24H EN BARNIE
Du style, Un vestiaire, Vos instants, WITH THE AMAZING AD AND CREATIVE ALEXANDRA REMISE
"BARNIE" is the first name of a woman who symbolises all others. A woman who embodies strength, grace and confidence. Today, it is Alexandra Remise who takes part in the interview…
Spontaneity, freshness, joie de vivre and hyper-creativity are clearly the words that define Alexandra, Alex to those close to her.
A passionate second-hand decor hunter, a creative soul in love with colour, a maker of beautiful images and more broadly an AD, Alexandra is an inexhaustible source of lovely things! We're introducing her to you today…
What do you do for a living? What is your background?
Sometimes I feel like I do a few too many things, but reading Irina's interview, actually, I'm fine!
I'm a copywriter, but also an art director for ready-to-wear and lifestyle brands, and I recently launched my passion project around second-hand finds and reinvented objects, including lamps I completely reimagine, with a turned wooden base, very colourful and shiny, and lampshades created according to my whims: La Remise Objets.
My childhood dream, long pursued through internships, was to become a fashion editor for print press, which then evolved somewhat through various experiences and not-always-pleasant encounters in the industry. I started my professional career at Mlle Agnès's production company, where I worked on the show La Mode, La Mode, La Mode and on documentaries for Canal +. I then moved on to jobs in journalism, writing, and copywriting in the broad sense, before becoming a partner in a lifestyle brand for several years, managing all the communications, content, partnerships and e-commerce. Safe to say I've had my hand in quite a lot!
Could you describe a typical ideal day?
Ok, so TRULY ideal, because not all days in my life are easy to make look alike.
I get up (with great difficulty — I'm a total sleepyhead) when our son wakes us, around 7 / 7:30am. I drag myself to breakfast, which my partner has kindly prepared. Once our son is at school, I start my working day, or if it's a Wednesday, a little online yoga class with my friend and yoga teacher Sophie. I try to have a good morning of work, either handing in written pieces, working on a future art direction brief, or being in the studio preparing lamps. Same in the afternoon. I also quite often schedule lunches or coffees in Paris with friends, to give myself a little shot of buzzing social life and noise (our village of 60-odd inhabitants is very VERY quiet). When I go, I generally string together lunch, 5 coffees and an aperitif — I pack my appointments in tight to have intense Parisian sessions before heading back home to my partner, child and felines.
When you put on your AD hat, what are your secrets for a striking, successful image?
Well, I have a few little obsessions. First of all, there's often a touch of red that comes back in my favourite photos — that colour immediately draws the eye and gives the image a particular vibrancy. I also love bringing a touch of blur, of imperfection into my images. I love how colours blend when elements are out of focus in the image — there's almost something painterly about it. And right now, my AD obsession is putting coloured tights everywhere — Delphine (Reynaud) knows all about that, haha…
What are your wellness tips — do you have a particular routine?
First and foremost, wellness tip number one that I put into practice far too rarely: SLEEP. I'm the kind of person who needs 10 hours of sleep a night to feel well. Needless to say, that's rarely achievable.
I'm also trying to get back into some form of physical activity, by doing yoga with my friend Sophie Rakotomalala online, to reconnect with some sensations and have one hour a week focused on my body and my mind.
I'm also quite obsessed with skincare — in the evenings, I need to take time to properly cleanse my skin and pamper it… Those who know me well know that I can easily skip tooth-brushing but the "make-up removal / skincare" step is non-negotiable!
And from time to time, my real little treat is booking a Kobido facial. I feel like I lose 10 years in the space of an hour. The one whose skill has truly blown me away is Barbara Sand in Paris.
What would be your 3 essential basics?
An oversized black blazer, a fluffy red jumper and an animal-print bag.
The craziest piece in your wardrobe / your home?
I've had quite a few, though I've calmed down a bit in recent years. On the wardrobe side, I have a pair of full silver sequin trousers that have been with me for several years and often made an impression. On the home side, my in-laws gave us an armchair that belonged to them, in tiger-print fabric, which I ab-so-lute-ly love! Needless to say, when I'm sitting in the armchair in my sequin trousers, it's quite the spectacle…
What can be found in your handbag?
Haha, I've always told myself that the day Vogue (yes, just like that) came to do a "What's in my bag", it would be an absolute mess. I often have 15 sets of keys — house, car, spares — my little pouch of essentials, a bit of make-up, lip balm, hand spray, a tampon! 62 old train tickets (long live the regional train commute), sunglasses because you never know, a mini paper diary, my phone, my wallet, tissues and my little camera.
A shop with an in-cred-ible selection of art and artisans, in Pernes-les-Fontaines this time, l'Atelier de Chauffe, my favourite find of the year. And finally, for those in Lyon, the Village des Brocanteurs in Tigneux, which a friend introduced me to last year. I mean, if I lived in Lyon, I'd be there EVERY-SINGLE-WEEKEND mamma mia!
