I grew up around the corner from the Champs-Élysées. It was a busy neighborhood in the 1980s, with nightclubs, cinemas, and cabarets. On the other side of my neighborhood, where I went to school, it was very quiet. I was living on the edge of both.
My school had a uniform that was pretty plain—the colors were navy, white, and gray. Today, at 37, my style isn’t very different. I don’t really do prints or colors, and I mostly wear black and navy. Sometimes I’ll dress up my look with black leather, or another special fabric when I want to feel most like myself. If I’m wearing denim and a white T-shirt, then I’ll add a leopard print to toughen it up.
For a recent collaboration with Away, I wanted something that was timeless and both feminine and masculine. I love the color navy because it goes with everything. I was also inspired by military uniforms.
I moved to New York at the age of 24. You can’t really compare the two cities, but I think the pace of living is very different in each. New York is really all about work, work, work, and sometimes it can be a bit too much; in Paris, it’s all about enjoying a nice lunch and dinner. Sometimes that’s all you do in a day. It’s a different rhythm of life.
New York inspires me with its energy and electricity. I’m inspired by vintage Paris—the Paris of the 1960s and ’70s, the Paris in old movies. When I visit Paris now with my daughter, I like to relive my childhood memories with her. I take her to the park where my parents used to take me, for the pony rides and the carousel.
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