The Interview: Raphael Young, when Virtuous Design Meets Fashion Futurist Vision

WHAT INSPIRED YOU TO START PUBLIC SERV-CE?

It was just before the pandemic, and I was asking myself what people would wear in the future the day humans would understand that everything we produce should be virtuous and sustainable but at the same time adapted to our modern way of living. I wanted to create something that could really matter and change people’s lives with the consciousness that it would offer the most advanced level of sustainability and universality. This vision of the future was very clear to me, it had to make coexist design, fashion, and biotechnology all together. We are making Clean Apparel.

From the genesis of what has become our fundamental pillars of the brand, was born an even greater dimension than just creating a technical brand. It’s about how to create companions in life, while making you feel and look great, disrupting traditional ways to design fashion with the lighter impact possible on the environment. I believe we can change the way the world dress by combining design and biotechnologies to active design sportswear which is probably what corresponds the most to what people wear every day. The role of the functionality becomes an element of the product mix. It must be sleek and simple, beautiful, comfortable, and accessible, and use the latest biotechnologies to provide the highest level of sustainability and physical benefits.

You’ve taken on the role of design director previously at Jil Sander, Off-White, and Calvin Klein. How did your experiences at these brands teach you to shape your vision and craft?

Working for famous Maisons always leaves a trace on you. Good or not but I think we always take, give, and learn from others. I started my career at YSL then I collaborated with French and Italian brands — LV, Fendi, Calvin Klein, Paco Rabanne, Jil Sander, OFF WHITE with Virgil, but I always kept space for smaller collaborations. Each Maison has different codes and this variety of approaches of design allowed me to define my own vision of it.

I went from luxury fashion to designer streetwear, to now luxury bio-sportswear. I have completely detached myself from traditional craft to create a new segment that is at the cross of technology, design, and lifestyle. I can finally use my engineering background, so I guess this is what I always tried to do: fashion science.

What is the creative approach of PUBLIC SERV-CE and what inspires your brand’s design language?

PUBLIC SERV-CE was created to become the future of design and luxury sustainable sportswear, to enable the establishment of a new kind of apparel we call bio-sportswear. Our dystopian approach is based on the concept of bio-design, also called bioengineering, that integrates organic processes and materials, embodied by imitating living organisms’ shape.

Bio-design crosses the border between the ‘made’ and the ‘born’, enabling life inspired by essential design elements to dissolve the boundaries between Nature and fashion. Our principles of design are ruled by innovation, functionality, high quality, neutral, environmental-friendly, aesthetic, and timelessness. More than being flashy or eye-catching, we design our products to look clean, futuristic, and straightforward. This is apparent in our aesthetic that our vision is to create one of a kind genderless uniform. Everything from the shape to the figurative elements evokes an anticipation of the future.

Tell us more about the latest drop from comfort wear to technical sportswear.

This drop counts several styles of joggers, hoodies, sweaters, leggings, shorts, yoga suits, and hats. Three colours, “Black deep space” which is a deep black, “Tularosa” which is the sand colour of the desert of the same name, and “Waterstone” which is a pale mastic green colour. We have applied three proprietary biotechnologies, Dynamint™, Biosoft™, and Biodry™ will provide incredible benefits to our customers, no odor, no chemicals, better blood circulation, and better living in general.

Tell us more about the latest drop “Black Deep Space” which features pieces from comfort wear to technical sportswear.

This drop counts several styles of joggers, hoodies, sweaters, leggings, shorts, yoga suits, and headwear. Three colours, “Black deep space” which is a deep black, “Tularosa” which is the sand colour of the desert of the same name, and “Waterstone” which is a pale mastic green colour. We have applied three biotechnologies, Dynamint™, Biosoft™, and Biodry™ will provide incredible benefits to our customers, no odor, no chemicals, better blood circulation, and better living in general.

We used premium organic cotton and Organic Supima cotton which is the highest quality of cotton in the world, and recycled polyamide for our activewear. The next coming drop will be incredible news as we are developing a new fleece without cotton but offering the same comfort. We are investing a lot in R&D to create and patent new fibers completely innovating and finally truly good for the planet. Stay tuned.

Tell us more about the design, technical, and production process when it comes to creating a Public Serv-ce piece.

The vegan materials we used so far are multiple and all have the highest level of eco-friendliness. Our fabrics are divided into 3 categories: Organic, Recycled, Biodegradable. Our sportswear and footwear are made of organic cotton, sometimes they can be blended with recycled cotton, vegetal cellulose, SeaCell which is made from seaweed, and we also use bio-based polymers that replace plastic.

We are now working with a lab and scientists to develop our own yarns and fibers. We believe in research and science. We have an amazing innovation coming soon that will change the industry for a long time. On top of that, and that’s why we say we are a bio-sportswear company, we bring in unique benefits that come from the addition of special treatments that provide antimicrobial, odor-proof, quick dry, less washes, cooling sensation, blood stimulation, compression, and shock absorption.

We believe our products are great for sports practice but also for just everyday life, night, and day. We always conceive our products to be the most comfortable things you can wear. We have built our supply chain with certified manufacturers, that are all compliant with the highest standards of respect for the environment and have all signed our social chart that is protecting people as much as the planet. We believe we must also have a social responsibility.

How does PUBLIC SERV-CE practice sustainability with your design and production processes?

As a responsible corporate citizen, our chart’s belief is that financial performance and responsibility for our environment, our employees, and the global communities we touch are inextricably linked. We want to make sure that all PUBLIC SERV-CE partners and suppliers share the same values of human and environmental respect and that we are all dedicated to making this world more sustainable on all points.

We commit to the objectives of sustainable development. We engage ourselves to act in a responsible and continuous manner to achieve them while realizing our economic activities, our industrial relations, and in our contribution to the creation of value in general. We practice our social responsibility in our strategic decisions and in our daily operations. We accept to notify our stakeholders through sincere information, appropriately communicated.

We commit ourselves to respect, to prevent attempts to, and, by means at our disposal, to promote fundamental rights and the legitimate expectations of our partners. We will take into account their material and moral interests when they are or could be, impacted by our managerial decisions or by company activities that we handle or with which we operate.

What are your plans for the brand in the near future?

We have big ambitions for the brand, starting with offering the best products to all beings in the world and changing people's mindsets and perceptions of what they should wear. We want to be global, and we are launching footwear next year, it will be followed by outdoor and more technical garments specific to certain activities.

We are expanding rapidly on all canals, and we are in talks with major agencies for collaborations and partnerships. We focus on offering the best quality and design, and on developing brand awareness with press and collaborations. We are investing in a new website that will be live in January 2023. It’s exciting, and I think 2023 will bring a lot of big surprises to reveal to the public. We are also working on an app that will help people in their life. I can’t disclose too much right now, we’ll have to talk about that next time, it’s very confidential.

PUBLIC SERV-CE will be present in many ways in people’s lives and that’s the exciting part of it, being always in movement toward progress and the future.