Fashion designer describes invitation to work on Notre Dame cathedral's reopening as 'a calling'

PARIS (AP) — When Jean-Charles de Castelbajac watched as Notre Dame cathedral burned in April 2019, he felt compelled to act somehow.

Returning home, the French fashion designer began sketching ideas, imagining the monument’s reconstruction.

So, when the Paris Archbishop’s emissary approached him to design the liturgical garments for the cathedral's reopening next month, Castelbajac — a believer with personal roots with the church — felt the moment transcended mere coincidence.

“It’s bigger than a job. It’s a bit mysterious … mysterious,” Castelbajac said, his eyes brimming with wonder as he previewed some of the 2,000 colorful pieces for 700 celebrants at his Paris home. “It's a calling. To be called like that is synchronicity.”

This duty, as he calls it, led to a collection of work crafted in collaboration with the esteemed artisans of 19M studio. The garments, often in thick off-white Scottish wool gabardine, blend his signature eye-popping pop-art aesthetic with a reverence for the cathedral’s centuries-old legacy with medieval touches.

The unorthodox designs are fun, modern — and perhaps shockingly minimalist.

They undoubtedly break with the richly embellished styles associated with the cathedral's near-900-year-old liturgical garb. At their center is a large gold cross, accented by debris fragments of vivid color-blocked red, blue, yellow, and green velvet.

“It’s something that is exploded that reconstructs itself,” Castelbajac said, likening the dissipated shards coming together to the cathedral’s own rebirth.

The commission was not subject to an open call. Instead, Castelbajac was handpicked by the Catholic leadership, due to his history of designing for the church.

In 1997, he created the rainbow-colored robes worn by Pope John Paul II for World Youth Day in Paris, garments later enshrined in Notre Dame’s treasury as a relic. That connection carried a special weight during the fire.

“As I watched the fire, I was thinking, ‘Are the relics burning? Are the relics safe?’ So my link was not just material. It’s really a strong spiritual link,” he said.

For Castelbajac, 74, the memory of those two hours in 2019 spent watching the fire with his wife amid people praying on their knees still evokes both grief and determination.

“It was not Notre Dame burning. It was hope burning. It was spirituality burning. It was such an intense moment … I was thinking, what can I do?” he said.

The vestments, which will be worn in liturgies permanently — forever, as Castelbajac put it — carry a sense of continuity with his past work. The designs are a variation on the pontiff’s robes, infused with Castelbajac’s signature aesthetic: bright, almost childlike hues that evoke optimism.

Castelbajac’s fascination with color began as a child in a military boarding school in Normandy, an experience he recalled as stifling and gray. “It was the absolute loneliness. It was colorless,” he said.

For the young boy, color became a lifeline.

“Color was like my teddy bear, my transitional element in a world of conflict. Each morning, there was the stained glass in the church and the coats of arms in the refectory that filled my world with primary colors,” he explained.

This obsession would define his career, earning him a reputation as a provocateur in the fashion world.

Castelbajac’s creations have dressed pop culture royalty for decades: Madonna in her teddy bear coat, Beyoncé in sequins, Rihanna in a Donald Duck costume. Collaborating with Andy Warhol, Keith Haring, and Jean-Michel Basquiat, he fused art and fashion into a playground of exuberance.

While his designs have graced runways and music icons, Castelbajac’s work for Notre Dame strikes a different, more personal chord.

The playful vestments might raise eyebrows among traditional Catholics, but he has no doubt about the faith Notre Dame’s leadership placed in him. “Maybe I have the trust of the archbishop,” he mused, reflecting on the “carte blanche” he said he received for his designs.

This combination produced a modern-looking body of work that reflects the unity, hope, and rebirth symbolized by Notre Dame itself—just like the phoenix-like rooster gleaming like fire atop the newly constructed spire.

When the cathedral reopens on the weekend of Dec. 7-8, Castelbajac hopes the vestments will be viewed by the world as a testament to renewal and the “power of color” to heal and inspire.

Designer Jean-Charles de Castelbajac displays his book with drawings of the Notre-Dame Cathedral during an interview with the Associated Press, Wednesday, Nov. 20, 2024 in Paris. (AP Photo/Michel Euler)

Designer Jean-Charles de Castelbajac displays a liturgical vestment for priests and to be worn at the reopening of Paris' Notre-Dame Cathedral in December, Wednesday, Nov. 20, 2024 in Paris. (AP Photo/Michel Euler)

Liturgical vestments for bishops and priests designed by Jean-Charles de Castelbajac and to be worn at the reopening of Paris' Notre Dame Cathedral in December hang, Wednesday, Nov. 20, 2024 in Paris. (AP Photo/Michel Euler)

Designer Jean-Charles de Castelbajac displays a liturgical vestment for priests to be worn at the reopening of Paris' Notre-Dame cathedral in December, Wednesday, Nov. 20, 2024 in Paris. (AP Photo/Michel Euler)

Designer Jean-Charles de Castelbajac displays a liturgical vestment for priests and to be worn at the reopening of Paris' Notre-Dame Cathedral in December, Wednesday, Nov. 20, 2024 in Paris. (AP Photo/Michel Euler)

A visitor takes photographs of Notre-Dame cathedral in Paris, Wednesday, Nov. 20, 2024. (AP Photo/Louise Delmotte)

Workers stand on Notre-Dame cathedral in Paris, Wednesday, Nov. 20, 2024. (AP Photo/Louise Delmotte)

Sketches for liturgical vestments designed by Jean-Charles de Castelbajac for the reopening of Paris' Notre-Dame cathedral in December, are pictured during an interview with the Associated Press, Wednesday, Nov. 20, 2024 in Paris. (AP Photo/Michel Euler)

Designer Jean-Charles de Castelbajac gestures as he speaks during an interview with the Associated Press Wednesday, Nov. 20, 2024 in Paris. (AP Photo/Michel Euler)

Designer Jean-Charles de Castelbajac displays a liturgical vestment for priests to be worn at the reopening of Paris' Notre-Dame cathedral in December, Wednesday, Nov. 20, 2024 in Paris. (AP Photo/Michel Euler)

Designer Jean-Charles de Castelbajac displays a liturgical vestment for bishops to be worn at the reopening of Paris' Notre Dame Cathedral in December during an interview with the Associated Press Wednesday, Nov. 20, 2024 in Paris. (AP Photo/Michel Euler)

Designer Jean-Charles de Castelbajac displays a liturgical vestment for bishops to be worn at the reopening of Paris' Notre-Dame Cathedral in December, Wednesday, Nov. 20, 2024 in Paris. (AP Photo/Michel Euler)

INGLEWOOD, Calif. (AP) — After what Kawhi Leonard has gone through the past nine months, returning to the court for the Los Angeles Clippers was the easy part.

Leonard played 19 minutes and scored 12 points in his season debut Saturday night to help the Clippers beat the Atlanta Hawks 131-105.

The six-time All-Star forward missed the Clippers’ first 34 games with what the team described as right knee injury recovery. It was his first NBA game action since Game 3 of the Clippers’ Western Conference first-round playoff series against Dallas on April 26.

“We did the right steps to get me to this point,” Leonard said. "Playing basketball was the easy part of it. This is what I love to do. The hard part is not playing and having the rehab and not competing with my teammates.

Leonard was in the starting lineup and got a giant round of applause from the crowd at the Intuit Dome when he was introduced. He hit a 3-pointer on his first shot from the left wing with 9:57 remaining in the first quarter to tie it at 5-all.

Leonard was 4 of 11 from the floor, including three 3-pointers, along with three rebounds and one assist.

Both Leonard and coach Tyronn Lue stressed taking it slow as Leonard gets into playing shape.

“I took the shots that I got. Anybody watching that wants me to score 20 or 30 points and be aggressive, we are not on no one's timeframe," Leonard said. "We know what’s ahead of us and we have to keep building in the right direction. We were facing it like a preseason game tonight and we’ll keep moving the same way until I'm able to build up my minutes.”

Lue, who did not say how long Leonard would be on a minutes restriction, thought Leonard's first game back went well and that having him on the floor made things easier for everyone else.

“Just want him to ease into it. Didn’t want to force feed him. I thought our guys did a good job of not just sitting around watching him play and just continue to play the game,” Lue said. "It was good to have him, now we just have to continue to keep building off of it.”

Leonard has missed 290 regular-season games over the last eight years, including all of the 2021-22 season with knee trouble after being injured in the 2021 Western Conference semifinals against Utah.

If Saturday's game was any indication, a full-strength Clippers squad could surprise some people in the Western Conference. LA broke things open in the second quarter and at one point led by 27 points.

“With Kawhi on the floor, he can draw so much attention, double team and things like that. I’m able to finally get some catch-and-shoot 3s, play off rotation, being able to attack the basket, so it’s a lot easier," said guard Norman Powell, who had 20 points.

“And just defensively, where we’ve been playing and our defensive identity this year even before Kawhi came out today, I think it fits him perfectly and makes it hard for teams because we got so many guys that can switch and guard and defend one-on-one and now you got the help side, so I’m really excited. First game, he looked really good, so just continue to build on that.”

The Clippers are 20-15 record and in seventh place in the Western Conference. However, only 2 1/2 games separate the second- to seventh-place teams. After Paul George signed with Philadelphia and Leonard missing the first part of the season, the Clippers weren't expected to be five games over .500 at this point.

Lue stressed though that there is still a lot of the regular season left to play.

“A lot of room for improvement. We can get better,” he said. "Our guys have done a great job. James (Harden), Norm and Zu (Ivica Zubac) have really done a good job at just showing their veteran leadership but also carrying this team. Now we just got to be ready to build off of this. We’ve done a good job at holding it down until Kawhi got back, but now we got to continue to take those next steps to be a great team.”

AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/nba

Los Angeles Clippers forward Kawhi Leonard (2) shoots over Atlanta Hawks forward De'Andre Hunter during the second half of an NBA basketball game Saturday, Jan. 4, 2025, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Jayne-Kamin-Oncea)

Los Angeles Clippers forward Kawhi Leonard, center, is defended by Atlanta Hawks center Clint Capela, left, and Hawks forward De'Andre Hunter during the second half of an NBA basketball game Saturday, Jan. 4, 2025, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Jayne-Kamin-Oncea)

Los Angeles Clippers forward Kawhi Leonard, left, steals the ball from Atlanta Hawks guard Trae Young during the first half of an NBA basketball game Saturday, Jan. 4, 2025, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Jayne-Kamin-Oncea)

Los Angeles Clippers forward Kawhi Leonard looks on during the second half of an NBA basketball game against the Atlanta Hawks, Saturday, Jan. 4, 2025, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Jayne-Kamin-Oncea)