Barbara Bui’s new film presenting her Autumn-Winter 2024/2025 collection opens with words from Verlaine’s poem «Mon rêve familier» (My Familiar Dream).
These lines of verse, which sketch the portrait of an unknown woman «who is, each time, neither quite the same, nor quite another, and who loves me and understands me», are a perfect mise en abyme of the Barbara Bui woman: multifaceted, free, unique. Different. Mysterious and familiar at the same time. And never where you expect her to be.
Entitled «Another Look», this film by Artistic Director Nicolas Boualami features the designer herself for the first time, filmed up close and personal with her clothing. She is accompanied by a host of artists, friends of the House, each embodying, in their own way, Barbara Bui’s free and irreverent spirit. Designed as a choreography, accompanied by Keren Ann’s song «My Name is Trouble», the film features a crisscrossing of identities, characters, ego(s) and superego(s), appearing on screen in tracking shots.
Sixteen women and three men tell the story of a resolutely free attitude. Whether screenwriters, directors, actors or musicians, whether their names are Laura Smet, Valérie Donzelli, Romain Brau, Benjamin Siksou, Irène Jacob, Pascale Arbillot, Keren Ann, Clarisse Tranchard, Fanny Herrero, Laurence Benaim, Edouard Prevot, Émilie Villa, Eliane Umuhire, Léonie Dahan Lamort, Vanessa Filho, Aure Atika, Lolita Chammah, Pauline Jacquard or Constance Arnoult... these characters all reflect the Barbara Bui style, without ever losing their identity.
We come across the designer’s signature wardrobe - perfectos, velvet ensembles, leather pants, oversized jackets, etc., and, with black in the spotlight, everything that forms the essence of her signature fashion.
Nicolas Boualami and Barbara Bui took part in the joint interview.
HOW DID YOU TWO MEET?
Barbara Bui : We worked together on our portfolio project, which features women friends of the House, who share our idea of emancipatory fashion. Nicolas understands my vision of fashion, and knows my work very well, so it felt natural to me that he should direct one of my films, and that we should continue our collaboration.
Nicolas Boualami : I love the authentic spirit of this House, the fact that we work in a spirit of interaction and sharing, that it’s not just a commercial process, as is often the case in fashion... Barbara Bui has a generous family feel that reminds me of how I used to feel at Alaïa, a long time ago. Simplicity. Between Barbara and the artists that she works with, there’s a natural artist-to-artist relationship. What I especially like about Barbara Bui’s clothes is that they «work», they’re active. They support artists in their professional fields, on stage, to a shoot, at a conference... I really wanted to set your clothes in motion, on screen
HOW DID YOU ENVISION YOUR COLLABORATION ON THIS FILM?
Barbara Bui : Nicolas immediately grasped my relationship with sharing, with transmission and my desire to support women in their lives. I also feel that he understands me as a person, beyond my clothing. It’s a human encounter, and I think that’s also what the film shows, a mutual understanding, beyond my fashion.
Nicolas Boualami : I really wanted to film you! This film is an excuse to get to know you better. Currently, there are very few women, who are designers and heads of their own houses. You can sense the actress in Barbara, she’s very inspiring and isn’t how you expect today’s fashion designer to be. She’s authentic, there’s nothing fake about her. And she really rocks! She wears what she is, and she gives us what she is to wear. I love to see artists try on one of her garments and suddenly feel transformed, but without losing who they are. They put on a jacket and it feels like it’s been theirs for a long time.
IN THE SENSE THAT WHEN YOU WEAR BARBARA BUI PIECES, YOU DON’T FEEL DISGUISED...
Nicolas Boualami : There can be no distortion. Barbara Bui’s fashion is above all a way of life. Her clothing is structured/structuring but never overpowering. It protects like armor, like a shell. Her fashion makes women powerful, and she supports them in this strength, without being divisive. Barbara Bui’s fashion does not impose.
Barbara Bui : The women I dress often tell me that my clothing gives them strength. But, in fact, this strength is already within them! My fashion just reveals it. First and foremost, artists need to be themselves, the idea is not to disguise them as «bêtes
de mode» (beasts of fashion). What I’m looking for is precision, the right balance, to support without overpowering.
Nicolas Boualami : This clothing does not inhibit. I’m always amazed by museum pieces that stop you from walking or moving freely... They’re beautiful, but they’re not life. It’s very important to support women without inhibiting or confining them. What I also wanted to show in the film was the movement and the emotion. It’s the clothing that follows the artist, not the artist that follows the clothing. You can move, dance and live in Barbara Bui’s clothing!
WHAT’S THE MAIN IDEA BEHIND THE FILM?
Nicolas Boualami : In this film, I wanted to show 24 hours in the life of a Barbara Bui woman. A multifaceted, changing woman, but who is always herself. In a rock perfecto at 4 pm. In pumps at 5 pm. In a velvet ensemble at 6 pm... We brought together sixteen women and three men. We didn’t want to be ageist or youthist. I also wanted to create movement between the various portraits, to show that they’re not in opposition; on the contrary, they’re linked. It seems to me that all women who buy a Barbara Bui’s garment are Barbara, and that Barbara is all these women too. And besides, I couldn’t show your clothing without showing where it comes from, that would have seemed strange to me. But I wasn’t sure you’d agree to be filmed!
BARBARA, THIS IS THE FIRST TIME WE’VE SEEN YOU ON SCREEN IN ONE OF YOUR FILMS. WHAT WAS THE EXPERIENCE LIKE FOR YOU?
Barbara Bui : When Nicolas first told me about it, I was a bit wary. It’s true that I’m quite reserved, but that doesn’t stop me from putting all my strength into my message and my clothing. I decided to trust him and show a little more of myself, always with the idea of sharing and ransmission.
THE FILM IS ALSO TRUE TO YOUR VISION OF FASHION, WHICH FOR YOU IS ABOVE ALL A MEANS OF EXPRESSING YOUR IDENTITY, IN COMPLETE FREEDOM. EVEN IF THAT MEANS GETTING CHANGED, EVEN DURING THE COURSE OF A DAY.
Barbara Bui : We wanted to bring together a diversity of personalities from across the generations. My fashion demands the right to difference and versatility. It’s an ode to freedom. I like the idea that you can express all the facets of your personality, without being confined to a uniform. People say that my fashion is rock, and that’s true, but it’s full of other things too. I’ve always wanted to cultivate the power of contrasts; of the paradoxes we all have inside us.
What matters to me is individual freedom. I hate boxes. In this film, the girls turn around and say «yeah, so what? That’s how they are, and that’s all there is to it. No one should feel assigned to a role. My masculine suits are also hyper-feminine, above all else I love mixing the genders. That’s also why it was important to have men in this film.
Nicolas Boualami : These women might be these boys at certain times of the day. We chose men (Romain Brau, Edouard Prévot, Benjamin Siksou) who express a form of femininity or ulnerability.
Barbara Bui : Men also have the right to sensitivity and femininity.
HOW DID YOU GO ABOUT CHOOSING THE PIECES FOR THE FILM?
Barbara Bui : There are flagship pieces from my Autumn-Winter 2024/2025 collection, but a few archive pieces also make an appearance. It feels like I make fashion that never really goes out of style. You can wear garments I made ten years ago, and they’re still relevant today. I love the enduring nature of things, the fact that a piece can’t be dated. People also put a lot of themselves into my garments, and they end up being unable to part with them. There’s a sentimental and emotional bond that develops. Hence the idea of supporting them in their lives. I also wanted
to present some of the most distinctive pieces from my wardrobe, such as leather designs, men’s jackets, velvet pants...
Nicolas Boualami : The garments match from one collection to the next, there’s a kind of sartorial connection. What I love about Barbara Bui’s clothing is that the women who wear it are seduced themselves first, before they seduce others. These days, you have to portray a permanent persona. When you look at yourself and like what you see, it’s easier to feel comfortable with others. Barbara Bui’s garments make you feel secure because you know they fit! We live in an age when we look at ourselves a lot. All day long, we wait for a “like” that says I love you; we need validation, but when we’re able to validate ourselves, a great weight is lifted...
BARBARA CHECKS THE FIT OF THE PIECES ON STOCKMAN MANNEQUINS, WE SEE THE ACTORS FASTENING THE BUTTONS ON A SHIRT, RUNNING THEIR HANDS OVER THE FABRIC... THERE’S AN ALMOST CARNAL CONNECTION WITH THE MATERIALS. HOW DID YOU RECREATE THIS SENSORIALITY?
Nicolas Boualami : I love the idea of clothing as a second skin, it always makes me smile when I hear: «I can’t take this garment off». What you can never take off is your skin! When you put on a Barbara Bui’s piece, it’s always very immediate.
Spontaneous. Actresses look at themselves and at once say «voilà! It’s a case of love at first sight, they don’t have to stand in front of the mirror for 5 hours to be sure it suits them.
THESE DAYS, IT FEELS LIKE ARTISTIC DIRECTORS ARE MORE LIKELY TO PRODUCE IMAGES THAN CLOTHING... BUT FASHION IS ALL ABOUT DESIGNING CLOTHING!
Barbara Bui : Films allow me to show this intimacy, this relationship with the material, with the piece. You can see the details, the undersides of ollars, the insides of jackets... With fashion shows, you see cloned models placed on a pedestal, at a distance from the people, and you lose this intimate relationship with the clothing.
THE IDEA OF THE BARBARA BUI WOMAN BEING MULTIFACETED IS EMBODIED IN THE CHOICE OF VERLAINE’S POEM, WHICH BARBARA READS AT THE BEGINNING OF THE FILM...
Nicolas Boualami : I think Barbara Bui’s fashion is very literary. And besides, I love this poem. Linking Barbara and poetry seems very natural to me.
Barbara Bui : When I was young, I wanted to write, but in the end fashion became my writing, my vocabulary. It’s through fashion that I express myself these days.
Nicolas Boualami : Barbara Bui fashion is also very musical and that’s why it’s intuitively associated with the word «rock». Like Karl Lagerfeld, Barbara is a rockstar who hasn’t made an album. Her albums are her collections.
THE FILM USES CLOSE-UPS OF FACES. WHY THIS CHOICE?
Nicolas Boualami : I think clothing leads to the face. Barbara’s garments are like doorways, they make you want to meet the person.
Barbara Bui : In the film, the power of the gaze is very important. When people look us in the eye, they give us a part of themselves. Laurence Benaïm’s gaze, for example, is very moving in the film.
WHY DID YOU CHOOSE KEREN ANN’S «MY NAME IS TROUBLE» AS THE SOUNDTRACK?
Nicolas Boualami : I’ve always really loved this song and the element of mystery and madness it contains. Underneath these highly structured women, there’s perhaps the promise of something a little crazy.
Barbara Bui : A Barbara Bui suit may protect, but you can never know what’s hidden behind it!
Barbara Bui is the passion behind the cool exterior!
ARTISTS :
Pascale Arbillot, Constance Arnoult, Aure Atika, Romain Brau, Laurence Benaim, Lolita Chammah, Léonie Dahan Lamort, Valerie Donzelli, Vanessa Filho, Fanny Herrero, Irene Jacob, Pauline Jacquard, Keren Ann, Edouard Prevot, Benjamin Siksou, Laura Smet, Clarisse Tranchard, Eliane Umuhire, Émilie Villa.
