This weekend, at an event, the facilitator introduced me as an Artist. I took it as the best possible compliment, a true reflection of my work. I have always wished for what I create to reflect more Art than fashion.

I fell into the world of couture millinery almost by accident; nothing before then would have led me to imagine that my creative journey would take me there.

From as far back as I can remember, I have loved to draw, create, build, and manipulate, as the old adage says, “I must have been born with a needle in my hand.” Stationery shops, haberdasheries, hardware stores … I always wished I could be locked in for a night, so I could have plenty of time to stick my nose in every little corner and drawer.

Every woman in my lineage, in her own way, left seeds in me that I use every single day of my creative life. My great-grandmother was a haberdasher and a perfectionist sewer, my maternal grandmother had a very graceful pen and was a fantastic storyteller, my paternal grandmother was an extremely elegant lady, and my mother, my dear amazing late-mother, taught me one of the most precious gifts, the ability to look. From her I inherited the precious gift of imagination: the ability to dream, to visualise, to create magic from nothing, to see beauty in what seems banal, and to weave an imaginary world from the simplest of things.

I must also give credit to my dear late father. He had a passion for the world beyond his own, a curiosity about different cultures, and a lifelong love of learning. He had an almost child-like eagerness to travel and instilled in me his love for languages, and I can’t help thinking that somehow I have fulfilled a part of his international dream.

I only recently fully realised the impact of that DNA on my creativity. Every part of it is an ingredient in what I aim to do: to create timeless beauty through elegant lines and to bring joy to people. I love analysing people and helping them feel good about themselves, and I always say that in every one of my creations there lies a piece of my heart. My obsessive perfectionism, my attention to detail, my constant search for excellence, all of this comes from respect, for my clients, for myself, and, in a way, for the gift I was so fortunate to have been passed on.

From the moment I decided to dive into millinery, I went on a crusade to learn and master techniques that would allow me to do my very best, even if it meant hours and days of intricate work that might seem effortless to the untrained eye. Each idea is a seed, and from it I build, layer by layer, through sketching, experimenting, and countless trials, until the vision begins to take shape in the world. Patience is a virtue, they say? It certainly is!

The question I am asked most often is: “What inspires you? Where do your ideas come from?” The answer is endless. Often, an idea appears at the most unexpected time or place, but almost always during a moment of peace or joy. There is a myth that one must be unhappy to unlock their full creative potential, to express their whole talent. Heavens, no! I work with my heart, and if it feels broken, I simply cannot create beauty. Pain blocks my entire process.

Inspiration comes from life itself: the light falling in my studio, the curve of a leaf, a texture, a fabric, a colour, a fleeting emotion, a sound, a sensation through my fingers, a conversation, a book, a painting. I look at Art every single day, and music plays a major role in my inspiration; I need it to transport me to that creative space. Sometimes, you have a vision of a headpiece that your heart can see, yet your eyes cannot translate. It is a very fine, delicate nuance. I often recall a moment years ago when I was living in Rome: I had an idea in my mind that I could not bring to life. Then, at a concert of Ludovico Einaudi, I suddenly visualised a film of all the different pieces coming together to realise that vision. Everything made sense. I went home, and my fingers seemed to move almost on their own, bringing to life what had been on my mind for days, and it all just flowed. Music is vital to my work.

Naturally, I am deeply influenced by my background and the elegance of French, Italian, and British Haute Couture. Yet moving back to South Africa created a major shift in my creativity. I have designed headpieces here that I would never have imagined without the inspiration of the African continent. From day one, my aim has been to merge my French heritage with the rich nature and culture of South Africa, which leads me to another main source of inspiration: people, their elegance, often unacknowledged, their stories, and their energy.

Surrounding oneself with like-minded people is a true blessing, it feeds my inspiration. Collaborating with the fantastic team of iseeyousee magazine allowed my imagination to meet reality, where a vision I conceived in quiet reflection is suddenly triggered to come to the surface. The whole process felt like a conversation and inspired me to create a headpiece I had longed to bring to life.

Months ago, I came across a fabric that might easily have escaped my attention: a midnight-blue (not navy, midnight!) tulle sprinkled with tiny sparkles. I always touch fabric to feel a connection, and I immediately visualised a Milky Way sky. It sat in my studio for weeks, somehow waiting for all the elements to align for the final inspiration. I have always thought that midnight blue against dark skin creates one of the most elegant combinations, and the figure of a sylph was what I had imagined. I could have done it before, but something must have guided me to wait for Patricia Romero’s call, explaining that we had the chance to do a shoot with Princess Claudia Sentore, a beautiful young woman who possesses the natural elegance that Burundian women are born with, and who happened to be in Cape Town for a week in-between the catwalks of Paris and Milan. I had worked with Patricia and Alexa Singer before, so for me it was an absolute, definite, unconditional yes, even before hearing the details of the shoot. I had all the ingredients, I literally sculpted the fabric into an airy movement of celestial clouds, and Nébuleuse was born.

Throughout the entire construction process, I listened to Max Richter’s Voyager album (particularly “November”) and kept Princess’s silhouette in my mind, and it simply flowed. Meeting her on the day of the shoot, with Alexa and Patricia immediately understanding and embracing my vision, everything came together effortlessly, and my other hats followed just as smoothly.

If I had to define what I aim to achieve with qualifying adjectives, they would, of course, be elegant and timeless. But for the wearable Art that I truly, deeply, with all my heart, strive to create, they would be evanescent and ethereal. So when that vision comes to life through the work of Alexa, Lori and Patricia, how could I feel more honoured and grateful?

I sincerely hope this is just the beginning of the adventure with iseeyousee, to continue inspiring my French vogue with an African flair.

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