Martine Sitbon is a designer whose clothes have always been linked with a certain luxury, a certain sense of hedonism – beautiful, powerful women taking charge of their femininity. As such, it stands to reason that the height of the heady 1980′s was when she first began her own label – after studying at the Studio Berçot in Paris and designing freelance.

Labelled “the new iconoclast” by Donna magazine, Martine quickly developed a cult following for her unique brand of glamorous garments that explored exotic fabrications with a coquettish charm.  Her collections have always carried a rocker edge, heavily influenced by the 1970′s music scene, and her earliest work quickly garnered worldwide attention from many stylists, journalists and celebrities of the time. The designs balanced a lavish use of floating ruffles and light, voluminous fabrics with tough, masculine suiting – always sculpting and defining the female form with a raw sensuality.

Below we present an archive of her work as featured in the worldwide press, appearing in the coolest magazines of the day such as Andy Warhol’s Interview, The Face and Vogue Italia. Several of the shots are taken by her long-time collaborator and friend Nick Knight, and realised by the art director of her label, Marc Ascoli.

Steven Meisel’s Madonna as Marilyn Monroe is another particular highlight, and a true example of the contrast between our A curators. Working at the same time as Maison Martin Margiela and Yohji Yamamoto, Martine Sitbon’s work took the Parisian fashion world’s immediate positive attention, unlike the avant-garde Belgian and new-wave Japanese designer. Even though using the same photographers and showing in the same city, these designers have little aesthetic connection, proving the cultural gaps and bridges that exist between designers, and how it is impossible to define an era with one distinct style. To this phenomenon, one can only say “vive la différence”!

Above: Vogue Italia Spring Summer 1986.

Above: The Face, Fall Winter 1987-88.

Above: Martine Sitbon advertising in Marie Claire Spring Summer 1990, photographed by Nick Knight.

Above: Madonna in Martine Sitbon Spring Summer 1991, for Vogue Italia February 1991 photographed by Steven Meisel.

Above: Interview Magazine, Fall Winter 1992 photographed by Nick Knight, styled by Marc Ascoli.

Above: Glamour, Spring Summer 1992 photographed by Nick Knight.

Rights reserved on all images.

Martine Sitbon
“When It Works”
by CS Leigh

“The fashion world is full of “experts” who can tell you very casually what works and what doesn’t. That their opinions change hourly is something they can explain away by using words like “transitory” or “evolving.” However what anyone who has been watching things for a while realises is that no one knows anything, to paraphrase William Goldman on the film business. Fashion like other artforms inspired by the moment (and with ambitions toward selling well over the short term, rather than later on) relies on the feelings generated by presentation rather than representation. For all of those who “blog in” from China or Peru or even Cincinatti on occasion to say that the shows no longer mean anything in these times of mass communication, I say to them go to a great show and then tell me what you think about it. There is nothing like it when it works.

The Martine Sitbon Fall Winter 2010 show recently unveiled in Paris was one of those occasions when no one needed to explain anything. It worked. The collection and the crowd were fused in to a single performing unit, each playing its part to the hilt. Every look hit the mark in the way only a designer like Martine Sitbon can pull off after so many wonderful collections where she has done that over the years. The room was alive in a way that seldom happens in fashion. It was like a gig, a great club, or a terrific party all rolled in to one. I kept thinking the models on the catwalk for once had something to look at as well. What makes this all the more exciting is that it was not done with smoke and mirrors. It was real. This was not a fabrication of actors and other hangers-ons who were paid to be there. The audience both starry and intelligent were there by choice. Its a great feeling to know you are at the right place at the right time and it was like that there.

Nobody does it better than Martine Sitbon. She knows what she wants and she knows how to get it. That is what makes her a star rather than the other way round. It begins with the clothes and goes out to the crowd like a gift or an invitation to go somewhere you can only go once and that you remember for a long time. Perhaps over time the memory becomes more something to aspire to rather than something to be in any way nostalgic about. A feeling more than something tangible the memory of the event becomes an ambition.”

Above backstage shots by Sonny Vandevelde. Shoes for Rue du Mail by Kron Kron

Filep Motwary from the widely-read ‘Un Nouveau Ideal‘ fashion website spoke with A#5 curator Martine Sitbon this month, and we present his candid and personal interview below.

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“Although we (Martine and I) met in person during my Paris days some years back, thanks to Yvan Mispelaere, I felt it was the right moment for me to reach for her again and share our conversation with you.”

Filep Motwary: It’s already more than 25 years for you in the service of fashion. Are there any moments that you still question yourself about the path you chose to follow?

Martine Sitbon: Every time, before every a fashion show. But the fact that I have decided to continue, it makes each of the following season much more interesting and worthwhile.

FM: How different is the “esprit” of Rue du Mail compared to the late Martine Sitbon label?

MS: On a creative level, there are no difference between Rue du Mail and Martine Sitbon labels – they are both designed by the same person, me.

The essence of my taste has not changed drastically over the years; it has just evolved. With Rue du Mail, my goal is to capture what is Parisian chic with a modern attitude. I wanted to explore and realize a form of a truly independent Parisian fashion house, and not just another brand; what is important to me is the soul of creativity within, and that soul has roots in Paris.

FM: You are a “womans” designer, as I see it. Someone who creates clothes for women and the way they feel about themselves and their bodies. Apart from their sex, what is the difference between a man and a woman?

MS: The obvious one is the general construction and shape between man and woman is fundamentally different. My view on designing for men is not too different from designing for women; it is based on the relevance to my feeling of the season. You always design for today.

FM: Fashion today has become a bit of a “role play” experience. The people involved tent to masquerade depending on circumstances. How did you manage to stay out of these games, keeping a low profile and still remain as one of the designers that the industry respects so much?

MS: Feet on the ground, head in the clouds.

FM: What was the idea behind your SS10 collection. I loved the music you chose…

MS: It is to do with the calmness with a sense of urgency, or the sense of urgency to attain the calmness. With the world surrounded by the financial crisis, which is affecting almost everyone, it is just my way to ridicule the situation, of how it is far too easy to be sucked into a downward spiral. Only if one will make the effort to pause, the world is still beautiful.

Our long time collaborator, and good friend Frederic Sanchez always comes up with something new and inspiring for our soundtracks at shows. He is truly talented, and is able to conjure up sounds that highlight the emotions of a fashion show that surpasses the clothes. This season we favored the sounds of a young French artist Bernard Fevre, the result? A timeless ethereal mood…

FM: How optimistic you feel about the future of Fashion? What will change in ten years time? Could you give us your opinion?

MS: Personally, fashion is only as relevant as its players. I sincerely hope the newer generation of designers would focus on the beauty and the authenticity of fashion and not the glory, fame and monetary gain. This is the only way to preserve the future of fashion.

The fashion environment of today is quite complex, but that is all part of the excitement and a challenge to propose a true point of view.

What is important to me is a sense of individualism.

FM: In your own words, what makes the characteristic of your style and how relevant it is with today’s scene?

MS: I truly believe that when a designer starts to define his or her own style, that is the beginning of the end. My creations are for dreamers who live in the reality. They are the same people I see when I go out to a café and when I travel. This is my way to keep myself relevant, because I do not design for people that do not exist.

FM: As a designer with such great past and present, what motivates you really and what inspires you to keep the track going?

MS: A day is such a waste if you don’t learn something, be it about the world or about yourself. To be honest, even today, the more I learn about myself, the more I know deep in my heart that I have much more to teach and express. This is probably one of the main reasons I am always motivated. Fashion is my means to express my knowledge and experience.

FM: Does Paris equal fashion? Why is Paris the “Mecca” of creation compared to London or Milan?

MS: Paris is the fashion capital because of its ability to adopt and appreciate. This is not just my view on this subject; our fashion history has shown that it is true – from the Japan 4 to the Antwerp 6. Paris, especially when it comes to the subject of fashion, is where it is because it appreciates creativity at its highest form.

FM: How has time evolved in the 21st century? What is time for you Mme Sitbon?

MS: Time is a gift. It is not for you to give or take. It is what is given to you.

FM: From the young generation of designers, who is your favourite and why? What makes a designer last?

MS: It is almost unfair for me to say, but both Phoebe Philo and Gabrielle Greiss are my favourites. I can’t really be sure why, maybe I am just happy that they have, since being my assistants, to become who they have become.

As for what makes a designer last, like I said before, it is a matter of focusing on the purpose of why you want to be a fashion designer. If the focus is not pure at heart, talent will not be able to compensate.

FM: Thank you for this wonderful conversation One last word? Lets say, your motto?

MS: Live. Every possible sense of the word.

Julie Verhoeven on Martine Sitbon:

“Martine to me exudes a child-like wonderment and spirit. Super-attractive, bright, shiny and rockin’. I am thrilled and happy to have passed through her world and continue to be touched by the experience.”

For a Paris-based designer, Martine Sitbon’s fascination with London and it’s wealth of talent seems to extend far across the English channel – from the music she enjoys, to the photographers she works with like Nick Knight and Katerina Jebb. Continuing this love affair with British talent, we present the work of London-based artist and illustrator Julie Verhoeven, a woman whose ethereal and subtly erotic illustrations have captured Martine Sitbon’s imagination – spurring an eight year working relationship and a much longer friendship between the two women.

Julie Verhoeven creates her own brand of sensual illustrations firmly entrenched in a study of the feminine – a fusion of thematic concerns of sexuality, innocence, power and surrealism that blur the lines between art and fashion, of precision and emotion, light and dark, and fantasy and reality. The women she draws hold a cartoonish appeal, with large, heavy-lidded eyes, coy little mouths and dramatic proportions – an emphasis on their big heads and what is inside their minds, yet played against the beauty of their physical forms.

For A#5, a series of her images has been included from the 2007 project ‘The Female Graze’ , a 40 minute film project on which Julie worked with N/A Design.

View an excerpt from the video ‘The Female Graze’ here:

For our third and final installment of Martine Sitbon’s series of Proust Questionnaire interviews, we offer you the muse of many, one of today’s most iconic faces in film and fashion – Tilda Swinton. In her shortened and personalised edit of the Proust Questionnaire, Tilda shares a brief yet poignant glimpse into her private world – her family, her sensibilities and her wicked sense of humour. Featured alongside her words is a photograph she herself has taken for Martine, featured below, and Craig McDean’s elegant portrait of Tilda. Having featured in both A#3 by Haider Ackermann and A#5 by Martine Sitbon, Tilda is somewhat of an A regular – let us hope our paths cross with hers again in the future.

Your favourite virtue: “Honesty.”

Your favourite occupation: “Going to bed.”

Principal characteristic: “Appreciativeness.”

My idea of bliss: “On top of a high hill with the sun coming and going and a good wind.”

Favourite Flower: “Sweet pea.”

Favourite word: “Dude.”

Film I would recommend to Martine: “School of Rock.”

Favourite poet: “My daughter.”

Favourite composer: “My son.”

Favourite painter: “Their father.”

Favourite motto: “It will all come out in the wash.”

Words to Martine on her return: “Yeah yeah yeah.”

Favourite sound: “Ponies chuckling to themselves when they can see you coming.”

State of mind: “Going to bed.”

Animal Martine most closely resembles: “One cool cat.”

Favourite heroes in fiction: “South Park’s Big Gay Al, Nancy Mitford’s Uncle Davy and Joe Gargary from Great Expectations.”

Words I would like to hear from St Peter at the Pearly Gates: “High Five! Great Success!”

Image enclosed for Martine: “Answers also the question of where my favourite place to live is (it was taken at home) and Martine’s symbolic women…

The quickest drawing I would send Martine is that of a sacred heart, but my computer lacks the key… in it’s absence, then: x

]]> http://www.ablogcuratedby.com/martinesitbon/questionnaire-proust-redux-3-tilda-swinton/feed/ 1 http://www.ablogcuratedby.com/martinesitbon/le-book-by-martine-sitbon-paris-2010/ http://www.ablogcuratedby.com/martinesitbon/le-book-by-martine-sitbon-paris-2010/#comments Thu, 29 Oct 2009 18:00:54 +0000 Dan the Scout http://www.ablogcuratedby.com/?p=2827

Le Book is a quintessential reference point, a go-to guide for the myriad of talent and services available in […]

Le Book is a quintessential reference point, a go-to guide for the myriad of talent and services available in the world of fashion. Marked by the four megacities of London, Paris, Berlin and New York, it consists of nine volumes a year holding the names and contacts of the industry’s leading designers, photographers, stylists, model agencies, studios, and other entities.

Each year Le Book is granted a collaboration with a different fashion designer or house for each city, talking artistic direction of the book and contributing a taste of their world to it’s pages. Past collaborators include the curator of A#2 Yohji Yamamoto, Azzedine Alaïa, Vivienne Westwood, and Dries Van Noten. It is both serendipitous and the most sound of timing that we are able to announce that the Paris edition of the 2010 Le Book is in collaboration with the curator of A#5, Martine Sitbon, alongside her label Rue du Mail’s artistic director Marc Ascoli.

“Martine Sitbon’s collections act as narratives, each telling a story inspired by all the elements that surround her – from the city she lives in to the contemporary art she loves and the music she listens to. Her style combines Parisian chic and a rock’n’roll attitude, juxtaposing sharp daywear and couture-style cocktail dresses. The styles vary yet the essence remains the same. Martine Sitbon believes in three values that she has always treasured: independence, authenticity and ‘esprit’, all values that are evident in her work.

RUE DU MAIL is the result of the close collaboration between Marc Ascoli and Martine Sitbon.

Le BOOK Paris 2010 is a tribute to their work.”

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The relationship between Nick Knight and Martine Sitbon is a long-standing and harmonious one – a balance of creative flow that has produced much memorable work over the years, including the iconic cherry-lipped cover image of A#5. Inside the magazine are several beautiful contributions from Nick, including this ethereal fashion shoot of porcelain beauty Kirsten Owen, static in statuesque poses – doll-like as she clasps a white rabbit to her bosom or plays with floating bubbles. In a Martine Sitbon corset that reaches high at the neck, Kirsten seems ready for a performance, a magician’s assistant perhaps? The shoot is inspired by the film ‘An Angel At My Table’ a dramatisation of the life of psychiatrically-troubled New Zealand author Janet Frame.

The serendipitous nature of this shoot being in A#5 is revealed by Martine in the accompanying text, as she mentions Nick held onto the colour film images from the original 1991 production for over a decade until when this title began production in 2007.

“The series had been shot in colour to obtain as much nuance as possible before moving on to the highly saturated black and white achieved by Nick. I was only familiar with those shots. When we contacted Nick for A Magazine, they reappeared by magic, Nick had held onto them ever since. Their hues possess the coloured patina of 18th century paintings. To me, these images seem completely new and enchanting.”

Lou Reed’s song ‘Berlin’ is the title track from his 1973 album – Reed’s third outing that was received as a disturbing departure from the upbeat tunes that marked his early days. Dealing with a sombre story of loss and longing of a pair of lovers, ‘Berlin’ was rarely performed live by Lou, until 2007 when he staged a tour of the album and had it filmed as a movie project by Julian Schnabel.

For A#5, Martine Sitbon included the above image of Lou Reed in the series of music portraits by celebrated photographer Mick Rock – this image was taken in 1972, just before the release of ‘Berlin’.

BERLIN BY LOU REED

© 1973 Lou Reed | RCA Records

“In Berlin, by the wall
you were five foot ten inches tall
It was very nice
candlelight and Dubonnet on ice

We were in a small cafe
you could hear the piano play
It was very nice
it was paradise

You’re right and I’m wrong
hey babe, I’m gonna miss you now that you’re gone
One sweet day

Oh, you’re right and I’m wrong
you know I’m gonna miss you now that you’re gone
One sweet day
One sweet day

In a small, small cafe
we could hear the guitars play
It was very nice
candlelight and Dubonnet on ice

Don’t forget, hire a vet
he hasn’t had that much fun yet
It was very nice
hey honey, it was paradise

You’re right and I’m wrong
oh babe, I’m gonna miss you now that you’re gone
One sweet day
You’re right, oh, and I’m wrong
you know I’m gonna miss you now that you’re gone
One sweet day
One sweet day

One sweet day, one sweet day
Oh, one sweet day
One sweet day, baby-baby, one sweet day
one sweet day, one sweet day”

Click here to view the embedded video.

The illustrious history of A has seen it pass through the worlds of a myriad of interesting designers – young and old, male and female, public or anonymous, ‘of the moment’ or firmly established. It is a beautiful thing to see these worlds colliding, as was the case recently in this series of images from Sien magazine, a project by the boutique in Antwerp of the same name. Photographed by Lot Doms and styled by Sien van de Water, the shoot includes an intricately embroidered silver skirt of Martine Sitbon‘s Rue du Mail, presented alongside a vibrant indigo jacquard dress of A#9′s Proenza Schouler and a printed silk chemise by Hussein Chalayan. For the unacquainted, Hussein Chalayan created NºC – one of the rarest editions of A – when the magazine was alphabetical and not numbered.

These beautiful, minimalist images delicately balance the bold garments with an understated setting- as model Sabrine Fiscker seemingly floats in blackness, locked in a quiet solace as the boundaries of the garments blur around her. This fusion of ‘A designers’ each telling a different tale of femininity is not only refreshing and modern, but coherent to our liberated, collaborative approach to creativity.

An insight into the inner workings of the creative mind, the Proust Questionnaire is a formulaic quiz that became famous in the end of the 19th century due to it’s responses by Marcel Proust. Martine Sitbon has employed this as her primary interview mechanism for A#5, and here we offer you the responses of the British photographer Katerina Jebb. Her photographic work blurs boundaries between fashion and art, utilising technology such as photocopiers and scanners for unique effects. Katerina has also been featured in Haider Ackermann’s A#3, read about it here.

Your favourite virtue: “Talent.”

Your favourite qualities in a man: “Brains.”

Your favourite qualities in a woman: “Humour.”

Your favourite occupation: “Laughing.”

Your chief characteristic: “Ambiguity.”

Your idea of happiness: “Lying in the ocean.”

Your idea of misery? “Lying in the suburbs.”

Your favourite colour and flower? “Flesh.”

If not yourself, who would you be? “The Sun.”

Where would you like to live? “Here.”

Your favourite prose authors: “Dostoevsky. Poe. Gore Vidal. Somerset Maugham.”

Your favourite poets: “T.S Eliot. Marcel Duchamp.”

Your favourite painters and composers: “Philip Glass. Eric Satie. Kurt Cobain.”

Your favourite heroes in real life: “The Medical Faculty, Research Scientists, Human Rights Activists, Any Activists”.

Your favourite heroines in real life: “Single mothers.”

Your favourite food and drink: “Chocolate. Pink champagne.”

Your favourite names: “Fidel, Ludovic.”

Your pet aversion: “Logos, fast food, disposable culture.”

What is your present state of mind: “Pre-apocalyptic.”

For what fault have you most toleration: “Over exhuberance.”

Your favourite motto: “Cream always rises to the top.”

In a few words, what do you think of Martine’s work? “Desirable. Fragile. Honorable.

In your mind which image represents Martine the most, and why? “Performance meets Picnic at Hanging Rock.”

What post card would you enjoy sending to Martine? “Something from Henry Darger.”

What film would you advise Martine to watch? “The Swimmer”.

What kind of woman symbolises Martine? “Every woman.”

What animal symbolises her the most? “Bambi.”

What words of encouragement would you pronounce to Martine on her comeback? “Fame is a mask that eats away the face.”

What is your favourite word? “Self possessed.”

What is your least favourite word? “Sniper.”

What turns you on creatively, spiritually or emotionally? “People, progress, a brave new world.”

What turns you off? “People, fake orgasms, Dolce & Gabbana.”

What is your favourite curse word? “Mofo.”

What sound or noise do you love? “Solo piano, the plane landing.”

What sound or noise do you hate? “Celine Dion, Mariah Carey, Robbie Williams.”

What profession other than your own would you like to attempt? “Astronaut”.

If Heaven exists, what you you like God to say when you arrive at the Pearly Gates? “Oh how lovely to see you again.”