She looks away, sober and restrained, measured. In a cardigan, of course. The agnès b. An iconic allure, which tends to reach Asia. And yet. “Fashion goes out of fashion. I do not like it. Art is different. I started collecting postcards above my bed, angels by Fra Angelico, at 10 years old. I wanted to go back to the Louvre school, ”says the 78-year-old designer and stylist. Dressed in black. As a contrast to the immaculately white building dedicated to her collection of contemporary art which she opens this Friday, January 31, place Jean-Michel-Basquiat. A 1,400 m2 mastodon that stands out in the urban landscape of the 13th arrondissement. Black, white.
Like the two facets of agnès b. The designer on the one hand, the art lover on the other. “We were traveling in Italy with my father. We stopped in front of a church, a wash-house. He was very cultured, with humor. He is the one who transmitted my taste for works to me, ”says the one who grew up 100 m from Versailles. “A beauty bath. The castle blew me away. I dreamed of becoming a museum curator. "
This is without counting on its look "made up of odds and ends" in the 1960s. Clothes caught with fleas which give it a sacred presence. So classy that it seduces the Elle magazine team. “They took me on as a fashion editor. The continuation is linked. Agnès Troublé, known as agnès b., Makes its stripes by launching its elegant and sober line. His striped cardigans, his little cotton dresses and his vests were torn off.
"I was scary with my collection"
His creations are displayed in the street and on the catwalks. But she already prefers another company. “I am never disappointed with the artists. I have a strong relationship with them. To be honest, I don't hang out with fashion people. Yesterday (January 23), there was a dinner in honor of Jean-Paul Gaultier, I didn't know anyone. This is an area where we are each in our bubble, ”she asserts.
An art bubble. Here she turns the pages of the catalog of her exhibition, revealing pictures showing Andy Warhol, Mohammed Ali and curtains… from the sex shop. "From Paul Seewright, a Scottish artist," she laughs. Some works deal with sexual games, but it is not trash. Never. I also like derision, like this revisited version of lunch on Manet's grass with naked men. Choices with meaning. “There is a common thread with sometimes a political dimension. Like this evocation of Yasser Arafat, from which emanates the metaphor of the difficulty of being a Palestinian. "And to murmur, a little in his thoughts:" But I was scary with my collection. In France, we don't like those who have two jobs. "
"One of the first to be interested in photography"
Imposing, a challenge. His mantra. “My message: be yourself and don't piss off others. It goes a long way, to be yourself. I arrived on tiptoe in the art world. At first I was looked down on. "Never mind: the one who has established herself in fashion with her simple style opens her Galerie du Jour, near Les Halles, in 1983." I was one of the first to be interested in photography. She didn't have the aura she has now. "
So when a young man knocked on his door with the idea of launching a photo event, she did not hesitate in 1997. "I helped her by lending her money. At first it was tiny. Today, Paris Photo is at the Grand Palais and it's gigantic, she notes mischievously. I am quite a pioneer in my field. And I like it. "
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Opening January 31. From Tuesday to Saturday from 2 to 7 p.m. and exceptionally this Sunday, February 2 from 2 to 6 p.m. La Fab., Place Jean-Michel Basquiat (13th century). From 4 to 7 euros. Rens. on la-fab.com Tel. 01.87.44.35.73