24 HOURS IN BARNIE
STYLE, A WARDROBE, YOUR MOMENTS, WITH THE OUTSTANDING ARTISTIC DIRECTOR AND CREATIVE ALEXANDRA REMISE
“BARNIE” is the name of a woman who symbolizes all others. A woman who embodies strength, grace, and confidence. Today, Alexandra Remise is taking part in the interview…
Spontaneity, freshness, joie de vivre and hyper-creativity are clearly the words that characterise Alexandra, Alex for close friends.
A passionate collector of vintage decor, a creative color enthusiast, a maker of beautiful images, and more generally an art director, 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 think I do a bit too much stuff, but after reading Irina's interview, actually, it's okay!
I am a copywriter, but also an art director specialised in branding for ready-to-wear and lifestyle brands, and I have recently set up my passion project around flea markets and reinvented objects, in particular lamps that I completely redesign, with a turned wood base, very colorful and shiny and lampshades created according to my desires: La Remise Objets .
My childhood dream, pursued for a long time through internships, was to become a fashion editor for print media. This dream evolved somewhat over time, influenced by experiences and encounters that weren't always pleasant in the industry. I began my professional career at Mlle Agnès' 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 related to journalism, writing, and copywriting in the broadest sense. Later, I was a partner in a lifestyle brand for several years, managing all aspects of communications, content, partnerships, and e-commerce. You could say I've tried a bit of everything!
Could you describe an ideal typical day for me?
Okay, so REALLY ideal, because every day in my life is hard to follow the same pattern.
I get up (with difficulty, I'm a real sleepyhead) when our son wakes us up, around 7 or 7:30. I drag myself to the breakfast my partner has kindly prepared for us. Once our son is at school, I start my workday, or if it's Wednesday, a short online yoga class with my friend and yoga teacher, Sophie. I try to get a good morning of work done, either handing in written assignments, working on a future art direction project, or being in the workshop making lamps. And the same in the afternoon. I also quite often meet up for lunch or coffee in Paris with friends, to get a little dose of vibrant social life and noise (our village of 60 or so inhabitants is very, VERY quiet). When I go there, I usually have lunch, 5 coffees and an aperitif, I concentrate fully on my appointments to have intense Parisian sessions and then return to calm at home to be with my boyfriend, child and cats.
When you put on your art director hat, what are your secrets for a striking and successful image?
So, I have several little obsessions. First, there's often a touch of red that recurs in my favorite photos; this color immediately catches the eye and gives the image a particular vibrancy. I also really like to bring a touch of blur, of imperfection, to my images. I like how the colors blend when the elements are blurred in the image; it almost has a painterly quality. And right now, my current obsession is putting colored tights everywhere—Delphine (Reynaud) knows all about that, haha…
What are your wellness tips, do you have a particular routine?
First of all, the number one wellness tip that I rarely put into practice: SLEEP. I'm the kind of person who needs 10 hours of sleep a night to feel good. Needless to say, that's rarely feasible.
I am also trying to get back into some form of physical activity, by practicing yoga with my friend Sophie Rakotomalala online, to rediscover some sensations and have an hour focused on my body and mind during the week.
I'm quite obsessed with cosmetics too; in the evening, I need to take time to properly cleanse my skin and pamper it… Those who know me well know that while I can skip the "brushing my teeth" step, the "makeup removal / skincare" step is impossible!
And every now and then, my real little indulgence is treating myself to a Kobido facial. I feel like I lose 10 years in an hour. The one whose skill really impressed me was Barbara Sand in Paris.
What would be your 3 essential basics?
An oversized black blazer, a fuzzy red sweater and an animal print bag.
The craziest item in your wardrobe/house?
I've had loads of them, but I've calmed down a bit these last few years. As for my wardrobe, I have a pair of fully sequined silver pants that I've had for years and that have often turned heads. At home, my in-laws gave us a tiger-print armchair that had belonged to them, which I absolutely love! Let's just say that when I sit on the armchair in my sequined pants, it's quite a sight…
What can we find in your handbag?
Haha, I always thought that the day Vogue (yes, just like that) came to do a “What's in my bag” feature, it would be absolutely ridiculous. I often have 15 pairs of keys: house, car, spares, my little essentials kit, a bit of makeup, lip balm, hand spray, tampons! 62 old train tickets—hooray for regional train trips!—sunglasses, because you never know, a mini paper planner, my phone, my wallet, tissues, and my little camera.
An art and craft shop with an incredible selection of items, this time in Pernes-les-Fontaines, called Atelier de Chauffe, is my favorite find of the year. And finally, for those of you in Lyon, there's the Village des Brocanteurs in Tigneux, which a friend introduced me to last year. Seriously, if I lived in Lyon, I'd be there EVERY WEEKEND, mamma mia!
