Camille Seydoux Schools Americans on French Girl Style
One piece of advice? “Be more natural. You don’t have to please the men all the time,” she says.
French stylist Camille Seydoux may have a famous sister (younger sibling Lea most recently starred in a little franchise known as James Bond), but it’s her enviable taste that accessories brand Roger Vivier tapped for her first ever collaboration. “Sneakers, a sweatshirt, denim – very casual,” said Seydoux of her daily uniform. “But then I have a very beautiful Celine coat in cashmere.”
Camille first styled Lea for theCésar awards in 2009, and now counts Bérénice Bejo and Adèle Exarchopoulos as clients. She describes her approach to the red carpet as glamorous, but trendy. “I don’t think of what I want to wear, I think of what the little girl inside me wants to see,” she said. Her collection for Roger Vivier, meanwhile, is exactly what she wants to wear now – bucket bags, backpacks, heels and pumped rendered in patchwork denim. “Denim has a young vibe but it’s also something really classic,” she says.
Here, Camille talks her design inspiration, dressing for the red carpet, and how to achieve that covetable French girl style. One piece of advice? Do less.
Tell us about the inspiration for your collaboration with Roger Vivier. For inspiration I found this photo of Jane Birkin, and she was wearing patchwork jeans with all different colors and I thought it was super cool. Denim has a young vibe but it’s also something really classic.
Do you have a favorite denim brand I’m going to sound very classic but I love Levi’s, vintage Levi’s.
Did your work as a red carpet stylist influence your design process? I wanted to do something totally different, because when I style for the red carpet and for photo shoots, you’re doing something for an event or a moment. And with this collection I wanted to do something for everyone. Of course everyone who likes the collection and can afford it! So it’s a different perspective. Instead of thinking of what people want to see or what people dream of seeing on the red carpets, I was thinking about what people want to wear in the streets, what I want to wear when I live my life. So it was really important to do something really comfortable. The red carpet is the opposite–it’s not about comfort, it’s about the way you look. Sometimes when I do styling, I put girls in some very uncomfortable dresses or shoes and I’m like, don’t worry, it’s only for tonight, don’t think about it!
How do you approach your work as a red carpet stylist? I don’t think of what I want to wear, I think of what the little girl inside me wants to see. It’s another part of me, when I’m working on red carpets. It’s about a dream. But I also love when it has a little bit of an edge. I don’t like when it’s too classic, I kind of like glamour but trendy glamour. I love Marc Jacobs. I love [Louis] Vuitton–I loved Alicia Vikander in the white dress at the Golden Globes. And of course I’m a huge fan of Miuccia, so everything Miu Miu and Prada I love.
Camille Seydoux at a luncheon to celebrate her denim line with Roger Vivier.
Since you can now call yourself an accessories designer, what accessories are you loving right now? I’m completely crazy right now about backpacks. I don’t really see New Yorkers in backpacks, but we love them in Paris. I did one with Vivier. I’m in a phase where I don’t like classic bags anymore–I can’t stand the thing the everyone has. I like a pop of color or something really different or a brand that is not as well known. I want something original. My friends make a line called TL-180, they’re simple bags but not necessarily seen on everyone.
What’s your daily uniform? Sneakers, a sweatshirt, denim–very casual. But then I’m going to have a very beautiful Celine coat in cashmere, with a beautiful bag or backpack. I have a sweatshirt from Kenzo that I love. Right now I’m wearing one from Etre Cecile, and I have a men’s one from Louis Vuitton.
What are your favorite stores? Collette in Paris, Barney’s in New York.
What was the last thing you purchased? Spanx, for when I’m working. I buy them when I’m in New York because in Paris we don’t have Spanx. It’s not really glamorous!
What’s your favorite trend for spring? Denim! No but really, one of my favorite shows this season was the Miu Miu show, and I love all the denim pieces that they did.
As you know, American girls are obsessed with French style. What tips can you give them? For me, New Yorkers are experts in mixing casual in with more trendy and fashionable pieces. And you are not afraid to mix prints, you’re much cooler. But I think many French women have an advantage on you when it comes to dressing for parties. You tend to do a little bit too much. The heels, the mini skirt, the hair…you don’t have to please the men all the time, you know? Sometimes I think they should be more natural.
