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Those who know Touitou view the school as one of his characteristically savvy, forward-looking ventures—a project that others will someday try to copy. (“Jean is like a good chess player who’s always a few moves ahead,” says Augustyniak.) Touitou says he sees it as a way to “build something solid that might last longer than fashion.” When describing his overall outlook on life, he uses the French word désespéré, which means something between “despairing” and “hopeless.” Given the current state of the world, he says, “I think it’s only by attempting to create something beautiful that you manage to have a bearable existence.” Whether it’s with his clothing designs, his music projects or the new preschool, he says, “I’m trying to do that.”
