034 Ramesh Nair - The Man Behind the Moynat Brand

This year marks the 150th anniversary of the stealth wealth luxury brand Moynat. And just like the company, which is thought to be one of the oldest heritage French trunk-making houses in the world, the man behind the brand, creative director Ramesh Nair, is someone who likes to let the quality of his work speak for itself.

But don’t let Ramesh’s soft spoken, unassuming appearance fool you. He might not be a designer who craves the fashion limelight but he is a man with a clear vision for Moynat - and he has the fashion chops to make that vision a reality. During his career he has worked with some of the most talented and creative designers living today. Not only did he work with Yohji Yamamoto and Christian Lacroix he spent 11 years as senior designer at Hermès soaking up everything he could from his legendary mentor Martin Margiela and later incomparable Jean Paul Gaultier. All of this before he was chosen in 2011 by Bernard Arnault, the chairman and ceo of LVMH, to breath life back into the Moynat brand, which had laid dormant for 35 years.

Ramesh has had quite an impressive career considering that fashion design wasn’t a childhood dream and that he pretty much fell backwards into fashion when he applied to study at new branch that had opened up in India of the FIT New York, back in 1986, as an alternative to joining the army. Even he was surprised when he was accepted, and during his time at the school he learned that he loved how fashion could be used as a form of visual expression of self and he discovered that he was actually pretty fluent in the language of fashion and luxury.

I had the honor and privilege of speaking with Ramesh inside the Moynat flagship store on rue Saint-Honoré in Paris. A location that is like an oasis of calm at the heart of the bustling city. And just like the company he represents Ramesh is the epitome of refinement and grace. He is all about celebrating the best that life has to offer. Be that great food, great conversation or great design…life is too short for anything less.