From an early age, I was naturally drawn to colour, imagery, and the act of interpreting beauty in my own way. I did not begin with the clear intention of becoming a fashion designer, but through different creative experiences, I realised that fashion allowed me to bring together everything I was interested in. What gave me confidence was not the idea that I had to be perfect at it, but the feeling that I could remain curious about fashion for a very long time.

Working across fashion, makeup, and styling in France taught me that an image is never created by clothing alone. Skin tone, light hair, colour, and even the smallest visual detail can completely change the mood. That experience still shapes the way I design today. I rarely think of a garment in isolation; I imagine how it will exist on a person, in a space, and under light.

When I founded DOUCAN, the most important idea was very simple: I wanted to create clothes from images that were truly my own. Rather than beginning with existing trends or ready-made patterns, I wanted each collection to start from my own artwork and colour language. DOUCAN grew from the desire to find a balance between an Eastern sensibility and a contemporary point of view, between painterly expression and clothing that can genuinely be worn.

Most often, it begins with an image or a feeling. It might be a colour I noticed in nature, a scene from a journey, or even a fragment of an old memory. I draw, distort, repeat, and rebuild that image until it develops into a language of colour and form. Eventually, it becomes a print, a silhouette, or both. I believe the trace of that personal process is what makes the result recognisably DOUCAN.

For me, a print is not decoration; it is often the beginning of the design. Once the artwork exists, I start to understand which material will reveal it best and what kind of movement the garment needs. The same image can feel almost weightless on chiffon and much more architectural on jacquard. I see fabric and silhouette as different interpretations of the original artwork.

Places and cultures often remain with me as sensations rather than literal references. The quality of light in a city, the colour of architecture, or the density of nature can stay in my memory and return much later in a different form. Earlier in my career, I was more interested in representing what I saw. Now, I am more interested in how a memory changes over time and what emotion remains after the image itself has faded.

I begin with a central emotion or idea, then develop the colour palette and artwork around it. From there, I work on materials and silhouettes, allowing each look to play a different role within the collection. In the final stage, styling, music, and lighting become part of the same narrative. I feel a collection is complete when the looks are not simply repeating the same message but together leave one clear emotional impression.

The collection began with observing nature. Flowers bloom and fade, and light appears and disappears, yet none of these moments truly feel like an absolute ending. They become the beginning of something else. I wanted to suggest that change does not always mean loss. Even within disappearance, another form, another possibility, can begin.

I never want to repeat the same collection, but the way I begin remains consistent. My own imagery, colour, and the process of translating them into clothing are always at the centre of DOUCAN. Even when I experiment with new materials or techniques, my own point of view has to come first.

Earlier in my career, I probably thought success meant becoming known to more people. Today, it means something more personal. When someone sees a piece and feels that it is DOUCAN before even seeing the label, that is very meaningful to me. If the emotion behind my work can travel across different cultures and remain in someone’s memory, I consider that a real form of success.

I have learned that creating good design and building a good brand are not exactly the same thing. Alongside creativity, I have had to understand production, pricing, timing, and the realities of selling. Finding that balance took time. Today, I do not see commercial thinking as the opposite of creativity.

I do not believe sustainability can be defined by one material or one production method alone. Those choices matter, of course, but so does the question of how long someone wants to keep and wear a garment. At DOUCAN, I try to create pieces that do not lose their meaning after one season. I believe making clothing that people want to return to over time is also a form of responsible design.

I do not think you need to have everything in place from the beginning. What matters most is understanding what you are genuinely drawn to and why. Skills can be learned and circumstances can change, but developing your own point of view takes time. Rather than forcing yourself to be different, pay attention to what you keep returning to. Very often, that repetition eventually becomes your identity.

I hope DOUCAN will be remembered as more than a brand known for strong color and print. I would like it to be seen as a body of work that consistently translated one person’s vision and emotions into art and clothing. Ultimately, my ambition is for the visual language of DOUCAN to move beyond fashion and become something closer to a cultural language of its own.

I want to expand DOUCAN’s artwork beyond clothing and explore how it can exist in different forms. I am interested in objects, space, art, and collaborations with other creative disciplines, as well as continuing to meet new audiences internationally. The form of DOUCAN may keep evolving, but what matters most to me is that its emotion, colour, and point of view remain unmistakably its own.

Thank you for inviting me to share my story with OTS Magazine. It is a pleasure to introduce DOUCAN and my creative journey to your readers, and I truly appreciate the opportunity.