Dreams of three continents

BORN IN MADAGASCAR, raised in Paris and now based in Siem Reap, Cambodia, textile designer Eric Resina straddles the continents, and it shows in his one-of-a-kind haute-couture creations |commissioned by the likes of |Yves Saint-Laurent and Christian Lacroix.
He has boutiques in Siem Reap and Phnom Penh that have been added to the list of Cambodia’s travel destinations, as well as shops in Paris – and in Chiang Mai, at the “resort mall” Promenada. And Resina was in Bangkok recently |for a show at Alliance Francaise |that coincided with Madagascar’s national day.
Learning his craft in Paris, he won a prize as New Young Talent at the Fashion Festival and Textile Competition, which enabled him to further his studies at the Duperre School in the French capital and then the Institut Francais de la Mode, where he earned a master’s degree in 1999.
Thirteen years ago he visited Cambodia and fell in love with the country, deciding to settle there. It’s where he came up with his signature design, the Rosas floral pattern, and a technique for creating flowers in silk organza and silk velvet that can be crocheted together.
“I kind of like playing with my own texture creations – my brand is all about the fabric,” Resina says. “I travel the world looking for materials with which to produce my own fabrics. I use combinations of colours and layers of fabric, and the shape of the clothing can be very simple because the fabrics already have so much character in themselves.”
Resina says his primary client is “the lady who has an open mind about different cultures”.
“I come from Madagascar, grew up in France and now live in Cambodia. I have that mixture of the three continents. This is the recipe I have to cook with.
“I think the shapes of my clothing represent Paris. There are elements of the African kaftan, but I choose to give it a Parisian shape. The colour is Asian but the texture is more African. It’s versatile, a little touch of everything. Women today like to mix things up – they don’t want something with a strict identity. My job is to balance everything out.”
Resina sticks to natural materials such as silk, sisal, linen, cotton and most importantly raffia, the palm-tree fibre from his native island country. “I crochet it all the way through so that there are no seams, except at the zip. It takes time because I like a lot of detail. My cocktail dresses and wedding gowns are always very limited editions. In Siem Reap I have about 45 skilled craftsmen using my specific methods, and we don’t do mass production.”
Colour and movement are the alluring elements in Resina’s organza scarves and stoles, light-as-a-feather silk scarves, raffia and organza silk-fur bags, and silk jackets with three-quarter-length sleeves.
He adores Cambodia. “It’s very quiet, so I fit in very well after working for many years in Paris. Chiang Mai gives me the same feeling, and I love it too.”