Charlotte Chesnais

If her fierce determination to be independent pushed her to leave her birthplace in Sarthe at the age of 17 and come and live in Paris, Charlotte Chesnais’ desire to enter the small world of fashion took a little bit more time to ripen. "I started a HEC preparatory program without much conviction. I stopped eight months later, without any notice. I called my parents a few days later to tell them that I wanted to become a fashion designer. They told me to go ahead.” After two years of training at the Studio Berçot, Charlotte joined the Ungaro team, led at that time by Vincent Darré. "It was a wonderful time, he used to take me everywhere, introduced me to many people coming from a milieu that was alien to me.” Then Charlotte joined Balenciaga and owes her vocation to Nicolas Ghesquière who entrusted her with the artistic management of the jewelry of the house. She assumed this role during nine years. Today, she is a freelancer and she collaborates with Paco Rabanne and Maiyet, and has created a first collection in her name. She has a fascination for the sixties, for Serge Gainsbourg and the old French movies, yet her universe is still definitely modern. It is clear that she envisages jewels as objects of daily life, strong in their appearance.