After years working behind the scenes at Céline, JW Anderson, Phoebe Philo, and Burberry, Drew Henry will take a bow for the first time as Courrèges’s artistic director. And while the SS26 season was explosive, with a dozen new designers taking the creative helm at different houses, there are only two debuts in Paris this season, Courrèges and Carven, which means all eyes are on them.

“Of course I am stressed. Don’t you see it? But you only get one first show, so I’m really excited for it,” he says, sitting in his office on the fifth floor of Rue François-Ier — the same space that André and Coqueline Courrèges, who co-founded the house in 1961, used to occupy.

The mirrored walls make you feel as though you’re inside a funfair attraction. “It’s not easy to constantly see so much of yourself, from every angle.

That’s why I put up a few photos on the walls,” he says with a laugh. Henry is tall and slender with a piercing gaze and blue-gray eyes.

He wears gray pants, a shirt, and black loafers — a look that would be almost ascetic if he wasn’t also wearing a grey Corona beer cap. “I never take it off, partly because I don’t have any hair, but also because you shouldn’t take yourself too seriously.”

Known for his ambition and talent, Henry is approaching a defining moment in his career. “I’ve always wanted to become an artistic director, but I never really wanted to have my own brand. I was always much more interested in working on projects, bringing my vision to stories,” he says.

When Henry was appointed, many pointed to the number of designers who had worked under Philo and gone on to hold top positions at other major fashion houses. Asked what he learned most from the respected designer, he pauses before offering a single word: “integrity.” Each experience, he adds, “taught me different things that are complementary.” Before moving to Paris to join Courrèges, he was senior design director at Burberry.

But he doesn’t want to dwell on his résumé, impeccable though it may be.

He was born in Witbank, South Africa, to British and Irish parents. “When I was a child, we moved around a lot in South Africa and Botswana because of my father’s job. I wasn’t really attached to houses or cities. I was adaptable, and when you are adaptable, you like to observe people.“

As a teenager, he watched Fashion TV and bought fashion magazines. “In South Africa, they were four months late, but I was just happy to have them,” he recalls. His family didn’t understand where his passion came from, but it was clear that it was the career he wanted to pursue. He began his fashion education at LISOF in Johannesburg, a technical school specializing in pattern-cutting and garment construction.

At 20, he moved to London to study at Central Saint Martins, enrolling on the BA Fashion Design and Marketing course in 2008 before continuing on to the MA. He graduated in 2014 under Louise Wilson. Grace Wales Bonner and Daniel Lee were also studying at Central Saint Martins around that time.

What drew Drew to Courrèges? (Yes, we had to make the pun.) “I have always had references from the house in mind.

Diving into the archives, I was struck by how colorful this brand is. Its soul is something optimistic.

There’s so much joy, playfulness, but also a strong sense of sentimentality. People come up to me and tell me that their mother got married in Courrèges,” he says.

“What also excites me about Courrèges is the size of the house. There’s a real sense of intimacy, and I feel there’s an incredible opportunity to grow.”

Courrèges is part of Artémis, the Pinault family’s holding company, which controls Kering. Artémis took a minority stake in Courrèges in 2014 and became its majority shareholder in 2018. Its portfolio includes the renowned Hollywood talent agency CAA and global auction house Christie’s. It sold its majority stake in Giambattista Valli to the designer in May.

After years of creative instability, Courrèges started regaining momentum in 2021 under Nicolas Di Felice, alongside former CEO Adrien Da Maia and current CEO Marie Leblanc, who previously served as CEO of Victoria Beckham. Di Felice’s re-edition of the iconic vinyl mini skirts and jackets was an instant success, while his figure-hugging clubwear and boot-cut jeans cemented his reputation for a bold, distinctive style.

During his tenure, the brand opened a flurry of stores. Today, the brand has nine boutiques and concessions, including five in Paris, two in South Korea, and two in the US, plus roughly 200 points of sale worldwide.

Still, Courrèges is not immune to the broader challenges facing the luxury sector.

Where does Henry position himself between aesthetic continuity and disruption? “I think there’s something modern about being between the two,” he says.

Like Di Felice, Henry also immersed himself fully in the archives, but drew out different facets: where Di Felice initially focused on the minimalist side of late-’60s Space Age, Henry says he’s been exploring the more colorful side of the very early ’60s. (As I walked through the showroom adjoining his office, I caught sight of archive pieces in vivid orange, bubblegum pink, and mimosa yellow.)

Asked about the key silhouettes of his SS27 collection, Henry replies: “I wouldn’t say there are any key silhouettes. It’s more about playing with knitwear and color, and seeing where that takes us.”

The few photographs displayed on the walls are all images he took himself. Photography is an integral part of his creative process. “I’m a very visual person. I need that visual impact, so my process starts with photography. I take my own photographs and build from there,” he explains.

One photograph shows his friend and model, Daniela, from behind, wearing navy blue flared pants from the archives, featuring the brand’s AC logo — short for “André and Coqueline” — paired with a navy blue jumper he designed. Another image captures the Courrèges logo from 1967, which he chose to revive.

Another photograph shows the white Courrèges biker pants from 1977, inspired by Formula 1, with the word “Paris” printed across the back. A look inspired by that photograph could very well make its way onto the runway on Wednesday, in a different fabric.

Wednesday’s show will be held in the pared-back setting of the Palais de Tokyo, a departure from Di Felice’s conceptual and spectacular shows at the Carreau du Temple. “I wanted something very simple for the venue, and the focus to be on the clothes, on the casting. There will be nice touches though,” Henry says. For the soundtrack, he collaborated with London-based producer Vegyn.

Henry comes across as decisive, intellectually minded, with an instinctive sense of what he wants. But he is also part of a generation of millennial creative directors, who favor working collectively.

Does that mean there’s never any drama? “Of course, there’s drama.

Otherwise, it wouldn’t be fashion. And yes, we’ll work long hours leading up to the show.

But there’s plenty of Haribo in the office, and we have a lot of fun along the way.”