Elective affinities?
Law of attractions?
There are some alchemies that are more indefinable than others.
What is at stake between a fashion designer and a woman who have chosen each other, especially when it comes to Nicolas Ghesquière, the artistic director of Louis Vuitton's women's collections – praised for his creative visions which have truly reformed the house style –, and Brigitte Macron, first lady of France since 2017?
Both come from the North.
A first clue?
He was born in Comines, near the Belgian border.
Brigitte Macron is a child of Picardy: she grew up and spent part of her life in Amiens before moving to Paris where she taught at the Franklin high school.
Something else ?
They both revere Azzedine Alaïa and Karl Lagerfeld – the enemy brothers – of whom Nicolas Ghesquière has revealed himself over time to be a natural heir in a contemporary version.
To discover
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They - perhaps - should not have met, but Delphine Arnault brought them together at the time when Emmanuel Macron was Minister of the Economy: they have not left each other since.
A unique stylistic and professional relationship has taken shape, almost exclusive, which has little to do with the traditional springs between a pygmalion and his muse: Nicolas Ghesquière and Brigitte Macron affirm that they no longer even need to speak to understand each other. .
The very inspired designer designed her a year-round wardrobe, each outfit corresponding precisely to a ceremonial moment, which she wore with fervor before returning it.
The impeccable silhouette of Brigitte Macron, a clean, modern and singular signature, scrutinized at each presidential trip, is him.
Their link?
It is obvious when we look at them that day, attentive, respectful of each other, observing each other from afar, listening to each other, smiling, silent sometimes, touched, admiring. is sure, sometimes intimidated – him –, dialoguing with a humility and a restraint never before performed.
It was Brigitte Macron who initiated this exceptional and enlightening interview: “I wanted to celebrate ten years of creation.”
After a decade of success, Nicolas Ghesquière renewed his contract for five years with the LVMH trunk maker.
Madame Figaro.
– Do you remember the exact circumstances of your first meeting
?
Brigitte Macron.
– It was in 2015, Emmanuel was then Minister of the Economy.
Delphine Arnault had whispered Nicolas' name to me.
I then went to his show – my very first show – with the navy blue coat with a silver collar – created for me without us having ever met –, a unique piece that I wore again to the statement of my husband's candidacy, then during the evening at the Louvre.
I adopted his creations before knowing him.
Nicolas Ghesquière.
– I remember seeing her backstage after that show.
I specifically remember her smile, the light that emanated from her: I was immediately charmed.
“
I adopted the creations of Nicolas Ghesquière before knowing him
”, Brigitte Macron.
Photo Emanuele Scorcelletti
BM
– It was easy and obvious straight away.
I can't say why: "Because it was him, because it was me!"
The evening Emmanuel was elected, he was one of the very first people I called: “Will you take care of me for this five-year term?” I asked him.
I knew he was going to be important in my life.
I have complete confidence in him.
It's unspeakable.
It's like we're sending each other signals without needing to talk to each other.
I am also lucky enough to be able to wear the creations of Olivier Rousteing, Virginie Viard at Chanel, Jean-Claude Jitrois, Elie Saab, Alexandre Vauthier and Barbara Bui during official ceremonies.
NG
– Between us, there is respect, modesty, a dialogue that knows how to do without words.
If I had to sum up our relationship, I would say: “With Brigitte, I want to be there.”
Our collaboration is alive, it is adjusting, it is being refined.
There is this personal story and then another, even greater, which goes beyond us, which must be read as the celebration of an industry, of a craft, of a multitude of talents put at the service of a power economic.
Brigitte Macron, did you know the world of fashion before the first five-year term
?
BM
– It’s a world that I didn’t know, even if I like clothes – for example, I got married as Barbara Bui.
When I was a teacher, I couldn't imagine teaching without being dressed up – dressed, with my hair done, with makeup.
My uniform was jeans, t-shirt and stilettos.
It's my style, but I can't say that I really had the codes.
Nicolas has built a sort of fashion lexicon for me without saying it, without formulating it, without intellectualizing it.
With him and his teams, it’s such fluidity!
Clothing helps me slip into function.
“What seems very French to me about Brigitte Macron is this natural elegance,”
Nicolas Ghesquière.
Photo Emanuele Scorcelletti
NG
– Everything was built thanks to and around your personal imprint, Brigitte.
We share the same taste for the architecture of clothing and the clear line of a silhouette.
What seems very French about you to me is this natural elegance which seems devoid of constraint and effort...
BM
– In this regard, one of the newspaper headlines that made me the most happy about my outfits being commented on abroad was: “So French!”
(“So French.”) This means that the clothing tells something about our country and our culture.
Imagine how important it has become: in most of the countries I visit, people comment on it more than anything else.
What remains is the commentary.
NG
– It is a reading of the French woman and therefore a representation of the French woman.
In Nicolas Ghesquière's studio.
Photo Emanuele Scorcelletti
One of the foundations of the spirit of the clothes designed by Nicolas Ghesquière is “empowerment
.”
Brigitte Macron, does clothing give power
?
BM
– Confidence without a doubt.
Furthermore, if you are not dressed for the occasion, that is to say too much or too little, this can have consequences.
This is something I never imagined.
The way we are dressed induces our first relationship with others, and it is sometimes definitive.
NG
– In my eyes, women have always been heroines, imagined, sublimated, fantasized.
I like science fiction, the futuristic evocation, and that induces something in my creation.
Obviously, this power that you evoke should in no way erase sensitivity, romanticism and even the possibility of gentleness.
BM
– Instinctively, Nicolas understood something about me without me expressing it clearly.
However, we are not close friends in life: by that I mean that we talk very little together about our private lives.
Something incredibly strong has settled between us.
And then, his palette is incredible: he can create anything.
NG
– It is essential to be attentive to the moment and the sensitivity of the moment.
When we create, we must always take a step towards the other…
In my eyes, women have always been heroines, imagined, sublimated, fantasized
Nicolas Ghesquière
Who says clothing, says body, body to sculpt, to display in majesty, to also conceal. Is clothing a feminist manifesto
?
What messages does it send
?
BM
– Clothes label you, that’s why you have to be vigilant.
Obviously, for a president's wife, this is more true than for most women.
Before, freedom was greater, it seems to me, and today a lack of taste can suddenly encode something prohibitive.
It's a shame, because clothes are above all an expression of freedom.
So yes, clothes are the manifestation of “empowerment”, as you say, but also a constraint.
What do your clothes say about you
?
BM
– If I believe what I hear, women my age are very happy that I dress like this: I don't know why, but this appearance gives the impression that I am a free woman.
It's an image that I send back without knowing it.
NG
– What is very pleasant with Brigitte is that together we can move forward.
Nothing is set in stone.
You are not afraid of creation, of novelty, of even innovation…
BM
– Nicolas tries to introduce me to oversized, unstructured, asymmetry too, but I still have resistance!
Same with ruffles or prints: I can't do it.
I also struggle with the length below the knee.
For me, it’s definitely above!
A dress is short or long!
I project the image of a free woman, without my knowledge
Brigitte Macron
The length of your skirts has become an international topic of conversation. Does this amuse you
?
BM
– I think back to my first official trip to the NATO summit in Belgium, I wore a slightly short dress.
I didn't realize it because I dressed like that in my first life.
Try-on in the salons of the Louis Vuitton Vendôme house.
Photo Emanuele Scorcelletti
NG
– These fluctuations in length have led to some agitated conversations with some of my good friends.
(He laughs.)
To still comment on the length of a woman's skirt today seems quite retrograde to me.
The positive side of it is that it perhaps changes mentalities.
BM
– During official trips, it is unthinkable not to respect protocol.
As a general rule, in most countries, it is fashionable not to show too much.
The wearing of colors is also very codified, particularly with regard to black and white.
Shoes are also often commented on.
In some countries, they have even made the front pages of very serious newspapers, intrigued by their arch or their height.
Brigitte Macron, you who were a literature professor, is there a link between literature and fashion
?
BM
– With Balzac, it’s obvious.
The description of clothing in the novels fits and supports the story.
It symbolizes and reveals.
Look at the portrait of Madame Vauquer in
Le Père Goriot.
The description of her outfit says her avarice, her pettiness, what she is going to be.
When she appears, the spectacle is complete, emphasizes Balzac.
But it is also the spectacle of clothing.
It is a constancy among these realistic authors at that time, Balzac, Flaubert, Maupassant.
In
Madame Bovary,
the way in which Charles is bundled up in his clothes, his cap whose mute ugliness the narrator emphasizes immediately declassifies him.
These authors link the exterior and the interior.
Clothes label you, obviously, for a president's wife, this is more true than for most women
Brigitte Macron
N.G.
– It is less obvious among contemporary authors, it seems to me: today, clothes designate a little less the social class of those who wear them.
There is also a correlation, undoubtedly, between words and fabrics.
Sensuality, emotion, the vibration of a fabric respond to the words.
Like a book has its pages, a fabric has its threads and its weave.
They say “the weave of a fabric”, an expression that I like.
Fabrics are very mysterious living beings: there are even materials that inspire form.
BM
– In the same way, words are alive.
It was Victor Hugo who said it.
This is why they can be incredibly violent.
How do you deal with comments and criticism
?
BM
– Criticism is never a problem.
I have no problem with criticism.
On the other hand, what has always exasperated me is bad faith, lies and dishonesty.
NG
– I watch social networks but I protect myself from it, I limit my screen time.
It's fun and toxic: excesses are really problematic.
I have an Instagram account that is now exclusively professional.
Let's return to the First Ladies. How do you view the wives of presidents, yesterday and today
?
BM
– All the wives of heads of state that I have met are elegant and very careful to be so.
The wives of French presidents, for their part, have always honored fashion.
Madame Pompidou initiated something that became a landmark, up until Carla Bruni-Sarkozy of course, who knows the fashion lexicon so perfectly.
I also think of the dresses of Madame Giscard d'Estaing, Madame Mitterrand and Madame Chirac, which were particularly elaborate.
We have forgotten it but, for a long time, for gala dinners, women were systematically in long dresses and men in tails.
The protocol is fortunately lighter today.
You are wearing high heels or sneakers, which may have been considered unusual for a First Lady. Do you have a taste for transgression
?
BM
– People call me transgressive because of the life I have led, but I don’t see myself like that at all.
It's not even a question of fashion: I'm not a follower.
For example, I never considered that high heels were a symbol of alienation for women.
I wear them because I don't feel good in flat heels, that's how it is.
As for sneakers, I only choose wedges.
I need an arch, which is not a bad thing: this way, the gait is more controlled, which is appropriate in certain circumstances.
Do you feel like you're a role model, a sort of popular icon
?
BM
– I hear it, but it’s not me, it’s the function.
I benefited from a caring, attentive education, and that helps me every day.
NG
– With you, function has not extinguished or hidden your nature.
BM
– This does not mean that I do not perceive
gravitas
either : I see very well what is going wrong or what is difficult.
But there is something in me that seeks the blue sky.
I can't explain it, it's the way it is and it hasn't changed.
Fashion has changed its face. It is a social phenomenon, celebration, idolatry. On the days of Fashion Week, an overflowing youth crowd gathers around the show locations…
NG
– Fashion has become pop culture.
Youth has this infallible instinct to generate the spirit of the times, and fashion is part of the inventory of its multiple expressions, along with cinema, music, TV and social networks.
It is gratifying that fashion has become democratized, that it is inviting and abandons certain diktats.
It is the expression of each person that now prevails, and this invites more people around the table.
And then also, fashion is facing changes which correspond to aspirations widely shared by young people: ethics, transparency, traceability.
The real revolution in luxury and fashion is exemplary.
This is really what will make the difference.
If I believe what I hear, women my age are very happy that I dress like this
Brigitte Macron
Brigitte Macron, is there an Emmanuel Macron style
?
BM
– Emmanuel was interested in the fashion industry from the moment he became a minister.
It was he who initiated the Fashion Pact, a call to find solutions to the negative impacts of the industry on the environment.
Furthermore, creators are regularly honored by being received at the Élysée.
To answer your question, generally speaking, the style of presidents is obviously more standardized than that of first ladies.
For Emmanuel, these are very well-tailored suits, dark blue or gray.
The vest sometimes, the turtleneck from time to time.
And on the weekend, it’s jeans and sneakers.
He is very attentive to what I wear, he notices it, remembers it, it's very pleasant for a woman...
To end this interview, is there a question you would like to ask each other
?
BM
– Nicolas, how do you see your life after?
NG
– I would like to devote more time to my personal life.
Or at least be able to reconcile the two.
And at the same time, I know very well that I could miss it horribly...
BM
– The level of constraints and endurance in fashion is unimaginable.
As soon as something ends, something starts again.
It's totally crazy.
But Nicolas remained uncompromising in his creation, with moderation and discretion.
In this respect, we are the same.
We know exactly what we are, who we are and where we come from.
We remained fundamentally the same.
What is very pleasant with Brigitte Macron is that together we can move forward
Nicolas Ghesquière
NG
– Brigitte, did you imagine that you would be a French first lady?
BM
– Never, not for a single second.
I thought Emmanuel would be an artist, a writer exactly.
Yes, I thought I was going to marry a writer.
I was talking about it recently with the wife of an author, and the life she described to me was the one I thought I would live with my husband.
Until I saw his face appear on the 8 p.m. news on May 7, 2017, the Élysée did not really exist.
The second time, in 2022, I wasn't totally prepared either, although basically I didn't have many doubts.
Every day is a renewed honor, but you have to live up to it.
I have great respect for the office of president and great admiration for the courage of my husband.
Was that your wish
?
Carla Bruni confided, afterwards, that the end of the five-year term was also something that felt like a relief for her…
BM
– I said to Emmanuel: “Don't ask me the question.
It’s between you and France…”
Did he ask you
?
BM
– No.
(She laughs.)
I thought he was going to ask me… but I wouldn't have given him an answer.