Encounter with Sandrine Philippe

Meet Sandrine Philippe, Paris based designer that I discovered at Serbia Fashion Week. She is the kind of designer the fashion industry needs at the moment. Devoted with genuine passion for her work, Sandrine stays true to her ideals and pursues her paths without following the fading trends.
At Serbia Fashion Week she presented a stunning collection named "Urban Animus", taking home the award for the best international designer.

Interview with Sandrine Philippe

B.P. You presented your collection at SFW. Can you tell a little bit about the experience?
S.P. It was a great experience! I spent five amazing days discovering some fantastic personalities and wonderful crew behind SFW. After the stress of my fashion show I was able to enjoy my stay in Novi Sad. This felt like a break from reality, it was just perfect.

B.P. At SFW you have been awarded Best International Designer. What does this means to you? 
S.P. It is a great honour to receive this award! Considering the fact that the jury panel was based out of a list of some extraordinary people who are well known for their career or impact on the fashion world I was especially very proud.

B.P. Have you won more awards in your career?
S.P. This is the first Time I won a price like this award. Generally speaking I am a really shy person and so I spend more time working in my studio and with my team instead of seeking exposure.  I confess that this is really excites me!

designer Sandrine Philippe and models backstage at Serbia Fashion Week

B.P. Can you tell something about your show and collection you presented there? 
S.P. The name of the collection I presented at SFW is "Urban Animus".  This collection is a reference to the process of metamorphosis. The organic nature of the clothes reveals strange materials born out wild animals carapaces. Remains of exuviae are mixed, neo-reptiles create a second skin of silicone.   Apparitions exalted and worrying meander here, fragile and savage. The pieces refer to the pile of debris buried under ashes.  The animalistic spirit leaves its trace by creating a link to the past and destruction, thus creating contemporary yet timeless wardrobe.
Concerning the fashion show I have tried to build a universe that serves the story behind the collection.

image courtesy of Sandrine Philippe

B.P. I had the pleasure to meet you in Novi Sad, but I would like to know more about your background. 
Where are you actually from?
S.P. It was also a pleasure for me to meet you Branko, you are such a sympathetic and interesting guy ah ah
I am French. I come from from a small village in Brittany.

B.P.  How did the your career in fashion started for you? I studied fashion design for three years. Following I worked as a designer for both Popy Moreni and Courreges.

B.P. When did you started your brand? When did you open your shop / studio in Paris?
S.P. After meeting Hortensia de Hutten who suggested me to show my own work I have decided to begin my own self titled brand 'Sandrine Philippe'. After a while my first studio was too small to work so I moved to another place with two levels. I installed the shop in the basement and the studio at the
ground floor. And Sandrine Philippe shop was born !

B.P. When you design, do you have a certain kind of person in your mind (Let's say a muse)?S.P. No, no muse at all .... I can fall in love every day .... Seriously, No muse but certainly a certain way of thinking, living my vision of beauty is something that lays deep inside of me.  A creator is actually a selfish person you know just because before giving to everybody a "message" it is just an need to express. You don't create because you want it but because you need it.
My "virtual" muse is a mixture of fragility and strength. He is sensitive and emotional character that does not fear to show his soul with all its complexity. Challenging the world with confidence, composed of mixture of a contemporary attitude and notion of the past. He is probably a thin guy. Someone like...Perhaps I do have a muse at last! My virtual muse is certainly someone like Ben Whishaw.

B.P. What influences your design, where do you find inspiration?
S.P. Inspiration is everywhere to be found. It can be a film, a book or an old house full of secrets. I think a creator is like a "radar" that absorbs many vibrations and sensations of the surrounding world.

B.P.Which artists or designers inspire you?
S.P. Concerning the other designers or artist that inspired me of course I was totally in love with Alexander McQueen. I admire Comme des Garçons for their free mind. I really like Boris Bidjan and Julius however I have to say that I am more inspired by art than fashion design. I am inspired by artists like Anselm Kiefer, Munch or David Lynch.

image courtesy of Sandrine Philippe

B.P. Your collection is based of timeless pieces? Is that what you have in mind when you design? Do you make seasonal collections?
S.P. I love the idea that each collection is based of timeless pieces. We aim to build a really contemporary and timeless collection but we make also seasonal collections. Every six months we present another proposal but the fact is that all my collections are like a long long movie in which you can pick up one garment from one collection and one for the other and still create a coherent look regardless of the season. It is also important for me to change the interior of my shop. Each season I develop an installation that complements the story of the displayed collection.

B.P. It is clear to see you put much love in your designs? Can you share something about your creative process?
S.P. I want to create an universe, an "urgent besoin d'expression" (urgent need to express), that is why it is important for me to collaborate with various artists, musicians, dancers, photographers.

B.P. You like experiment with cuts but it is also visible that you develop/rework fabrics as well?
S.P.  Everytime I start with a story and emotion that I want to exoress. Yes of course, the cut is important but the main focus in my working process is the fabric. We research how we can express the story and create a unique feeling by making unusual fabrics. That is why I always say that I am working in a laboratory in stead of a fashion studio.

B.P. You have a couture collections and ready-to-wear, can you tell something about the difference between the two or the connection between the two? 
S.P. Each time I begin with creation of the couture pieces because they are the foundation to the synopsis for each collection; like the "bande annonce" (the trailer ). All the technics and styles we develop within the couture pieces are the basis for the the ready-to-wear pieces.

B.P. How many people are working in your company? 
S.P. We are a small team of three people, we have some extra people during the collection realization and a pr person during the fashion week. We are like a small family.

image courtesy of Sandrine Philippe

B.P. What can we expect from you in the future?
S.P. I can't tell you...  It could be everything or its contrary!
For real I certainly have an upcoming project in january, a dance performance / fashion show with a friend of mine. He is a very talented choreographer and dancer, we have already worked together. I designed the costumes for one of his play "Medea" and we have also collaborated for a short video "Arachnea" for my previous summer collection. I am looking forward to these new projects. I find it so inspiring because dance and movement are really important for me.
In the future I think I will for sure be involved in more artistic projects and I will for sure create more collections !!!

image courtesy of Sandrine Philippe

Coffee or tea? Coffee of course machiato better

What kind of music can we find in your i-tunes? A lot of difference type of music like David Bowie, Dead can dance, Leila, Sexy Sushi, Nina Simone, Prokofief, Einsturzende, Neubau, Scelsi, Steve Reich, The Verve, Massive Attack, The Prodigy, Fever Ray and many more

Favourite food? Cheese!

Favourite place in Paris? My studio
Colour? Black of course

Season? Not to hot and not to cold. I love the snow because it is beautiful but i think i prefer the spring!

Country? France but also Japan, Greece  etc

Morning or night person? Definitely morning.

Where can we find and buy your clothing? You can find my work in shops several shops like Darklands, Robin Richman,  Untitled,  Zya, The Cartel Dubai

You can also find Sandrine Philippe studio/store in Paris: 6 Rue Hérold

http://www.sandrinephilippe.com

If not mentioned otherwise all images are by brankopopovicblog.



Images from Serbia Fashion Week