Get dressed with Aymeline Valade
French model and actress AYMELINE VALADE has walked for every major house from Chloé to Isabel Marant and Marc Jacobs, but it’s the amazing looks she sports off the runway that have seen her acquire cult status. This is how she broke the ‘model-off-duty’ mold…
CHOOSE QUALITY OVER QUANTITY
“I’d say my style is modern and minimal; I wear quite classic pieces but the way I put them together adds a contemporary edge. A lot of people have a very bold look with lots of clashing prints and, while I admire it, it’s just not for me. I put a lot of thought and care into choosing new clothes – I’d much rather buy one beautiful cashmere jumper than five cheaper ones in different colors. It might be expensive but it’s an investment and a much more sustainable approach to shopping.”
INSPIRATION IS EVERYWHERE
“Paris, where I live, is a beautiful city built on history and art. I have always had a strong point of view about what I wear and how I wear it, but my style is informed more by cultural forces, like architecture or a color combination that I happen upon in an interior setting, than fashion. I’m kind of a fashion geek: I’m really interested in it from an anthropological perspective. The primary role of clothing is just to cover our bodies but it is so much more than that – it’s really representative of what’s going on in the world. Sensuality, for me, is an internal thing; when I was younger I struggled with my desire to feel and look sexy without wearing skimpy clothes. I had to find a new way. In the end I was inspired by amazing feminists like pilot Amelia Earhart, writer Annemarie Schwarzenbach and photographer Marianne Breslauer – they always looked cool and empowered; they really helped me develop a cerebral, sexy style.”
GET THE BASICS RIGHT
“My focus is on taking really good care of my skin every day, that way there’s no need for me to wear a lot of makeup. People often say, ‘Well, that’s easy for you, you’re a model’, but if you have healthy, glowing skin, you look great, period. I actually have really dry, spot-prone skin so I put the work in. I don’t like the idea of using anything with a lot of chemicals so I stick to natural products. I love clay masks and do one almost every day – they draw all the toxins out and I find it really evens tone and removes marks. But I never let the clay dry as it can leach all the moisture from your skin. Crème de la Mer is by far the best moisturizer I have ever tried. It really regenerates your skin, which I need as I spend a lot of time outdoors skateboarding and snowboarding. I rotate it with a lighter moisturizer as it is a strong formula and I don’t want my skin to get lazy.”
HAVE A SIGNATURE EMBELLISHMENT
“I never feel fully dressed without my jewelry – I have a real relationship with it. I wear a lot of it, all of the time. I rotate different pieces but I wear multiple necklaces, earrings and rings every day. I think of it as my signature and a very big part of my identity. Most of the pieces I wear are very fine and elegant, so on their own they might look a bit genteel, but because I pile them on there’s a sort of bohemian, rock’n’roll vibe to it. My style is extremely pared-back so it’s through adding an amethyst on a chain, an architectural Charlotte Chesnais earring and a chunky Boucheron ring that I keep my outfits interesting. I think of my jewelry as the feminine counterpart to my androgynous look.”
CHAMPION CREATIVITY
“My favorite labels are The Row and Haider Ackermann because the quality of their pieces is just impeccable and they don’t shout; their designs can look quite simple and it’s not until you’re up close and notice all the details or you’ve felt them that you truly understand just how special they are. I also love what Riccardo Tisci of Burberry, Nicolas Ghesquière of Louis Vuitton, Julien Dossena of Paco Rabanne and Demna Gvasalia of Balenciaga do. In my opinion, these four designers are creating an entirely new style. They’re trying to keep that sexiness that women want but interpret it in a new way, bringing it up to speed with the new time and place we’re in – it reminds me of how women were liberated by drop waists and pants in the 1920s. They know that women want to feel sensual without being defined by their bodies.”
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