia, editor’s note), people are getting bored, and the numbers are falling.”

For context, in the third quarter of 2024, LVMH's sales recorded, for the first time since the Covid-19 crisis, a global decline of 3%. At Kering, the situation is even worse, with a 15% drop in sales over the same period. In contrast, Hermès stands out with a global growth of 10%. On this topic, Deroeux points out: “They are the only ones performing well because they care about their craftsmanship. Everyone wants to walk into the store and buy a Birkin or Kelly; no one knows the designer. The truth is, once you step out of the bubble of the 50,000 people working at a high level in the fashion industry, no one cares.” This awareness also reconciles the founder of Supersolid with the lack of public recognition for a ghost designer, which for him becomes a form of freedom.

His role, he argues, is rather to find solutions where large structures encounter roadblocks due to multiple layers of decision-making. Essentially, according to Deroeux, “fashion has a language problem. In large houses, the CEO doesn’t speak the same language as the designer, the designer doesn’t speak the language of the merchandising team, merchandising doesn’t speak that of production, and so on. They just need a translator, and that’s exactly what we are.” These dynamics, described by the founder of Supersolid Studio, are transforming the fashion sector before our eyes and promise to continue influencing role definitions and power dynamics within houses in the years to come.