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Portrait of a Designer

By Paddy Kamen

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LOGIC AND orses wearing human shoes? As a
young boy, Pascal Jaulent saw his
father painting just such a fantasy.
“I was very good at drawing
Hmyself and I think he did this
partly to annoy me, for I found it very silly at
CREATIVITY: the time,” he allows. “Now I see that it was a
way for him to express his playful side.”
PASCAL France and he stressed to his son the importance
The senior Jaulent ran a textile factory in Troyes,
of finding serious work at which to make a living;
after he established himself he would be free to
do whatever else he wanted.
Pascal Jaulent didn’t see himself as a creative
JAULENT a degree from Ecole Superieure de Commerce
person, but he did like math and so he obtained
de Paris. His first job was as a comptroller for the
Nestlé corporation. Then, at age 27 he landed an
extraordinary opportunity as a controller for the
EXPLORES THE such a job, but Dior felt I had the capacity to unite
Dior fashion house. “In truth, I was too young for
their financial requirements with the creative
world of fashion. And it was tremendously
ARCHITECTURE inspiring to be exposed to the world of couturier.”
With an eye to furthering his career, Jaulent left
Dior after five years to become general manager
of the renowned optical house, Lafont. “Phillipe
and Laurence gave me the opportunity to discover
OF DESIGN optical is highly technical, very human and
the richness of the optical world, and the fact that

international in scope sparked a passion in me.
Working with Laurence who was a consummate

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