Joe Corré's products have certainly stirred up a range of emotions, whether it was his edgy lingerie line, Agent Provocateur, or his striking make-up by Illamasqua. And he makes no bones about it. "Emotions are what my brands are all about," says Joe. "If it doesn't stir emotions in you, then it's as good as dead."
Whatever the pundits might say about not mixing business with pleasure (or, in this case, emotions), Joe's success shows that it not only works, but it can be the basis of a whole business philosophy. His men's clothing line, A Child of the Jago, launched in 2007, is a further example of his emotional approach - and with this brand he's happy to stay niche for the sake of creative freedom. "I am a very emotional man, and I don't try to hide it," he says. "That I suppose is the secret of my success."
In Dubai recently to launch the perfume line of Illamasqua - the make-up brand he bought after selling Agent Provocateur in 2008 - Joe, 43, looks both well turned out and fashionably unkempt. He comes across as a little child, wide-eyed at the possibility of creating mayhem and having fun - just like his punk icon mother and his late father.
In an exclusive interview with Friday he opens up on his life, passions and dreams:
Work
Work should never feel like work; why else would you do it? I don't feel I've worked a single day in my life; rather, I've lived it to the fullest. That's my idea of work. It's never been my priority to make a decision based purely on commerce. Agent Provocateur and Illamasqua are cases in point.
If I'm going to produce something, it should be something really good. When I sold Agent Provocateur I blew up my business model to focus more on quality than profits. I feel large corporations have lost their focus on quality - a word that can be interpreted many different ways.
You must be prepared to always take risks. That's what interests me. I am not into trends, what everybody else is doing - what's making money, what's not. I couldn't care less. I am interested in what I think, what excites me.
My men's line in clothing, A Child of the Jago, which I created with my old friend Simon ‘Barnzley' Armitage, epitomises ‘the making of clothes we would want to buy' approach. I sold my international label Agent Provocateur to go small. And I love it as here we do exactly what we want. That, in a nutshell, is the secret of success.
When I was about 17 or 18 I decided to help my mother. She was on her own, trying to develop her business. I ended up working with her for nine years. I didn't know anything about the business, the only thing I knew was it was OK to make a mistake. I learnt that it wasn't OK to make the same mistake twice. It certainly worked very well for me.
I was also honest enough to admit to myself that I didn't have the experience to take the company to where she really needed it to go. I didn't have the experience in the industry at that time for it. I'd done some solid groundwork, taken it to a stable position, but she needed someone else to take it forward.
I started Agent Provocateur in 1994. It was originally to be a small department store, a lifestyle store stocking furniture, books, lingerie, among other things. I tried to raise finance for that but nobody understood what I was trying to do. So, I took one element from it, lingerie, and started Agent Provocateur on December 8, 1994. By Christmas that year, I'd made my money back! We then went from strength to strength.
I sold it three years ago as I split from my wife and business partner, Serena Rees. It was a forced decision. But now I am pleased I did it, as it gave me the opportunity to join hands with Illamasqua, which I am very excited about.
The reason this appealed to me is because the brand involves a lot of emotions - the range of make-up it markets is not your regular stuff. There is no other emotional brand in make-up. The beauty industry is one that's, at the moment at least, focused on looking natural. People spend a fortune trying to look that way. Whereas Illamasqua has got colour, self-expression - we're super-natural, not natural! We celebrate the idea of imperfection, not perfection. It is the imperfections in us that make us human.
My partner, Julian Kynaston, conceived the idea of making theatrical-grade make-up: one that caters to the stage and cinema, very high-pigment colours that will stay on all night. So it's very high quality and the colours are something you can play around with. To me, that's emotional. We don't tell our customers this is how you should look. We're telling them go play with it and have fun.
I'm very hands-on where developing the Illamasqua perfume is concerned, but not so much with the make-up range. My involvement is to support them and help them structure the business, and create an interest in the company. We're only three years old, and are already a very fast-growing company: we have 58 stores in the US, we have three standalone stores in London, have hooked up with a chain in Australia, have six locations in the Middle East, and we are just launching our debut fragrance, Freak.
The fragrance industry is dominated by two or three leviathan companies. To be able to crowbar ourselves into such a market when we've been told that it took either 25 years in the business or ₤25 to ₤35 million (Dh140 to Dh200 million) to make a dent took some doing. So for an independent small business company with a lot of attitude and some good ideas to be able to make an impact like we have so far is absolutely incredible.
It proves that all decisions are emotional. If it wasn't, we'd be following trends and trying to do what they do. That's why I say we've to stick with our emotions and take risks.
It's what is exciting about work. We speak to a whole new generation. Actually, all generations are looking for something different. We get mature customers as well who say, ‘this is the place where I can try black lipstick,' and that's great.
Play
I've never had to look for excuses to play; I am always at it. Work is play, and play is work. If it wasn't it wouldn't be fun, and who wants to work at something that's not fun?
Of course, I've been enormously influenced in everything I do by my parents. They were non-conformist. It was very exciting growing up in that home.
I never took any training from my mother simply because my mother wasn't formally trained either. I come from a family that doesn't believe in anything formal - we're naturals! I didn't have to look for inspiration elsewhere, for me the inspiring people were at home.I enjoyed my childhood thoroughly. It was quite adventurous. Occasionally - very seldom - I would see it as a disadvantage. At certain points, some of the things my parents would do made us very unpopular because they left people frightened - of change, of something new, of somebody telling them their lives were perhaps not interesting. At some points we became public enemy number one. As a child that can sometimes be frightening. But I quickly grew to love the life. It could be incredibly exciting too.
I was not inspired to do anything on my own at that point. I just felt a part of it all. I was like a soldier who marched to their orders.
I do a lot of unconventional things, but I follow the convention in the basic things. For one, I stand in a line in a queue. I don't push to the front.
Music is a great source of pleasure for me. I've always been interested in music, in dressing up, which I guess led me to my profession.
One thing I love to do? Walk wherever I can.
Dream
I love children. I have a daughter myself and dream for the best for her. It's a wonderful experience to have children, to see them grow up. Having a child changes you. When I was a child my parents in many ways always respected my opinion. They were always prepared to listen to me even when I was quite a young child. I've tried to be like that with my daughter.
Having my own line was a dream, and it's come true twice. Right now one dream of mine is to take Illamasqua to the next level. I wouldn't be interested in this if I didn't think it can be bigger than the biggest brand in the market. I intend to make it bigger than that. I don't plan. It happens, it's an organic process. You dream big, you hit big. I'd say I am living my dream.
