Marie-Victoire de Bascher - the one who is free. -desktop

by Agathe Guetat July 8, 2019

Marie-Victoire de Bascher - the one who is free.

Today, this portrait of Marie-Victoire (by Bascher) is a window open to a mystery: that of inspiration, drawing and illustration.

She draws, illustrates, creates, as we breathe.

She also practices friendship in a fluid, wandering way, without roughness, above all faithful. Since Studio Berçot where we met, 10 years ago, already - we don't see the time passing - we knew that one day or the next our drawings and our inspiration, which are never more than the transfer of our identical sensitivities would converge. Marie-Victoire's touch is present in our Hardy, Max and Gerry models, for example. Others will come, following the same wind that carries us, that of emulation and harmony, not that of stupid and nasty competition. What is so unbearable for some people, in seeing us prefer harmony rather than their law of the commercial jungle which would dictate that a dominant must necessarily impose himself on a dominated, the end justifying the means? Let them flounder in their answers which will only confirm the defeat in the open field of imagination and principles. Come on, let's continue to prefer harmony, sincerity and creative abundance...

With Marie-Victoire, our bond was instantaneous, so many things bring us together.

The first is nestled in the folds of childhood memories. We have family roots in Creuse, where we spent truant holidays each in our own nest, without knowing each other. An unknown land, or rather little known, the place, granite, is not flamboyant and the climate is harsh. But there we are naturally resistant during wars, then resilient, silent and dignified the rest of the time. Today we call this France “peripheral”, but for Marie-Victoire as for me, it was at the center, absolutely at the center of lots of emotions. It would take very little, apart from money, for this periphery to become the center again. Recognition, decentralization of Paris, self-esteem, initiatives and the call of the open sea like in the days when the masons of Creuse went far away to build cathedrals. But this is another story. It is probably because our childhood landscapes were not conducive to daydreaming, that we wanted to open our windows wide and illuminate reality. So Marie-Victoire began her career early and ultimately never deviated from it: Princess of the Extreme at the age of 5, equipped with her pencils, her colors and her Canson paper, she tackled the redecoration of the Palais de Dame Tartine, which naturally led, around the age of 12, to interior designer, furniture designer and fashion stylist for exclusive clients, Hello Kitty and Barbie. It was precisely at the same time that the centerpiece of my first collection was designed, under the leadership of my beloved Creuse grandmother: a red Andalusian dress with small white polka dots, full of complications... we were making our way together without knowing it. Then Marie-Victoire went through adolescence with “soles of wind”, like Rimbaud, constantly drawing and illustrating everything that vibrates before her ever-watchful eyes. Bac L in hand, head to Brussels and its École de La Cambre, a cultural hub of modernism and decorative arts, founded by Henry Van de Velde at the beginning of the last century. However, Marie-Victoire remains a little unsatisfied in this prestigious school which perhaps predisposes more to industrial design. Her real goal is fashion. It is no more futile than design, fashion. It's simply another way to stylishly embellish the contours of life and give it meaning.

“ It’s not the dress you wear that matters, but the life you lead wearing it ,” said Diana Vreeland,

This is indeed our credo. So, let's head to Studio Berçot, Marie Rucki 's hive that I presented to you on June 24, with so much admiration for this unclassifiable magician of style and creation. At the exit of Studio Berçot, the fireflies, the elves and the stars continue to escort Marie-Victoire, who, like many of us, former students of the hive, did not take long to find a first career trampoline. She joined the flagship Louis Vuitton in its collections coordination department. The stars and divas are just the scum of the days, the submerged part of the vessel seems so much richer and more fascinating, with its culture of artisanal excellence in the service of a brand. Victoire's multidirectional antennas are unfolded wide. She begins to be attracted, or rather magnetized a little more day after day, by a workshop that looks less ostentatious next to the collections department and its seasonal glamor: the costume jewelry office. We all said to ourselves one day "this is what I want to do", a mixture of irrational revelation, whim and determination... and in the face of so much spontaneity, Vuitton offered Marie-Victoire her first permanent contract in the Jewelry Department fantasy. She spent two wonderful formative years there, constantly creating and drawing, also building relationships, professional perhaps, human above all. And then one fine day, no weariness, no routine, but the curiosity of the nomad who just wants not to deprive herself of seeing the sun rise elsewhere, catches up with her. Marie-Victoire sets out on her own, “ghost designer” of costume jewelry. This anglicism - ghost designer - is the term, modest and mysterious at the same time, which designates the person who offers their talents to all celebrities wishing to associate their name with a line of jewelry that resembles them. Confidentiality clauses require us not to reveal the names of the few stars, top models or other shooting stars, who have affixed their prestigious manicured claws to the creations of our “ghost”, and this has no importance. I can't help but think of Blanche, our pen, who practices writing like Marie-Victoire draws, with elegance and passion, the two are not incompatible at all. What I wrote about Blanche on April 22 is easy to transpose identically to Marie-Victoire: “ who is not without nobility, likes to put herself at the service of others with her <drawing>. Not “getting it over yourself,” finding the right angle and <the right line> on behalf of others, doing justice to the cause of others without pulling the rug over oneself, that’s true politeness .” At 26, perhaps too early to continue walking with her “windy soles”, Marie-Victoire once again joined a beautiful and large house, Lanvin this time and its costume jewelry department. The human environment is pleasant, mentors strive to promote the talent of our creator. Behind the sparkling facade of these houses dedicated to fashion, there is a whole network of skills and professions which converge and complement each other to co-develop a brand. Extroverted and sensitive, I almost said extroverted because sensitive, Marie-Victoire feels good there, like a chrysalis taking its time before becoming a butterfly. 3 years later, the sirens of the Vuitton house are once again singing in the ears of our chrysalis. Impossible not to give in to this call, Nicolas Ghesquière has been appointed artistic director of the women's collections at Louis Vuitton, bringing with him all his virtuosity forged over the years from the workshops of Jean-Paul Gaultier via Balenciaga. And for this silhouette creator, accessories are not accessories, but form a whole with the dress that resonates. Marie-Victoire is inevitably won over. 4 years of creativity and well-being, enough to disprove this absurd stereotype according to which any creative artist can only be cursed, unhappy in love or under the influence of substances that get you high.

And then one beautiful day in 2018, this time it's there, Marie-Victoire stands on her own two feet, she has just opened STUDIOMV to give free rein to her creative talent at the service of all.

That's when we found each other. Collaborations and orders arrive as if by magic on the STUDIOMV desk. Costume jewelry is no longer the exclusive source of inspiration, eclecticism is the new fuel. So go browse the Instagram account @ mvdebascher , you will find joie de vivre, colors, lines guided by an inspired hand that twirls, between board games, scarves (for Vuitton) and boxes of Valentine's Day macaroons for Ladurée. You will then understand why Mister K and STUDIOMV come from two neighboring and complicit chrysalises. ...And this is how Paul Claudel one day made this remark: " Even for the simple flight of a butterfly, the whole sky is necessary "...

Nib: CH