Paris-born, London-based designer Faustine Steinmetz’s approach to fashion is like no other. In rejection of “fast-fashion”, she spins, dyes and weaves all her own fabrics – by hand. And she doesn’t employ such pain-staking techniques to make extravagant clothes, she employs them to make everyday ones – like a pair of jeans – that you have in your wardrobe. It’s a new kind of couture.
This season, at the designer’s Salvador Dali-inspired London Fashion Week presentation, staged at the ICA, Steinmetz unveiled a collection of denim which was artfully pleated and shredded. Now the designer has unveiled her debut campaign – a set of minimal, beautifully-shot visuals photographed by Paris-based photographer Arnaud Lajeunie. Here Steinmetz tells us more about this campaign.
What were the references for this campaign?
Faustine Steinmetz: We actually tried to not over-reference it because our main goal was for the campaign to feel like a documentation of the work, more than a fashion shoot. We wanted it to feel like a neutral aesthetic where all the focus would be on the pieces themselves. We wanted it to feel real, not like a fashion fantasy.
How does it encapsulate your aesthetic?
Faustine Steinmetz: Actually this is where Georgia Pendlebury (who styled the campaign) and Arnaud Lajeunie really impressed me. I talked to them a lot about my concept for the label and the basics of my aesthetic but after that I decided to trust them and resisted the temptation every designer has to try control every aspect. They not only managed to make it very beautiful but also to narrate the concept of the label in a few slides! I honestly couldn't be more happy with the results.
“We wanted it to feel real, not like a fashion fantasy” – Faustine Steinmetz
And what about the models – Susanne Knipper, Raphaële and Lou Maria – why did you choose them?
Faustine Steinmetz: We really wanted to show a variety of girls in the shoot and we all agreed from the start that it was about finding girls who have a very strong personality. My biggest fear is using models who look like the fantasy of a woman; I want to address to real women. We were lucky to get to work with the recently established Creativit casting agency who were able to find girls for us who were not only beautiful but who also had interesting things going on in their lives, which I think really translates in the pictures we took of them.
What does it mean to you to be one of Selfridges’ Bright Young Things?
Faustine Steinmetz: I am really proud to be part of the initiative this year, especially because it is all about sustainability which is such an important subject for me and my label. I’m actually going tonight with our set designer Thomas Petherick to make the final touches to the window display before it is launched. We’re doing sort of continuation of the set he did for the SS16 show and I’m quite excited to see it.
