NARS Claudette - The Muse Behind Cult Beauty Brand

FRANÇOIS ON CLAUDETTE

My mother was my first muse…

I started testing makeup on my mother in the early 1970s, which is when I started really loving fashion and makeup. I would recreate some of the makeup looks from VOGUE and French ELLE on her. My mother has amazing green eyes, so the best part was the eye makeup. I used to really study the magazines photographs to see how they did smoky eyes, which was the big trend at the time—they were quite extreme. I would recreate these looks on her and I would then send her into town to go shopping, to see her friends and try to get the comments from her friends to see what they thought. Usually people said, “Oh my God, you look so great!” and that was so encouraging that I started slowly getting more into makeup artistry.

The collection is inspired by my Mom’s colourful 1970s dresses

The Claudette collection reflects the colours and prints of dresses that my mother used to wear in the 1970s. I chose the colours that she’s most comfortable with and loves to wear. They’re the ones that make her look and feel good. It was a very easy process because by now we both know what she likes. She trusts me, I trust her, and I knew what she would like to see in this collection.

CLAUDETTE ON FRANÇOIS

We both adored the Rive Gauche style of the 1970s

When François was 13 or 14 he would study all the fashion magazines and would always point out clothes from Yves Saint Laurent. One day he said to me, “we need to go to Toulouse—a Rive Gauche store has opened there and you need to go and try the clothes.” We thought they were the most beautiful clothes we had ever seen. The fabrics were haute-couture standard, and I am happy to say I kept everything!

We both discovered makeup artistry in the city of Paris

When François moved to Paris at 18 he knew the city better than anyone else. Back then makeup artistry schools didn’t exist; it wasn’t recognized the way it is now, but François knew where the greatest makeup artists in Paris were. When we arrived, we found a small apartment in Saint Germain and I stayed with him for some time. One day François said, “come on Mom, let’s get your makeup done.” So we went to see two or three great makeup artists, and every time I asked them if they needed an assistant. In this way we met Olivier Echaudemaison of Guerlain, who was so charming. He thought I looked Italian! When I asked if he needed help, he told me that, indeed, he had a show the following day and his assistant had just had a baby. He said, “tell your son to come tomorrow morning.” He was so impressed when he found out how much François knew about fashion at such a young age, and that's how it all started.

We have so many memories of good times in Paris as mother and son…

Shortly after settling in Paris, François had found out about a divine little restaurant on a totally remote street where the whole YSL clan would go all the time. He told me, “we have to go. It must be a good restaurant, and maybe we’ll see them there.” In the same restaurant on another day, Marina Schiano was having dinner with Pierre Bergé and she was wearing a wonderful pilot jacket from Rive Gauche. Later on, after Marina became one of François’ closest friends, she offered him that same jacket that she wore that night when he first met her.

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Is your mother your muse? Why not gift her something beautiful from our beauty hall in Mother’s Day Gifting: Beauty Designed to Spoil.