Photography by René Habermacher.
Art Direction by Antoine Asseraf.

ROCKY SOFT MACHINES Cover Atwork by René Habermacher.

ROCKY SOFT MACHINES Artwork by René Habermacher.

ROCKY SOFT MACHINES Artwork by René Habermacher.

ROCKY SOFT MACHINES Artwork by René Habermacher.

ROCKY SOFT MACHINES Artwork by René Habermacher.

styling: Rogelio Burgos
make-up: Min Kim @ Airport
nails: Hiro @ Jed Root
hair: Chiao Chenet @ Airport
retouching: Dimitri Rigas
production: The Stimuleye

Pre-order CD & VINYL of “Soft Machines” from Fnac here.
Watch Rocky’s “Chase the cool” music video by The Stimuleye from their first EP here.

“LE SAVOIR-FAIRE” by The Stimuleye, a film for Jean-Paul Lespagnard’s #1/2015 collection,
with music by TEPR.

Here’s a wrap up of everything The Stimuleye covered in Hyères for those who missed it.

PHOTOGRAPHY

LORENZO VITTURI, GRAND JURY PRIZE

Italian photographer living in London Lorenzo Vitturi is the first to win 15 000 euros donated by Chanel, for his series “Dalston Anatomy.”

ORIANNE LOPES, SCHOOL OF VISUAL ARTS FUND

Orianne wins a scholarship to attend the School of Visual Arts’ “Photo Global” program in NYC.

VIRGINIE REBETEZ, SPECIAL MENTION OF THE JURY

Virginie wins a Leica S2 camera.

MARIE RIME, CITY OF HYERES AWARD

Awarded by the votes of the public of Hyères.

All the photographers in competition:

FASHION

CORALIE MARABELLE, CITY OF HYERES AWARD

Awarded by the votes of the public of Hyères.

YULIA YEFIMTCHUK, SPECIAL MENTION OF THE JURY

Yulia’s collection will be carried by Opening Ceremony for the next 2 seasons.

CHLOE PRIZES

This year 2 Chloe prizes were awarded, each with a 15 000 euros fund:

ROSHI PORKAR

LISALORE FROWIJN

KENTA MATSHUSHIGE, GRAND PRIX DU JURY PREMIERE VISION

Kenta, who is from Japan but living and working in Paris, wins 15 000 euros given by Première Vision,
as well as a collaboration with Chanel Metiers d’Arts worth up to 15 000 euros, and a collaboration with Petit Bateau.

ALL DESIGNERS IN COMPETITION + BONUS

THE FASHION SHOW

EXHIBITIONS – UNTIL MAY 25th

More info:
Villa Noailles, Hyères

BONUS

The film directed by Antoine Asseraf & Julien Pujol about 2013 winner Satu Maaranen’s collaboration with Petit Bateau.

CHASE THE COOL, written & directed by Antoine Asseraf & Rene Habermacher.

Your EP is very diverse sonically – is it because you’re still experimenting, or because you refuse to choose one style ?
Let’s say you can find in Rocky the influences we wanted to play with: House, Pop, R&B. All these musics are not so different, they all have their roots in African American music.

Lille, Paris,… is it important where you’re from?
No. Today you can make the same music whether you’re from Lille, Paris or Madrid. Even though it’s true there isn’t the same energy in a big city like New York as in… Paris.

Singing in French…is it taboo for you ?
Not at all. We’re thinking about it for the next EP.

What’s it like playing the Olympia concert hall Jouer à l’Olympia? Inès, you mentionned you had already sung there before the Inrocks Festival…
You can say what you want, the Olympia isn’t a venue like any other. We were lucky enough to play it twice (the first time opening for The Shoes) and it was a great experience each time. The mood is peculiar, and you always get a reaction when you tell your family you’ll play there.

What’s your process, from writing to production ?
There are no rules. But generally we start from a base by one of us, we push the production further and Inès tries to lay down some vocals. We go back and forth like this a few times, until we like it enough to play it to Pierre Le Ny, the Art Director of the label, who’ll put it in the trash.

Sometimes, when he thinks the track is cool, he’ll send it Guillaume Brière (half of the The Shoes), who finalizes it and puts it on a record.
At least that’s how we do it now. It’s simple to tell, but in fact each step comes with its share of tears and despair.

Where did the name Rocky come from?
We wanted a name that was cool, easy to remember, that would work in any language. This one was already part of the collective imagination, so the work was already done, which made it easy. We also liked the idea of highjacking an already ultra famous name from its origins. It never fails to trigger people to ask us about the name.

What is the last thing which stimulated you ?
TRUE DETECTIVE !

Rocky, by The Stimuleye.

Rocky Tour Dates

ROCKY EP1 by René Habermacher.

ROCKY – Chase The Cool – Video Teaser from LABEL G.U.M on Vimeo.

Rocky EP1 on iTunes

For its 29th edition, Villa Noailles director and Fashion + Photography founder Jean-Pierre Blanc invited the American duo of Humberto Leon and Carol Lim, Kenzo designers and Opening Ceremony founders, to preside the Fashion Jury.

Amidst hundred’s of applicants from 55 different countries, here are the 10 finalists they picked.

Official lookbook by The Stimuleye.

Hyères 2014 - ALL EYES ON HYERES - by The Stimuleye.

All 10 designers were selected on the basis of a dossier and a full outfit, first by art director Maida Gregory-Boina, Maria Luisa buyer Robin Schulié and The Stimuleye colleague Filep Motwary, then by the jury presidents and their guests: Jay Massacret (V Man), Eric Wilson (InStyle), Carol Song (Opening Ceremony) and actress Chloé Sevigny.

Louis-Gabriel Nouchi, France.

Roshi Porkar, Austria.

Agnese Narnicka, Latvia.

Yulia Yefimtchuk, Ukraine.

Kenta Matsushige, Japan.

Anne Kluytenaar, The Netherlands.

Liselore Frowijn, The Netherlands.

Coralie Marabelle, France.

Pablo Henrard, Belgium.

Marit Ilison, Estonia.

Next week, the photography jury and selection will be announced.

Photography by The Stimuleye
Background by Mathilde Nivet
Make-up by Yannis Siskos
Hair by Fred Teglia

WhatTheFIAC, written & directed by Antoine Asseraf.

FIAC, Foire Internationale d'Art Contemporain, 2013 trailer, directed by Antoine Asseraf.

For its 40th edition, and in order to accommodate the ever-growing interest in the art scene, the FIAC is expanding and taking different forms throughout Paris.

Beyond the glass dome of the Grand Palais and the hundreds of galleries showing there, the FIAC is installing artwork accessible for free to the public in its “Hors-les-murs” (‘outside the walls’) program. Prestigious locations such as the Jardin des Tuileries, Place Vendôme, and Jardin des Plantes are joined this year by the brand new Berges de Seine left bank pedestrian embankments, running from Musée d’Orsay to Quai Branly.

YUM.

FIAC 2013. Photo by René Habermacher.

FIAC 2013
October 24-27
Grand Palais
& Hors-les-Murs: Petit Palais / Berges de Seine / Jardin des Tuileries / Auditorium du Louvre / Place Vendôme / Jardin des Tuileries

WhatTheFIAC
produced by SayWho
creative direction The Stimuleye
directed by Antoine Asseraf
photography by René Habermacher
art direction by Mathilde Nivet
hands by Aurélie Nguyen
voice by Lynsey Peisinger

 Adolfo Dominguez FW 2013/14, film by Antoine Asseraf, in collaboration with Karim Sadli.

ELIE SAAB FW 2013/14 Ready To Wear, "STRICTLY DECORATIVE".

ELIE SAAB FW 2013/14 Couture, "A Royal Affair".

Directed by Antoine Asseraf
Produced by Premices Films
Assisted by Julien Pujol

This season, the themes are goddesses, fine porcelain and… Lee Radziwill makes a sublime and subliminal appearance.

Giambattista Valli Haute Couture 5

For his first campaign, for the Fall/Winter 2013-14, Hervé Leroux chose to collaborate with The Stimuleye for creative direction: photographer René Habermacher in tandem with stylist and fashion muse Suzanne von Aichinger, bringing forward the modernity in Hervé’s timeless designs.

Gwen Loos and Anna Martynova intertwined in slate and black draped front dresses by Hervé Leroux FW2013.
Photography by René Habermacher

As you’ve read during our interview and couture atelier visit, Hervé Leroux, born Hervé Léger, is known for his talent for creating garments using traditional tailoring techniques while taking full advantage of developments in silhouette contraction-embracing modern fabrics.

Monsieur Hervé worked as a hairstylist and a milliner before Karl Lagerfeld offered him a collaboration with Fendi, and then Chanel, as a senior assistant. Soon after opening its doors in 1985, Maison Hervé Léger became internationally famous for pioneering the bandage dresses that were about techniques of reforming the body, focusing on the three key words for femininity: curves, waist and form. The “recipe for the 90’s”, as Suzy Menkes once wrote in the Herald Tribune, was about curve-cleaving elastic bandages and a high-octane technique that defied tradition, an effect which Hervé achieved by molding his fabric to the female form instead of draping and cutting it.

Left side: Gwen wearing a ruby deep double V-neck viscose dress recalling Hervé's iconic bandage dresses.
Right side: criss cross draped black silk jersey pieces. Photos by René Habermacher

After separating from the company which bears his name and adopting the name Hervé Leroux, as suggested by Karl Lagerfeld, Monsieur Hervé recalibrated his vision of glamour, towards a modern sensuality crafted by the hands of a real artisan. Every piece of both the Ready-To-Wear and the Haute Couture collections is created by Hervé’s own hands in his new atelier on 32 rue Jacob.

The Hervé Leroux Fall/Winter 2013-2014 Ready-To-Wear collection is about sober, soaring elegance, reflected on 50 hand-made pieces. For Monsieur Hervé, it is crucial that each piece be as specific and precise as a painting by Pierre Soulages, an important influence on the designer.

“It’s in doing that I can find what I am looking for.”
– Pierre Soulages

The cut is soft, sensually embracing the female curves, revealing the secrets of the master for both of his obsessions. The fabric is draped only to create luxurious body landscapes on his monochrome canvases, paying homage to the morphology of the body.

Hervé creates a collection that can be referred to as a “second skin” – a fluid, easy-to-move silhouette, which slides on the body, becoming at once feminine and powerful.

Gwen sports a Pumpkin viscose aerodynamic dress. Photo by René Habermacher

CREDITS
Creative Direction – The Stimuleye
Photography – René Habermacher
Styling – Suzanne von Aichinger
Jewelry – Fabien Ifires
Hair – Panagiotis Papandrianos
Make-up – Yannis Siskos
Manucure – Yumi Toyama
Models – Anna Martynova & Gwen Loos – NEXT
Styling Assistant – Chafik Cheriet
First Assistant Light – Laurent Pascot
Capture Assistant – Franck Aubert
Retouching – Dimitris Rigas
Text – Filep Motwary
Art Direction – Antoine Asseraf

Thank you Versae Vanni

28TH INTERNATIONAL FASHION & PHOTOGRAPHY HYERES 2013
HYERES EXPRESS

A THE STIMULEYE PRODUCTION
directed by Antoine Asseraf
filmed & edited by Julien Pujol
coordination Clementine Colson
interviews Filep Motwary
sound design Ça Va Chéri

A THE STIMULEYE PRODUCTION
directed by Antoine Asseraf
filmed & edited by Thibault Della Gaspera
interviews Filep Motwary
coordination Clementine Colson
sound design Ça Va Chéri

Pierre Debusschere, Portrait by Filep Motwary.

Is this your first solo show?
I did small solo shows before but i like to think of this one as my first one because it is the first time the work has been thought of for an exhibition medium.

How does it feel exhibiting alongside someone like Guy Bourdin?
It is already an honour to be present at the Villa but even more to be next to Bourdin.

Your subjects-models are worked in a way to look like paintings, what is your aim exactly ?
The painting, the Flemish painters are a big influence for me, there is no specific aim linked to the painting besides the connection to my inspirations.
The technique that looks like paint that you are referring to is there more in the idea layers, different layers that gives the image different steps of reading.

Photo by Pierre Debusschere.

Photo by Pierre Debusschere.

Your show’s theme is beauty versus ugliness. What are your true influences? Is it connected to the work of Umberto Eco ?
Beauty versus ugliness is one of the themes worked in this show, the idea of what is beautiful or ugly today. Yes it is linked to Eco’s work, reading his book
on ugliness helped me a lot in this show.

Your work is tied to the digital medium. Can you imagine yourself working in a previous era ?
For sure I can see myself working in a previous era, it is not about digital, it is more about the medium that fits the time, the idea of NOW.

Photo by Pierre Debusschere.

You have created yourself a whole structure with 254 Forest, which allows you to do an original photo series, a book, an installation and a film… How important is organization to be an artist today ?

Yes I would not have been able without my team to create the photo-series, the book, the installation, the film, the soundtrack and the website !

It is always about Team work for me and I’m really grateful to have them besides me. Organisation is a big part of the work, even more for project like this when we created all this body of work in 2 months. Today you need to be able to react really fast because of the technology era we live in, so that’s why a team is important too !

You need to be present on every aspect of production at the same time ! But then we can not forget sometimes that we need to disconnect ourselves

PIERRE DEBUSSCHERE

A THE STIMULEYE PRODUCTION
directed by Antoine Asseraf
filmed & edited by Julien Pujol
interviews Filep Motwary
coordination Clementine Colson
sound design Ça Va Chéri

The headmistress unleashes the beast: Ariane Labed, French but Athens-born actress known from "Attenberg" 
and her favourite: Bekos, the beehive-tressed star-goat. Photo by René Habermacher

A sphinx above Hydra: Ariane Labed in midday heat on the terrasse of Tombazis manor. Photo by René Habermacher.

Between fortified walls of the mansion, shadows of the past and present terror of besetting obsessions:
young actresses Isolda Dychauk, Aurora Marion and crawling: Evangelia Randou. Photos by René Habermacher

Clémence Poésy in expectation of the headmistress. Photos by René Habermacher.

Routine at the boarding house: The line-up of disciples, top right Evangelia Randou, lower right: Sofia Dona.

Clémence Poésy confesses: "J’ai eu envie de mettre des bris de verre dans les chaussures d’Isolda." 
while her dominatrix is about to get more creative with punishments. Photo by René Habermacher.

Ariane at the onset of darkness, wearing a micro-robotic geared gown by Canadian designer Ying Gao,
for which Bekos the goat developed an immense appetite. Photo by René Habermacher.

One of Bekos's caprices: an endless hunger for attention, and bits and bites of the costumes. Photo by René Habermacher.

Posters for The Capsule: Design by Ania Goszczyńska with artwork of Aleksandra Waliszewska

The Stimuleye presents “Hanaa”, a film by Antoine Asseraf & René Habermacher, starring Tunisian model Hanaa Ben Abdesslem, spokesperson for Lancôme.

Antoine Asseraf: Where are you from, and how were you discovered ?

Hanaa Ben Abdesslem: I was raised in a town on the sea coast of Tunisia named Nabeul. 
I dreamed of becoming a model since I was very young.

In 2009, I participated in a reality TV show for models in Lebanon.  There I met Sophie GalaI, who would become my manager, and in 2010 she presented me to IMG Paris, who in turn presented me to Carine Roitfeld, at the time Editor-in-Chief of Vogue Paris.

Through her introduction to Ricardo Tisci , I was chosen as a Givenchy fashion show exclusive that same season.
   
AA: You’re becoming an icon representing the “middle-eastern woman” in the fashion world and beyond,
but which people are icons to you ? Can you tell us a bit about your relationship with Farida Khelfa ?

My icons are the Tunisian women in the fashion industry, whom I admire and whose accomplishments I respect, such as Liela Menshari, Hermes window designer — she received the Golden Dido Award for her contribution to Tunisian culture and influences in world, and Afef Jenifen, who fought for Arab women’s freedom of choice and continues to defend their rights.

Farida is a great support and she always has good advice, such as “stay true to yourself.”

HANAA
a film by Antoine Asseraf & René Habermacher
starring Hanaa Ben Abdesslem
styling Yoko Miyake
hair Nicolas Eldin
make up Tracey Gray Mann
production by Clast
postproduction by The Stimuleye
text by Omar Khayyam
sound by Gnawa Diffusion
thanks Sophie Gallal

Look 1: Dolce & Gabbana
Look 2: Jil Sander by Raf Simons
Look 3: Chloé
Look 4: Stella McCartney

A is Africa.

Leave it to Jean Paul Lespagnard to connect the 2 in a fresh way for his SS2013 collection.

You can also see one of the key outfits from the collection in action, as worn by Lynsey Peisinger, in the FIAC Paris 2012 teaser…

FIAC 2012 official teaser by The Stimuleye. Pants/overalls by Jean-Paul Lespagnard.

For the annual photography commission, fashion photographer Cécile Bortoletti captured the Mediterranean flora of Hyères over the course of one year, her visions now revealed to us in a new exhibition, “sur-nature”…

Sur-Nature exhibition poster. Picture by René Habermacher.

Antoine Asseraf: The title of the exhibition is “sur-nature” [“over-nature”]…

Cecile Bortoletti: It’s a contraction of “super-nature.”

AA: But there’s also a reference to the super-imposition which takes place in some of the pictures…

CB: It was rather complex to get a complete vision of nature around Hyères, very bountiful, luxurious…

I live in the countryside, i take pictures of special moments, but to do something like this, like a one year long walk, I had never done. I had done a series of trees at night for a UNESCO/CNRS exhibit about black matter, with a more scientific aspect, but it wasn’t so scattered in time, with all the seasons, like this project.

RH: What was the challenge compared to your editorial work ?

CB: Managing time… I’ve never worked one year on a project. Even if you know the end date, the exhibition date, it’s difficult to manage it. When you work in fashion, you’re on an addict schedule, everything is last minute, very fast.

And here i was working alone, with a lot of time, many kilometers to explore, time to think, changing weather and moods, and each time I came I thought it was better than the previous time.

It’s a matter of stimuli. I learned many things but I was happy that it ended, it was very intense.

Sur-Nature exhibition view. Photo by René Habermacher.

AA: You’ve come to Hyères for a long time… did some things still surprise you ?

CB: Now I know it much better, I can find my way, and I’ve discovered the salt marshes and its flora, with impressive survival strategies. I didn’t know about that at all, it was a bit like desert flowers…They’re emotional because they look fragile but in fact they’re tough.

As a whole the exhibit shows the fragility of nature, because many times one week later flowers I had shot would no longer be there.

Cécile Bortoletti and the salt marsh flowers. Photo by René Habermacher.

AA: There’s also the film about the palm trees’ sickness…

CB: When I arrived here I didn’t know about this disease which eats the palm trees from inside out, and to save them they are shaved and trimmed. So I met with the palm tree rescue team, and followed them as they tried to save the trees and stop the disease.

Each time people gathered around, very concerned about why we would do this to the trees.
It’s very impressive, all the leaves are cut and only a stump is left.
It’s a recent phenomenon, but all over the mediterranean area.

The film is 7 minutes long, and my friend David T.V. did a soundtrack that’s 40 minutes long, to give the film different readings, more comic or dramatic.

Les Palmiers, a film by Cécile Bortoletti. Music by David T.V.

Sur-Nature exhibition view. Photo of a photo, René Habermacher.

AA: Yagos wrote a short story for the catalog, how did the idea come along ?

CB: With Jean-Pierre [Blanc, Villa Noailles director] we were wondering how to accompany the photos, and we thought it would be good to talk about nature rather than about the photos themselves, and so naturally I thought about Yagos’ work.

AA: Could you define for me the term “homodiegetic” which appears in the texts describing the exhibition ?

Cécile Bortoletti: “homodiegetic” means an observation where the author is at the center…

Yagos Koliopanos: it’s a Greek word – “diegesis” is narration, so let’s say that “homodiegetic” is a narrative where the author is part of the story. It’s a recent litterary term.

AA: Are you “in” the narrative then ?

CB: in fact yes. i used to be against narrative, but I think it helps us better understand, and escape narrative itself.

There’s another very beautiful word in the text accompanying the photos, “serendipity.”

YK: it’s the happiness of discovering something by mistake, happiness of luck…

CB: it’s happiness and surprise at the same time.

View from the exhibition space at Villa Noailles. Photo by René Habermacher.

“Sur-nature”
by Cécile Bortoletti
until January 13 at Villa Noailles, Hyères.

then in 2013 at Brachfeld Gallery, 78 rue des Archives, Paris.

DO YOU WANNA FIAC ?

TEASER ANGLAIS FIAC 2012 from Saywho.fr on Vimeo.

Foire Internationale d’Art Contemporain
October 18-21, 2012
Grand Palais + various sites in Paris

VOULEZ-VOUS FIACker ?

TEASER FRANCAIS FIAC 2012 from Saywho.fr on Vimeo.