A day in the life of… Margaux, Print Designer at & Other Stories

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PHENOMENAL FASHION

A day in the life of… Margaux, Print Designer at & Other Stories

You know how nosy we can be… So we’ve decided to launch a new article section on Please, in which we will take a step into the world of exciting fashion jobs – the more obscure the better – to know a little bit more about what happens behind the moodboards and the Instagram posts. For our first episode, Margaux Dereume, Print Designer for & Other Stories, tells us about her daily routine at the Parisian studio of the Swedish brand. After a BA in applied arts and a degree in textile design, Margaux joined the brand’s design team a year and a half ago. “From the beginnings of the brand I already really wanted to work with them,” remembers Margaux. “The general aesthetic and values of & Other Stories quickly captivated me : it manages to be desirable by offering bold and beautiful pieces that you can’t really find anywhere else!” Print development, researching inspiration, work trips abroad… Welcome to Margaux’s colourful world!

9.30 : Margaux arrives at the office. “I always start the day off by making myself a lemon and ginger green tea, which I can’t live without. I check my emails, I write down a to-do list in my big notebook, and I get to work.” The brand has two people working in the prints section : “We work on prints, but also on developing embroideries, and even jacquards for knitwear. We also collaborate with the accessories department, which makes things super varied and stimulating!”

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11.00 : “No day is the same, but certain things come back regularly : meetings – the brand has a great team spirit – discussions on the mock-ups and creation of new prints.” For each design, Margaux has to carefully choose her tools so as to get the right result.

Her favourite design? Margaux admits to having a soft spot for the pencilled “Hands” that has just been released, as she feels it is “very me”. She explains the different steps that led up to the final product :  “I first drew the design on my notebook, scanned the pages, then traced the shapes with my graphic tablet on Photoshop. I chose the Pantone colours amongst a pre-chosen selection, and I made the design repeat itself infinitely!” She sends all of this to the production team, who has already received the materials via the concept designers, and she then receives bits of fabric with the design printed either via silk screen ou digitally. “But the methods can be quite varied, it can sometimes be glittery foil or velvet! I think that my favourite prints are the ones in which you feel the texture…”

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1pm : “Around 1 o’clock I go out to find a place to eat. I like going to the gyoza bar, or to Miss Banh Mi where the sandwiches are really great!”

3pm : Margaux starts her research. “I’m inspired by a lot of different things, as you can see on my Instagram, with a preference for beautiful colour associations, nature, design…” Her favourite artists? “The work of Gauguin, Matisse, Jean Arp, Le Corbusier, Shirley Jaffe, Pierre Charpin inspires me, but there are so many others…”

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5.30pm : A printed garment arrives at the studio! “It’s always quite exciting, but I think the most satisfying and moving moments are when you see a girl in the street, your friends or your mum wear your creations!” Moments that happen in Paris, but also all around the world during trips organised by the brand : “This week we are spending a day in London to visit the Design Library, a selection of print archives – a real treasure trove! We also travel to India or China to visit the factories. Inspiration trips are also planned, so as to come back with a fresh outlook and lots of new ideas!”

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7pm : Margaux goes back home to her apartment in the 9th arrondissement of Paris, where she lives with her boyfriend. “It’s an area that I particularly love because of its village-y feel,” she explains. “I was born in Paris but I grew up in La Croix-Valmer, a small village in the South-East of France, surrounded by fresh beach air, mimosas, pine trees and cicadas.” At the weekend, the designer likes organising drinks and dinners, going out to dance the night away, taking trips to the museum, reading, hunting for design pieces at the local car boot sale, going for walks, buying herself flowers, planning the next trip or weekend away (Margaux is leaving for Vietnam at the end of the week)… “I should also make the most of my spare time to do my accounts or tidy up my mountain of clothes, but that’s something I am clearly not very good at!”