Here, we ask designers to take a selfie and give us an inside look at their life.
Age: 37
Occupation: Founder and artistic director of 13 Bonaparte.
Instagram: @13bonaparte.
Hometown: Paris.
Studio location: Haut-Marais, Paris.
Describe what you make: A seasonless evolving wardrobe.
The most important thing you’ve designed to date: Our False Color jacket and five-pocket denim pant which have become signature elements of the 13 Bonaparte aesthetic. Focusing on comfort, functionality, and graphic details, these pieces represent a streamlined version of one of the most universal uniforms of our time.
Describe the problem your work solves: Defining wardrobe pieces that are relevant to the demand of modern lifestyles, with the aim of creating a sort of urban uniform.
Describe the project you are working on now: We are putting the final touches on our first full womenswear collection which will be aligned with the same conceptual wardrobe-based approach we developed for men over the years. It’s a very exciting moment for the brand as it is not about a men’s wardrobe adapted for women, as one might expect from us. Instead, the new collection challenges our creative vision with real feminine elements.
A new or forthcoming project we should know about: For NYCxDesign, 13 Bonaparte is collaborating with John Sorensen-Jolink—the Brooklyn furniture designer behind Coil + Drift—on a mirrored container for holding the brand’s signature scented candle. It will launch on May 14 at our New York store at 1 Rivington Street in conjunction with a party celebrating Coil + Drift’s new collection, Assemblage.
What you absolutely must have in your studio: Art, photography, design, and tons of vintage books on those subjects.
What you do when you’re not working: Traveling, walking in cities, and visiting exhibitions.
Sources of creative envy: Jean-Marc Bustamante, Richard Artschwager, Roni Horn, Robert Morris, and vintage kinetic art. Also any photographs by Beat Streuli, Wolfgang Tillmans, Peter Hujar, Valérie Belin, and Charles Fréger.
The distraction you want to eliminate: I’d love to be on my smartphone less, and to engage even more in true, direct relationships with people. This is something I try to cultivate as much as possible in our stores—exchanging with the customers and friends and sharing our interests in art, architecture, photography, and other art forms.
Concrete or marble? Concrete.
High-rise or townhouse? High-rise, but only those by great architects.
Remember or forget? Remember the good ones, forget about all the baddies.
Aliens or ghosts? Ghosts. On a creative level, they are always present.
Dark or light? Light is energy.
