A playful design by Anouck Baumgartner. Photo by Laura Martin.
For some students, the desire to work in fashion goes back a long way. Raised in a stimulating artistic environment with grandparents always on the lookout for the latest trends and a mother who was a painter, Anouck Baumgartner's desire to work in an artistic setting arose very early in life and has only grown stronger with time. "Having been lucky enough to have lived in different countries, such as Japan, England and Italy, I quickly enriched my artistic and fashion culture," she explains. Discovering local artists has become a constant source of inspiration for her designs. Her decision to work in fashion took shape during her secondary school years. "Fashion shows" organised by her school at the time gave her the opportunity to develop her first two collections. "I was immediately fascinated by the fashion world," she says. So the choice to continue her education at ESMOD seemed a logical one. Her colourful, frank designs, full of an almost surreal sense of humour, are a testament to her creative appetite.
Planet ESMOD: How would you define your final year collection?
Anouk Baumgartner: "To eat or be eaten" is a collection that reflects my personality, the culmination of my years at ESMOD and my development. I wanted to talk about subjects that are important to me: a consumer society where we devour the planet and where fierce competition reigns. But also to express the body shaming that is everywhere, obsessive, anxiety-provoking and makes us lose our appetite. Today, the "chic heroine" style is a thing of the past. I want to show that eating a cupcake is sexy!
P. E.: Where do you think you'll be heading from here?
A. B.: I'd like to be able to exhibit my work in galleries and museums. To create collections that are not just clothes, but real works of art that survive the test of time.
Anouk Baumgartner anouk.baumgartner@fr.esmod.net @_ba.u.m_