PortraitFormer artistic director of Lacoste then Kenzo, the Franco-Portuguese decided a year ago to distance himself from fashion to devote himself to art and happily try out all kinds of techniques, from drawing to photography. He exhibited for the first time in Paris, in May.
Since leaving his post as artistic director of Kenzo in June 2021, Felipe Oliveira Baptista has carved out a new life for himself. As soon as he left, he rented a small work studio in the 2and district of Paris, behind the Grands Boulevards, to devote himself to artistic practice. The space that serves as a workshop includes the bare necessities: a large desk, paper, pencils and a bed nestled high up, “ideal for taking naps when the mood strikes”.
“I regret that people are locked up in boxes, it’s very ‘old world’. I want to remain free to explore several artistic practices at the same time, to discover skills, to take the time to try them out. » Felipe Oliveira Baptist
Quiet, as if cut off from the world and the maddening demands of fashion, Felipe Oliveira Baptista now takes “time to create and live at your own pace”. Once installed, when he saw the “E” for Egde appear on the screen of his smartphone, he was initially worried about the lack of network, but today he considers this disconnection as a luxury. “It’s the best gift chance has given me. It reminds me of 1998, when I arrived in Paris. A new relationship to time takes hold. »
Here, his phone is therefore “off”. Forgot the thread at the leg. After years spent chaining collections and fashion shows, first for his own brand then for eight years for Lacoste and two for Kenzo, the 46-year-old Franco-Portuguese designer wanted to take a break to create more freely, draw and explore different artistic techniques without the constraints of the fashion calendar.
Fragmented bodies and abstract figures
When he tells his new hobby to acquaintances, most seem worried and ask him: ” Are you sure you’re okay ? » Or : “Are you holding on alone in this desert? » He has fun. ” That makes me smile. I reassure them: having time is the most precious thing. » Since he was a child, he has drawn on everything he finds – on old paper as on sand – fragmented bodies, sometimes a little tortured faces and other abstract figures that devour each other. like carnivorous plants. He sketches feverish and sensual bodies, which intertwine between attraction and repulsion, “without romance”.
He never ceased to fill notebooks with his lively and sensitive line, “never polished”, using pencils, pastels, markers or brushes, but also paper that he collects and recovers everywhere for a long time. At the moment, he is tracing his sketches on old medical files that a practitioner has abandoned in the cellar of his building: thick sheets, pink and green, yellowed by time and which even bear the doctor’s annotations. During confinement, he drew inside the doors of his cupboards. If he finds his first drafts too smooth, he reworks them, cuts them out, transforms them into collages.
You have 62.48% of this article left to read. The following is for subscribers only.