Meeting in the "back room" of the show by fashion designer Stéphane V.

After passing the steps below 6, rue Saint Sébastien, we enter the studio of Stéphane V., in the middle of preparing his show, this evening at 9:30 p.m., in the Frédéric-Mistral garden. "Three years after I moved to Biot, as part of the arts and crafts program, this is my first fashion show here, in my own name."

In his "dungeon", surrounded by three interns, the couturier creates an atmosphere of excitement, stress, effervescence and concentration, with the desire, above all, to do his best.

The trio was selected from the Condé school in Nice, where Stéphane teaches. "Anna is gifted at sewing, meticulous, and precious. Léa has a natural talent for event planning; Anaïs, who manages networks and communications, likes to play with volumes." In the workshop, the students feel at once like artists, craftspeople, and engineers. Even more so "when you have to find a solution, even if it's unconventional." In conversation, they discuss quality, ethics, and recycling, an obvious concern for young designers: "There's a lot of textile waste, and reusing and recovering it to make something wearable is inspiring."

An inclusive and intergenerational casting

Between rehearsals and finishing touches, the Ardèche designer, who grew up in his parents' fabric business but discovered the stage and its underside in the London of musicals, unfolds the program of his free show. "An opening with my creations, conceived as characters, with a story. Then the “Beautiful Biotoises,” the students of my evening classes, capsule collections and white, black, and gold paintings. Then, the talents of the Condé school and the finale, all on stage."

Casting-wise, we're all about inclusiveness and intergenerationalism, with models "who have character on stage, rather than a plastic beauty that looks great in a magazine but doesn't really deliver live. When it comes to outfit assignments, it has to match, it has to be wow!" To embody the stylist's touch, inspired by "the plant, animal, mineral and cosmic world, from couturiers like Jean-Paul Gaultier, Thierry Mugler and Alexander McQueen. I don't pretend to make fashion but couture, inspired one-off pieces. I don't start with the drawing, I caress a fabric and it's not necessarily the design of the garment that comes first. Sometimes it's music or an intention, a universe."