peut ĂŞtre Issue 5
peut-ĂŞtre
Chanel
Chanel Ready-To-Wear Fall Winter 2012 / 2013
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CONTENTS
Issue 5
Chanel Ready-To-Wear Fall Winter 2012 / 2013
007 008 019 051 077 103 127 153 187 208 230 235
A WORD FROM THE EDITOR POLAROID PORTRAITS Kasia Nawrocka BEHIND THE SCENES Chanel BEHIND THE SCENES Yiqing Yin BEHIND CLOSED DOORS Coco Noir BEHIND THE SCENES Cacharel BEHIND THE SCENES Tsumori Chisato BACKSTAGE PASS BEHIND CLOSED DOORS The jasmine fields of Mr Mul PORTFOLIO Helen Korpak HELLO DE LOU CONTRIBUTORS
peut être Issue 5
On our cover : Kasia Nawrocka - WM Models / Hair : Nathalie Malric / No make up
Cacharel
A WORD FROM THE EDITOR
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Each new issue of Peut-être takes me into new worlds, both physically and in my imagination. Sometimes it’s a surprise; sometimes it feels like an achievement. But I had never dreamed I would be welcomed into Coco Chanel’s apartment above the boutique on rue Cambon. I had heard about it, seen some pictures on the Internet from people fortunate to have had the opportunity to visit it. Not only was I allowed to visit the apartment, but I also got to spend two days in it and make it mine, to give my own vision of this beautiful place and Coco Noir, Chanel’s new fragrance. What a challenge, and how exciting it was! Chocolate Polaroids immediately came to mind as the perfect way to depict how I wanted to capture this place and the bottle of Coco Noir. Something warm and mysterious, familiar and eerie; as if it had been taken while Gabrielle Chanel was in the other room, or as though you could hear the key in the lock, expecting her to come in after working in her studio downstairs. I had the opportunity to witness the creation of another fragrance: the mythic Chanel N°5. I approached Chanel with an idea of celebrating our fifth issue, N°5 in French, by collaborating on something special with their renowned Chanel N°5 fragrance. They proposed I travel to the south of France, offering me the chance to see how it all begins. When I arrived in the jasmine fields of Grasse, it seemed as though there was no time and space, just a sunny and green place. Where ladies wore beautiful floral dresses, large straw hats, and kept their jasmine petals fresh with pastel towels, attaching lovely ribbons to the handle of their wicker basket. It looked like a timeless scene to me. Mr Joseph Mul, owner of the jasmine fields, picked fresh figs on the tree and offered them to me. He suggested I touch the geranium leaves that were growing, smell my hand and appreciate the fresh smell that reminded me of lemon. It was a delight! It’s also very moving for me to publish the very first Polaroid portraits I took two and a half years ago. I can still remember how nervous and insecure I was, trying to appear professional during the photographic shoot, even though I knew exactly the result I was expecting. So many things have happened since then, it seems like it was such a long time ago. Peut-être wasn’t in existence yet. I just wanted to express my emotions through photography and find a fulfilling way to do it. Peut-être has exceeded my expectations.
Nathalie Malric, editor in chief
All images copyright © Nathalie Malric unless otherwise indicated. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced in whole or in part without permission from the publisher. Copyright Peut-Être magazine 2011-2012
POLAROID PORTRAITS
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Kasia Nawrocka WM Models
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Kasia was my first model ever. I decided to make portraits of models after my first show backstage as a photographer on January 25th in 2010. I had a revelation; I was in awe before the models. To me, they looked like fragile little birds, so young and vulnerable. I wanted to catch their beauty in a very simple way: stripped bare. Later, many agencies didn’t understand my vision and wanted me to photograph them with styling and exaggerated poses. I tried, but it didn’t work, so I stopped working with them. I was a beginner and they made me feel like I didn’t meet their expectations. Now I just believe they didn’t understand my vision. The only accessories I would agree on were flowers in their hair, a braid on the side. The girls didn’t require more to be beautiful. Not even hair or make up. I love the bags under their eyes, the grain on their skin. I like that they look human; it’s what they are, aren’t they? WM model agency approved of my project and sent me a selection of portfolios so I could choose my first model for my first Polaroid portrait shoot. As soon as I saw her I knew Kasia was the one. She looked like a ballet dancer. The night before the shoot I barely slept. I was so nervous and worried she would notice it was my first shoot. I thought that shooting at home made me look unprofessional, and wished I had a big photo studio and a lot of lighting equipment to look more experienced. I also wondered if I could capture the images I could see so clearly in my mind. Was it possible to take the pictures I was imagining? When Kasia rang my bell I panicked. But she was sweet and understood my vision. I made her a bun; put the fabric flowers in her hair I had prepared the day before. I brought my little heating machine because I was afraid she would be cold. I also had bought a robe, hoping the shoot would not be a disaster and that more than one model would use it. It took me ages to choose it. Which colour? Which material? What kind of robe would models prefer? I finally went for a fluffy, soft and comfy lilac robe with a large shawl collar. Kasia looked so fragile and graceful. I took a dozen pictures. I didn’t need more to feel reassured and recognize those pictures were the ones I had pictured in my mind. This Polaroid series is the first of some of my most precious and personal photography projects so far. Nathalie Malric.
BEHIND THE SCENES
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Chanel Haute Couture Fall Winter 2012/2013
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Inspired by the palette of French painter and printmaker Marie Laurencin, Karl Lagerfeld’s ‘New Vintage’ couture collection for Chanel consisted primarily of soft nubby tweeds in petal pinks and 50 shades of grey, darkening to lustrous blacks, silvers and touches of fuchsia for eveningwear. Chanel’s classic shapes were reworked to express the historical nature of the House with a modern twist, by fine-tuning proportions and details to create timeless couture: “I wanted a modern elegance, casual” - said Lagerfeld. The ensuing 60 looks subtly showcased the incredible craft and handwork of the house’s and subsidiary ateliers. Since 1997, Chanel has bought and merged into a group called ‘Paraffection’ nine Parisian ateliers of crafts, to preserve their savoir-faire: Lesage and Montex (embroidery), Massaro (shoemaker), Goossens (goldsmith), Lemarié (the last plumassier atelier in France), Michel (milliners), Guillet (fabric flower-makers), Causse (glove maker) and Desrues (costume jewellery - including buttons). For each haute couture collection, the team of designers and embroiderers at Lesage develop a hundred new embroidery pieces. “The couturier is the architect, we are the decorators” - Lesage once said. The workshop, bought by Chanel in 2002, dates back to 1858, and has the largest collection of embroidery and jet beads, with more than sixty tons of embroidery materials or 60,000 samples listed since 1858. Lesage’s embroiderers certainly had their nimble fingers busy with this couture collection for Chanel. While silhouettes were kept simple with easy tailored tweed suits and swing coats, the fabrics and details were elaborate and opulent. Some were created entirely from looped silken threads and iridescent sequins, while others were intricate patchworks; “couture is for a world of privilege’ - said Lagerfeld. The embroiderer’s skills were also evident in sophisticated angora wool motifs, pearly-pink micro-tubes, and petite clover flowers on tulle. Sequinned dresses were accented with balls of pink fur resembling little rabbit-tail pompoms, or with angel wings in feathered tulle. Ethereal creations by the plumassier Lemarié included pastel evening gowns, a full-length white tulle coat embroidered with fluttering ostrich plumes, and the bridal gown with its feather skirt and high feather collar framing the model’s face. The subtly sparkling theme continued in pumps crafted in shimmering pastel colours with platinum toecaps and half-heels. Each shoe was individually handcrafted by the House of Massaro, the fashion house founded in 1894 responsible for creating the iconic black and beige pump synonymous with Chanel.. In this small-scale factory, fourteen skilled staff toil on traditional equipment to produce around 3,000 pairs of shoes a year, 500 of which are for Chanel. For each shoe, a ‘last’ is hand-carved (the foot-shaped mould over which the leather is stretched), and requires more than three fittings and over 40 hours of work, substantiating Lagerfeld’s observation that “a really well made shoe is the path to luxury”. This luxuriously simple collection, simple in silhouette, but luxurious in its intricate embroideries, was free of obvious ostentation or extravagance. Jewellery was kept at a minimum, and accessories were pared back, such as the understated embroidered tweed bags that matched the coats. Chanel’s signature camellia made its way onto a number of looks. As closures on evening pieces such as the nubby grey tweed bolero embroidered through with tiny beads and pearls; on an evening gown festooned with pale pink camellias, and most notably, on the closing wedding gown and in the bride’s hair. In the extraordinarily talented hands of Karl Lagerfeld, Chanel’s ateliers and the houses of Massaro, Montex, Desrues, Lesage and Lemarié, old became new, and simplicity, luxurious. Clarice Chian
BEHIND THE SCENES
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Yiqing Yin Haute Couture Fall Winter 2012/2013
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It comes as no surprise that Chinese-born designer Yiqing Yin always wanted to be a sculptor. This lead her to study at Paris’ Ecole Nationale des Arts Décoratifs, where she worked with various creative mediums ranging from graphic design to interior design. However, “Once I touched the fabric and textiles I knew I would work in fashion. I loved the sensuousness of the fabric. I felt it was a different way to express myself,” she says. Yiqing’s design process is highly instinctive, intricate, and sculptural. She builds most of her pieces by directly manipulating and pinning a flat piece of fabric onto a mannequin to create unique three-dimensional silhouettes that are a combination of defined and loose parts, incorporating pleating, draping and ruching. “It’s between something very elaborate and modern with draping, but also very anarchic, chaotic almost. It’s accidental. I am always preserving accidents, because it’s the real space for creative freedom and magic. It’s really the process that counts most rather than the result,” she says. Her rich and romantic style, influenced by the surrealist artist Hans Bellmer, is a linear accumulation. Every presentation tells us a different story. Titled ‘Spring of Nüwa’, Yiqing Yin’s latest couture collection furthered her naturalistic aesthetic by reimagining the female form in a world of purely mineral and vegetable composition, exploring mineral textures and organic materials. The designer shifted towards a lighter, fresher and more colourful collection, as she experimented with weightless silks and colour, in the form of bursts of pure red or smoky blue in a sea of varying shades of grey. Yiqing created volume and structure with her signature layers loosely draped, slashed or sculpted into mille-feuille pleats using light cascades of silk satin and muslin, tulle, and iridescent organza, contrasted with raw unfinished linens. Subtle mineral and floral references could be seen in colours and fabrics. The iridescent silk organzas in marine blue or green with silver glints were consistent with the mineral and multicolour themes. Linen gauze, mostly in pearl grey, added texture to the collection by being pressed and stretched to create an irregular surface that stood out from the body, in folded and pleated panels that followed the outline of the body’s musculature. Feathers also featured in this collection, either along the shoulders and neckline, like the vest draped in pearl grey silk satin paired with a skirt with draped panels in rami, or embroidered with goose and pheasant feathers down the centre of a black draped silk and linen dress. Yiqing did not stop at sculpting fabrics for this collection, but also took to creating floral and feathered sculptures that made for a mindblowing finale. The ‘venus’ body sculpting jumpsuit featured multicoloured flower petals and embroidered frills; closing the show, the pièce de résistance ‘cage’ dress comprised of a blue and grey dress made of bone that curled up and around the torso like an eccentric bird cage, covered with peacock, ostrich, cock, goose, and pheasant feathers, billowing into a floor length gown. ‘Spring of Nüwa’ showcased Yiqing Yin’s skills as a sculptor, and we continue to be delighted by her stunning creations. Clarice Chian
BEHIND CLOSED DOORS
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Coco Noir Inside Coco Chanel’s apartment
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When given “carte blanche” to express her own vision of Chanel’s latest fragrance Coco Noir in Gabrielle Chanel’s apartment, Nathalie was ecstatic and honoured. What better place to capture the oriental influence Gabrielle Chanel found in Venice than Chanel’s source of inspiration, her own apartment? Every nook and cranny of Gabrielle (a.k.a. Coco) Chanel’s apartment on 31 Rue Cambon exudes Chanel glamour. Although it isn’t a large or grand place, it is opulent, sophisticated and elegant, and remains exactly as Chanel left it. It feels embracing and intimate, so much so that we could not help but sit on the suede couch Chanel designed herself. Orientalism in Chanel’s life began with Venice, a city of confluence between the Orient and the Occident. She first travelled there in 1920, and returned several times thereafter, finding inspiration in every corner. She was particularly inspired by the bright colours and the gold of Pala d`Oro, golden byzantine mosaics, and coloured stained-glass windows-later saying, ”Why did everything that I do become so Byzantine?” Venice inspired Chanel to add opulent and bright colours, baroque arabesques, and gold that contrasted her minimal aesthetics and toned-down black and whites. Coco Chanel’s passion for Oriental style is clearly evident throughout her apartment, with ornate lacquered Chinese screens, antique vases and sculptures of Hindu deities lining her bookshelves. The antique lacquered Chinese screens and wall panels are covered with a coromandel bird design and camellia flowers, which became a signature motif for the Chanel fashion house that continues to be used to this day. In the Venetian palaces, she admired the large mirrors, the baroque gold leaf consoles, and the large Murano chandeliers that shimmered with gold. In her apartment, this translated to huge gilded mirrors of the 17th century, ochre and gold-painted hessian covered walls, giant luxurious crystal chandeliers, and lacquered consoles. The gold adorning Venice’s churches also inspired Chanel’s jewellery, such as chunky Byzantine crosses she recreated as costume jewellery. Deeply superstitious and a firm believer in zodiac signs, she discovered Venice to be a city of many symbols, symbols that resonated with Chanel. As a Leo, the golden lion not only represented her zodiac sign but was also a symbol of strength and courage, and the protective emblem of Venice. It became an enduring biographical seal on many of Chanel’s creations, seen on Chanel buttons and jewellery over the years. The golden lion also made its way into Chanel’s apartment as table decorations, as did lucky symbols such as a frog with its mouth open, pairs of Japanese deer and wheat motifs, a sign of prosperity. Venice continues to inspire the House of Chanel, not only Karl Lagerfeld’s collections for the House, but most recently, to create Chanel’s latest fragrance, Coco Noir. It took just a year, albeit with 150 versions, for Jacques Polge, Chanel’s master perfumer, to capture Chanel’s relationship with Venice, and the influence it had on her designs and apartment. The gold of Venice and its influence on Chanel’s designs was interpreted as fresh, sweet and luminous, with the lightest of citruses, Calabrian bergamot, mandarin and grapefruit illuminated by aldehydes. This ensures the oriental fragrance is not heavy, creating a new category of fragrance: a fresh oriental. An evolution from Chanel’s previous fragrances, it includes Brazilian and Venezuelan tonka bean, Indonesian patchouli, New Caledonian sandalwood, bourbon vanilla and white musk frankincense. This ‘nocturnal Baroque’ is housed in a black lacquered bottle, Chanel’s iconic colour: “Before me, no one would have dared dress in black.” (Chanel). Like an iconic Chanel little black dress, it is classic, simple and elegant. Clarice Chian
BEHIND THE SCENES
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Cacharel Ready - To - Wear Fall Winter 2012/2013
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Although new to Cacharel, Chinese designers Dawei Sun and Ling Liu are by no means novices in the fashion world. After completing their art studies in China, they first met nine years ago whilst studying fashion at L’Ecole de la Chambre Syndicale de la Couture in Paris. Between the pair they have won several prestigious prizes, and garnered experience at Balenciaga, Yves Saint Laurent, Lolita Lempicka and John Galliano. Dawei and Ling decided to create their own label Belle Ninon in 2008, and were later appointed artistic directors of Cacharel in June 2011. The designing duo’s creative partnership combines their complementary styles: the relaxed and fluid feminine lines of Ling’s aesthetic, with Dawei’s structured tailored forms. For their second collection for Cacharel they unveiled a collection inspired by a fusion of Bauhaus design elements, pioneering female aviator Amelia Earhart, and ice crystals glimpsed through an airplane window reflected in the ice fractal motif of prismatic prints and wintery blue hues. The 1920’s Art Deco style of a young Amelia Earhart was the starting point for the collection, with skilfully tailored wool coats, printed cropped pants, and adorable cloche hats. Earhart’s aviation inspiration was evident in brightly coloured caps in leather or felted wool with matching gloves, elegant aviator jackets and an expertly cut ‘flight’ jumpsuit, belted at the waist to maintain a feminine silhouette. Demonstrating a real flair for prints, the designers showcased their art background (including Ling’s oil painting skills), from the chalklike prismatic prints, to the zigzag herringbone on dresses and palazzo pants, to the whimsical and kaleidoscopic feather and flower prints on pastel stockings. These beautiful ‘caleidoplume’ prints later recurred on greyscale dresses and maxi skirts in soft felted wool. The knitwear was also noteworthy, with chevron knit textures mirroring the zigzag prints, a motif used to inject masculinity to otherwise feminine pieces, such as the sweet knitted skater dress with radiating side pleats that flare out from each side, textured chunky blue knits with wraparound necks, and separates that were worn layered and often belted to draw in the waist. The pastel palette comprised predominantly of feather greys and pastel blues like robin’s egg, aquamarine, and pale turquoise. Against this wintery background, splashes of fuchsia, mustard yellow and hibiscus red provided visual contrast on pilot caps, gloves, colourblocked belts, sculpted heels and cute hairpins that matched the colour palette of the outfit. Bright colours were also used for leather shift dresses, like the yellow square-neck shift in a sunny hue that enlivened the lush leather, detailed with exposed seaming that highlighted the exquisite tailoring and defined the nipped-in waist. Dawei and Ling skilfully balanced structure and tailoring with romanticism and sweetness, infusing masculinity into Cacharel’s girlish character, a brand characterized by their youthful style, femininity, lightness, refinement and use of bright colours.With easily wearable menswear-infused womenswear, the duo demonstrated their designs were not just flights of fancy. Clarice Chian
BEHIND THE SCENES
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Tsumori Chisato Ready - To - Wear Fall Winter 2012/2013
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Last season’s tropical island made way for this season’s Swiss Alps, palm trees were replaced by fir trees, and fanciful parasols and poolside glamour exchanged for ski poles and knitwear, as Tsumori Chisato was inspired by her ski holiday in Switzerland for her Fall/Winter 2013 collection. “I was deeply inspired by the cable cars and the cable railways. I drew my collection following these graphical lines. I loved including personal memories. I tried to drop some holiday’s pictures that I took by myself. As if memories could be turned into prints”, said Tsumori. And so they were. Original prints were created using her own holiday shots of snowy fir trees, chalets, gondola cable cars and ski slopes down snow-capped mountains. These were then digitally printed in large scale on jeans, skirts and knee-length shirt dresses; even Chisato’s own shadow is seen in the foreground of one print, adding a touch of authenticity. With neon squiggles acting as a ski slope backdrop, the ski theme was apparent in every single item, from embellished cable cars and skiers, to the silvery ski poles used as minimalist, almost abstract, motifs. Tsumori’s fascination with gondola cable cars of ski lifts was further found knit into intarsia ski sweaters and embellished onto sweater dresses and billowy blouses. Shirking sombre winter colours, Tsumori opted instead for light and airy colours like bright pastels, neons and bold hues, with fun chequered azure prints drawn with a marker. This quirky motocross print made its way onto ear covering fleece headbands, blousy tops, tailored ski pants and spliced with different prints onto dresses. Tsumori’s trademark manga aesthetic was toned down to some extent, with nubby tweed jackets, ‘Little Red Riding Hood’ hooded cloaks, and beautiful blue watercolours of fir trees printed on silk chiffon. Her ever-present element of fun was still aplenty however, with crystal encrusted semi sheer pants, and a mini-dress seemingly embellished with every decoration under the sun: sequins, appliqués, fluttery feathers, beads, pom poms, appliqués and embroideries. Lace-up wedged boots resembled ice-skating boots, and oversized sunglasses appeared to combine owls, cats and ski goggles, for a dash of Tsumori whimsy. With every Tsumori Chisato show, she takes us on a journey through a land of her imagination, turning her clothes into postcards from ‘Tsumori world’. I can’t wait to see where Tsumori goes on holiday next. Clarice Chian
backstage pass
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Yohji Yamamoto
Yohji Yamamoto
Yohji Yamamoto
Sonia Rykiel
Chanel
Chanel
Cacharel
Chanel
Chanel
Chanel
Chanel
Chanel
Chanel
Chanel
Didit Hediprasetyo
Didit Hediprasetyo
Manish Arora
Manish Arora
Manish Arora
Cacharel
Chanel
Anne-ValĂŠrie Hash
Anne-ValĂŠrie Hash
Steffie Christiaens
BEHIND CLOSED DOORS
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Chanel N째5 The jasmine fields of Mr Mul
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Last September, Nathalie travelled to the South of France to observe and capture through her lens, the art of making one of the most precious ingredients in perfumery: the Grasse jasmine absolute. Somewhere in the world, one bottle of Chanel N°5 perfume is sold every 30 seconds. In each 30ml bottle there are 1,000 Jasmine flowers and twelve May Roses from Grasse, a Provençal town in the South of France, nestled between the Mediterranean coast and the mountains. The sheltered location of Grasse and its rich mix of clay and chalk soils create an ideal environment for growing flowers, such that the jasmine grown here exudes a refined fragrance with notes of mate tea different from jasmine grown in other parts of the world. To secure its supply of these blooms for its 90-year-old signature scent, Chanel has worked for five generations with the Mul family, who produces 90% of the jasmine grown in the region, all of which is reserved for Chanel’s N°5 perfume. The jasmine used by Chanel has large flowers (Jasminum grandiflorum), and was grafted to the roots of the hardier medicinal Jasminum officinale by the Mul family to keep the plant’s roots strong, healthy, and resistant to the cold, while producing the uniquely fragrant flowers essential for the perfume. Seventy seasonal workers harvest May Roses, so named because they bloom for a maximum of three weeks in May, and ninety for Jasmine between July and October. In total, the fields produce a staggering 20 tons of jasmine and 50 tons of roses each year. We meandered through the white jasmine fields at 10am, and it was already incredibly hot. The ladies (flower-gatherers) had already been there since 6am, starting their day early due to the delicate nature of the flowers. They picked them delicately by hand from bushes less than one metre tall, just as the blooms open at sunrise. This meticulous work requires detailed knowledge of the plants, and a picker harvests around 4000 flowers per hour, which weigh a mere 500g. Dressed in floral printed dresses with mixed colours and prints, the flower-gatherers wore large straw hats, sometimes one on top of another because the sun was so strong. Each lady had a wicker basket she had customized with a little ribbon tied around the handle. They also covered the jasmine in the wicker baskets with a towel to keep it fresh and protect it from the sun. They worked with exceptional efficiency to pluck the blooms before sunrise, after which Joseph Mul then weighed their petal-filled wicker baskets. It was amusing to see the flower-gatherers run to queue at the door of the room where the jasmine is weighed after their morning’s harvest.They were eager to find out the weight of the jasmine they had picked because they wanted to do well. Once the pickers have painstakingly harvested 200 kg of Jasmine, the race against the clock begins. After the flowers are weighed, they are set out on five perforated trays piled on top of each other to extract the ‘concrete’, a wax obtained after extraction from flowers using volatile solvents. For only 1 kg of concrete, 350 kg or 2,800,000 of jasmine flowers are required. As the concrete is too thick to be used directly in a perfume formula, it is then blended with alcohol several times in mixers, chilled to a temperature of -15° Celsius and filtered to separate the wax from the liquid. The liquid is then steam distilled to eliminate the alcohol. It takes about three days to obtain the absolute from the concrete; 1 kg of concrete produces only 550g of Jasmine absolute. This jasmine absolute, along with the May rose absolute are the heart of the amber liquid contained in the iconic Chanel N°5’s square faceted bottle. “Number five. Yes,” Chanel said, «that is what I was waiting for. A perfume like nothing else. A woman’s perfume, with the scent of a woman.” Millions of women around the world seem to agree. Clarice Chian
PORTFOLIO
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Self-portrait by Helen Korpak
Helen Korpak
http://helenkorpak.com/index.php
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Helen Korpak is a 23-year-old Finnish photographer currently studying in her hometown of Helsinki for a BA in Photography at the Aalto University School of Arts and Design. Although she has only used a camera for five years, Korpak has already developed a unique and understated style, creating emotive pictures based on instants, capturing mundane details and moments of tenderness, coloured by eerie landscapes. We chatted to Helen about her motivations, inspirations and aspirations… Interview by Nathalie Malric - Text by Clarice Chian
Peut-Être : Hello Helen, when did you start photography? Helen Korpak : Almost five years ago, when I turned 18 and got my father’s old camera as a birthday gift. PE : Do you shoot digitally or with analog? Do you have a preference for either? HK : For personal projects I shoot in film, but I don’t mind doing commissions digitally or digital photography in general. They are two different sides of the same thing - with film photography you develop the pictures in a darkroom, with digital photography you develop the pictures in a computer. But I prefer film because I appreciate the fact that the photo I produce exists in reality, as a negative. The analog photo is a physical thing whereas the digital photo’s “negative”, the raw-file, only exists inside a machine as a row of digits. PE : How would you describe your photography? HK : I would describe my photography as personal, subjective and investigative. In photography, I do whatever I want and try not to set limitations. One thing I do want though is to be ethical in my photography, trying to eliminate strong power relations between the model and I, or trying not to create imperialistic and colonialistic structures in my images. I am also interested in writing and do some freelance work within that field. PE : How important is photography in your life? HK : I can’t separate my life from photography; the two have grown together and feed each other. Photography has taught me to see things in a new way, and my private life is the main subject of my work. I always carry a camera with me - most of my pictures are snapshots, milliseconds of my life documented.
PE : What do you like to do when you don’t take pictures? HK : Photography is the biggest passion in my life, so most of my time is taken up by it, but I also do freelance writing, and a free art magazine called Traum Noir, distributed in Helsinki and online, together with my graphic designer friend Antton Nuotio. I also like to travel, meet people, talk and read in my free time. I used to play violin (for 15 years) and spent some years in a punk band, so I’m very much into music, too. PE : Which photographers and artists do you like? AW : There are literally hundreds of artists that always make me think “How did I forget to mention them last time someone asked me about my favourites?” I love looking at photos and art and I think there is so much fantastic art in the history of mankind that it’s almost impossible to answer this. At this very moment I instinctively feel like mentioning Caravaggio and Harley Weir, and the people of the Omo Valley in Ethiopia who decorate themselves with plants, flowers and fruits. PE : What do you find inspiring? HK : Travelling, people, emotions, light, nature, learning and realizing new things. PE : Do you have any upcoming projects (in photography or other)? HK : I have some ideas in the back of my mind that are slowly working their way out. At the moment I am focusing on an independent publishing project called HO Books with Otso Harju.
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“I can’t separate my life from photography; the two have grown together and feed each other”
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When our eyes met at the supermarket three years ago, I was overwhelmed by Lou’s beauty. She was carrying food in her crossed arms and looked straight into my eyes. Her face was so sweet and pure that I asked her father if I could take pictures of her. Her parents trusted me, and now we are friends. I am so happy to witness her grow up beautifully. In every issue she will comment on some pictures I have taken of her.
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Thank you John Nollet for your love and support.
Nathalie Malric
John’s dog Mona wearing a John Nollet hair accessory. Thanks to Laurent Bernillon and Bilitis Poirier for making this shooting possible.
MENTIONS LÉGALES Peut-Être Magazine Nathalie Malric 181-183 boulevard Voltaire 75011 Paris IMPRESSION Studio Pixart Srl Unipersonale Via Aquilonia, 4 interno 7 00177 ROMA RM ITALIA Paru novembre 2012 Dépôt légal novembre 2012 28,00 euros France Métropolitaine ISSN 2259-1427
CONTRIBUTORS
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FOUNDER EDITOR IN CHIEF PHOTOGRAPHER Nathalie Malric FASHION AND LIFESTYLE WRITER EDITOR Clarice Chian ART DIRECTOR Olivier Bousquet LIGHTING ASSISTANT - COCO NOIR SHOOTING Chris Arundel SPECIAL THANKS Claudette & Alain Malric Laurent Bernillon www.peutetremagazine.com contact@peutetremagazine.com WISH LIST Cacharel : www.cacharel.fr Chanel : www.chanel.com Tsumori Chisato : www.tsumorichisato.com Helen Korpak : http://helenkorpak.com/index.php Yiqing Yin : www.yiqingyin.com/fr
First edition
/300
Flower-gatherer picking jasmine for Chanel
ISSN : 2259-1427 - N°5 - F : 28€ - nov. 2012