GABRIEL RASTOUEIX

“My starting point for the silhouette was looking at the hotel décor and the principles behind it. The grand staircase was one of the architectural features that stood out the most, so I wanted to build my piece around that. Inspired by this, I knew I should go for a silhouette with bold, architectural volumes.

Since Jean-Louis Deniot’s work, particularly his colour choices, use of greys and how they interact with the hotel lighting, echoed my artistic tastes, it was clear I should dye the fabric to achieve different shades of grey, which are then enhanced with gold (mylar), a metallic foil that’s applied with a brush.

Finally, to achieve volume and represent the flight of the grand staircase, I took inspiration from the Winged Victory of Samothrace, a masterpiece of ancient sculpture. In my work, it’s important to consider the movements and ‘dynamics’ created by forms and functions. It’s a dynamic that draws us upwards, onwards or towards home, defining us, something I found both in the hotel, with its grand staircase and in the Winged Victory of Samothrace, about to take flight. I wanted to recreate this dynamic, with a sense of lightness and architecture, so I drew cloudy scales rising from the figure’s bust.
I finished the silhouette with an asymmetrical corset and draped skirt as a nod to both the sculpture and the railings of the grand staircase.”