{Wonder Woman #10} The Colourful designer Anne Sophie Cochevelou!

Hello dolls, I hope you had a marvellous weekend...Happy Easter Monday! I'm back here with another out of this world - marvellous Wonder Woman!! And this one is a definite favourite, you may have seen her in another post I shared of street styles that I loved, this time Anne-Sophie was so kind enough to let me interview her for my dainty blog here. Not only is she colourful, creative, & beautiful, she is also very kind & intelligent. Her contribution to the Artistic world is one of bright colours, different ways of thinking, happiness & most of all for me - uniqueness! When we live in a world that we're constantly pushed to be the same...it is refreshing to find someone who breaks free of that & let's her creative nature run wild! I hope you enjoy her as much as I do (I adore her really)...feel free to say hello to Anne-Sophie, she is very lovely. Have a marvellous day dolls!

Loves & Loves
xoxox


Anne Sophie Cochevelou's Shop - Cycle in Heels / Facebook / Blog

  Ksenia Gladysheva

1. Did you always want to create or was there another job you wanted growing up?

Since the age I was able to hold a pen or a brush, I have been creating, painting, drawing, doing theatre, DIY. When I was a child I wanted to be a vet part time and an Opera singer, I always wanted to do several things at the same time because I felt it was not enough to have just one life.  When I was a teenager I didn't really know what I wanted to do and my parents took me to a guidance counsellor and she told me I had the "Jesus complex", I was convinced that I had a mission on earth.  I thought she was lying but now I know my mission is to make the world more joyful with my art.  (I know it is quite ambitious but why not think big?) Because I grew up in a family of engineers, I thought they wouldn't be happy with me becoming an artist, (whereas have always been supportive for everything I was doing). So I did a literature degree in Paris to become a teacher.  But the leopard can't change its spots, creativity was stronger and I applied for the M.A in Performance Design in Practice at Central Saint martins....and here I am! 

2. Because your creations speak before the person wearing it does, have you ever come across people who didn't understand your work or reacted in a negative way to it?

Sometimes people don't like the doll creations and find it creepy and disturbing. In London you can dress the way you want, but in Paris people stare at you more in a negative way. I don't want to be provocative but if people look at me in a bad way, I just look back, chin up, looking very proud, as a statement of my right to be different and to express myself. But in general, people's reactions are really positive and enthusiastic. Using common references in my design like lego or old toys creates social links and engage conversation.  People always admire individuals who dare to be different, they wish they could do the same! 

3. If you were only allowed to create using two types of materials, what would you choose?

I think it would be Barbie heads and Legos!

4. How does art or creating make you feel?

The creative process is like a phenomenal energy, an obsession, when you create you can stop sleeping or eating, it is what makes me feel alive! For me artists are people who see the creative potential of reality and see the world as transformable.

5. Have you felt at any time, being a woman has made it harder or different for you to be taken seriously as a designer? 

I had the privilege to grow up in an environment where girls and boys have the same education and opportunities, and I have never been treated differently. But rampant machismo is always there, sometimes in little comments. At the same time,  having a strong personality as a woman is not always seen as a good thing.  Even if I'm not a strong militant there is feministic statement in my work, questioning the status of femininity and a woman's body in the modern society.  My vision of feminism is not that women should be the same as man, but they should be able to do the same as men but they can remain feminine.  For example, I can carry heavy stuff wearing lipstick and high heels! 

6. Who are the women - past or present that you have felt inspired by?

I am inspired by a lot of strong and talented women like the American artist and curator Sue Kreitzman, Lady Gaga, Fridah Khalo, Josephine Baker, Wonder Woman, Pina Bauch, Ariane Mnouchkine (French stage director), Janis Joplin, the performer and artist Orlan, the French actress Anna Karina… 

 Picture by Richard Kelly.

7. Art in all its forms, stir emotions and reactions, what reactions or feelings do you hope your work will make others feel?

social link

8. Just for fun...what is your favourite colour?

I don't really have a favourite colour, I like colour in their context or how they match together. For example I love a fierce apple green jacket but I wouldn't like it on my wall.  I love colour as long as they are intense, bright and flashy! 

9. There is a magic genie & she has given you the chance to work with one artist or designer (dead or alive) to create something amazing with - who do you wish it to be? 

I would love to work with the French designer Jean Charles de Castelbajac or create stage-costumes for Lady Gaga. I also went to the the exhibition of Jean Paul Gauthier at the Barbican in London and if he needs an assistant for creating more amazing garment I am up for it! 

10. And lastly my sweet...if you could leave every woman in the world 3 things to have for the rest of their lives, what would they be?

-passion, daring and creativity! 

As a little bonus, here is just a taste of the creations you can find in Anne-Sophie's online shop & Etsy shop:

{All photos of Anne Sophie Cochevelou are from her facebook page with permission. Please ask her permission also to use, thank you}

♥