Agnès b.

originally published in her. magazine volume 06

Agnès b. wears many different hats. As the interview begins she is standing in front of the mirror intricately wrapping and re-wrapping a beautiful blue fabric around her head. She expresses how she likes the elegance and ease of this look. As I watch her, I begin to see the reflection of the many women who make up her being: a young activist marching in the streets, a stylist in the studio, an art enthusiast discovering new talent, a director on set and a mother. With a notable career of over five decades, Agnès b. continues to approach work and life with vibrancy and enthusiasm; continuously exploring new means of creative expression…

Why do you refer to yourself as a stylist rather than a designer?

Being a stylist is a great job because I believe you can style anything. Clothes of course, but I also styled a movie [Je m'appelle Hmmm..., 2013). I have done many things with this approach in mind. I like to make different pieces go together. For Instance, at my home - a big old house - I love to move things around. It is nice to express yourself this way.

I think many people refer to you as a designer...

Yes, I am a designer. But I prefer the word stylist, which is why I chose to have it on my passport. I love to design and I am very quick at it, but ultimately, I love to style the collections and make everything come together. I always do my best to make clothes that have style - clothes that you can wear for a long time. In this sense, my clothes are not "extreme." However, I always try to come up with new ideas. I make four collections a year: two for men, two for women. It's hard work, but I am one of the few women who enjoy designing for men. I design everything myself. I cannot put my name on something I didn't design myself. For each show, I invite a young designer to show pieces from his or her collection under their own name. I have been doing this for a long time. I want to encourage the younger generation. We actually manufacture for them and then buy their pieces for the agues b. shops. Their names are out there and they can hopefully gain attention this way as well.

Did you always know you wanted to work with clothes?

I began working at Elle magazine. They hired me because I had a 'flea market' style. I had my own personal look that no one else was wearing at the time. I had no money and was looking for a job. After 18 months of working there, I thought it was much more interesting to actually design clothes. I had already started to design for Dorothee Bis at the time, and I worked for them for two years right after Elle. Even during my time at Elle, I was giving them advice and ideas. It was a wonderful experience and the training I received was so enriching. It was hard because I did not have much vacation and my twins were only five years old. They were going to school and I was working, but I must admit I learned a lot and I was very happy to design back then.

You had children at a young age, yet you managed to build a very successful career. How was that experience?

I come from a very bourgeois family in Versailles. My mother was very beautiful and very well dressed. She had a dressmaker come to make her clothes. I married very young, at 17 years old. I had to manage on my own when I left my husband. My family thought that if I wanted to do things my own way, then I should do it myself. I had no help. It was okay because I was quite free. I could do the things I wanted. I brought up my five children - three daughters and two sons - and sometimes that meant having to leave work a bit earlier. I was always with them for a bath, school work and dinner. I think it is important to understand how hard a mother has to work, and that she can do so many things. I am proud of the way I raised my family and I am proud of my career as well

What is French style to you?

I think there is great elegance in Paris. The young girls walking around the city are always good looking and elegant. They are not showy - they have great taste. I like the way the young men and women of Paris dress. There is something is a bit special about it. Of course, I love Amsterdam girls and London girls, but it Is different in Paris.

What are the key elements to personal style?

I always say, 'find what suits you' You need to find the lines and of course be yourself. You have to be comfortable because if not, you are not true to yourself. What is 'fashionable' very quickly becomes 'unfashionable.' I know that because I am often copied. I have never advertised, but I see my designs in fast fashion. It has been happening for a long time, but in the end, I don't mind. It urges me to try something else. The jumpsuits I design are often copied. I have been making them for over 40 years and they go in and out of fashion, but I like the design and continue to make them. I have changed the design in different ways, making the pattern into a dress or a skirt, but I have always believed in this style. I am very happy to move forward in my own way, never paying attention to what the 'fashion world' is doing. I also make things that I would like to wear. I think about travelling, for example when I am at the airport and what kind of coat I would like to be wearing. I always design from experiences or from the stories I create in my mind. I have to admit that I am not always perfect as I am often rushed. As one of my friends says about himself "Always elegant, never impeccable".

Do you feel an urge to respond to political climate in your creations? 

I make clothes that you can wear for a long time with good materials and good cuts. People tell me about the clothes they bought 10 or 20 years ago, and they always have a sort of tenderness about the clothes I design. They tell me about the stories connected to their clothes, which is really touching. I was in the streets in May 1968 protesting against capitalistic ideologies and overconsumption. My idea of making clothes that people can keep and that can last is my protest. I have pieces in my closet from 20 years ago and I'm still wearing them. I am not in fast fashion. We do make four collections a year, but I enjoy this rhythm. Fashion shows are a great form of expressing the collection, and everything you can see on the catwalk is produced. I am also very involved in ecology and I try to reduce my imprint in any way I can. I got more into it in the early 2000s after purchasing a schooner from Pippa Blake, the widow of Sir Peter Blake. The ship, which is named Tara, is mainly dedicated to scientific research in the arctic. Scientists have made major discoveries on her, notably about plankton and corral, which have been acknowledged by the international scientific community 

On the subject of ecology, do you have a message for the younger generation?

Life is a gift, and you have to do something with it. You have to be grateful for what we are given. You have certainly done something with your life... I feel lucky. I am interested in so many things and have been able to work with very talented people.

My generation is often referred to as a 'slash generation.' As millennials, many of us feel we are not taken seriously in the workplace. What are your thoughts on that? I don't think anyone should be concerned with what others think. You have to be true to yourself and express yourself as you like. It is important to try different things and to experiment with new ideas.

You are an avid art collector and you were one of the first designers to link art and clothing...

Yes. We made artist T-shirts, for example. We always put the name of the artist on the shirt and give them a percentage of the sales. I want to support artists whenever I can. I met many artists in the street hoping to share their work. I was walking in New York City and I saw Jim Joe's name on the wall, high up on a building. I wanted to meet him, and finally, some friends introduced us and I was able to have his exhibition in my space, la Galerie du Jour, sharing his work with my world.

You have also collaborated with Futura, right?

Yes. I met Futura in 1992, I believe. I have many old pictures of us together. We did some T-shirts once. I also have a few bug pieces he made. He is a great artist. 

Putting artists' work on T-shirts was a way of sharing art and making it more accessible. How do you think it affected the art world?

I started doing it a long time ago. We were even silk screening the shirts ourselves in the beginning. I like silk screening and I liked being able to share the work I loved with different people. The artists were excited, too. It was a new medium for them and I think it helped the art community grow and travel.

Can you tell us about your Harinezumi camera?

I used that camera in my film. I used it to gain a different image -something a bit more bizarre. The Harinezumi gave the film a different feel.

How does being a photographer differ from taking photos?

I never say I am a photographer, I just take photographs. There are so many photographers I admire, for example, Jacques Henri Lartigue and Henri Cartier Bresson. I really love this art form. Galerie du Jour has attended Paris Photo from the beginning because I wanted to know more and more. Everyone can take pictures but what makes the difference is the light, the frame and the angles. You should also try to be personal with your photography. 

Have you ever tried any other art forms, like painting?

I tried drawing people, but then I discovered photography and it was much faster!

Why do you like to put photographs on your clothing?

I have been doing this for ten years or more. Some women have collected all of my photo pieces. I find the inspiration for these pieces in many different places - in the city or in nature. We sometimes line the coats with photographs as well, which I think looks beautiful.

What kind of challenges did you face when working on Je m'appelle Hnunnz?

It was the first time I had done film, but I knew I had to do it. It is not my story but it was something that I needed to express, and I wrote it in two days. Ten years later, I was finally able to make the film. I found a girl with extraordinary talent, Lou-Lelia Demerliac. The great Scottish artist Douglas Gordon is also in the film. He wanted to have a role and I am so happy to have been able to work with him. We did not have much money to produce it and we did not have much time either. It was just something I had to do. Maybe it was an amateur film, but it was strong. It was in the Venice Film Festival, as well as the Abu Dhabi Film Festival, where I received a special mention from the Child Protection Jury. I will continue to make films since I really loved this last experience and have new ideas.

Do you remember the first time you visited Japan?

Yes, of course. It was 30 years ago. I remember arriving in Tokyo and seeing all of the fabrics hanging in the windows, in blue and pink. It really hit me. I have since come to know Japan better. I love going to little bars such as La Jetee, named after the film by Chris Marker. I love photographing the graffiti in the small streets. You don't see much graffiti in Japan, but you can see another side of it. This is how I came to know Hiraku Suzuki, a wonderful artist who is now creating beautiful work on 50-meter-long walls I was in a taxi and he was painting a wall, so I asked the driver to stop and I got out to talk to him. I do things like that! People ask me how I came to know all these artists and I tell them that you just have to go up and talk to them.

You recently created a new line exclusively for Japan: to b. You wrote that this represents a Tokyo-Path crossover. Can you explain the concept?

It is made in Japan, maybe for a younger clientele, but it is a chance to celebrate the strength the Japanese have in style. It is a very special culture and I am inspired by their purity of lines and use of materials such as stone, water and wood. I think the Japanese culture sees my appreciation for similar things in my collections. We have a very special bond. There is a true elegance that is very pure and simple - this is something we share. 

Do you prefer the city or the countryside?

I really love both the city and nature. I love the sea. I don't often go to the mountains because whenever my kids went skiing, I was always working on a collection!

What are your favourite bookstores in Path?

I love La Hune in Saint-Germain-des-Pres. I like going to L'Ecume des Pages as well. It is open late and it is really wonderful to go after having a drink at Café de Fiore. I often go there around 10pm or 11pm, my favourite hour. It is still so wonderful, but before, you could find Sartre and Simone de Beauvoir there. It used to be a very intellectual place. 

You define elegance as a certain discretion, a fluid line in beautiful materials. How can people be more elegant?

It is very important to be elegant in your actions. How you dress is not as important as the way you behave. 

Photography_ Stella Berkofsky
Writer_ Sofia Nebiolo

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